A wave is established in a rope. The diagram below represents a 'snapshot' of the pattern in the rope at a given instant in time. Several points on the rope are labeled with a letter. Identify the letters of any wave crests. List all that apply ... .

Definition of Wave Crest:

A wave crest of a wave is a location along the medium which is displaced a maximum positive distance above its original resting position.

A wave involves the repeating and periodic vibration of a medium. As each particle of the medium undergoes its up and down (or back and forth) vibration, the familiar wavelike pattern is established in the medium. At any given instant in time, there are positions along the medium which are displaced upward and positions along the medium which are displaced downward. A position of maximum upward displacement on the pattern is referred to as a crest. A position of maximum downward displacement on the pattern is referred to as a trough.

What is a wave crest and how is it different than a wave trough?

A wave is established in a rope. The diagram below represents a 'snapshot' of the pattern in the rope at a given instant in time. Several points on the rope are labeled with a letter. Identify the letters of any wave troughs. List all that apply ... .

Definition of Wave Trough:

A wave trough of a wave is a location along the medium which is displaced a maximum negative distance below its original resting position.

A wave involves the repeating and periodic vibration of a medium. As each particle of the medium undergoes its up and down (or back and forth) vibration, the familiar wavelike pattern is established in the medium. At any given instant in time, there are positions along the medium which are displaced upward and positions along the medium which are displaced downward. A position of maximum upward displacement on the pattern is referred to as a crest. A position of maximum downward displacement on the pattern is referred to as a trough.

What is a wave crest and how is it different than a wave trough?

A wave is established in a rope. The diagram below represents a 'snapshot' of the pattern in the rope at a given instant in time. Which of the given distances represent the wavelength of the wave? List all that apply ... .

Definition of Wavelength:

The wavelength of a wave is the length of the wave or repeating wave segment. It is often (but not always) measured as the distance from crest to crest.

A wave involves the repeating and periodic vibration of a medium in a regular fashion. As each particle of the medium undergoes its up and down (or back and forth) vibration, the familiar wavelike pattern is established in the medium. Within the pattern, there is a repeating element that reoccurs over and over. The length of this repeating pattern is known as the wavelength.

What is meant by wavelength?

A wave is established in a rope. The diagram below represents a 'snapshot' of the pattern in the rope at a given instant in time. Which of the given distances represent the amplitude of the wave? List all that apply ... .

Definition of Amplitude:

The amplitude of a wave is the height of the wave; it refers to as the maximum amount of displacement of the medium from its rest position. It is often (but not always) measured as the distance from rest to crest.

A wave involves the repeating and periodic vibration of a medium. As each particle of the medium undergoes its up and down (or back and forth) vibration, the familiar wavelike pattern is established in the medium. At any given instant in time, there are positions along the medium which are displaced upward and positions along the medium which are displaced downward. The amount of upward and downward displacement varies from position to position. The maximum amount of displacement is referred to as the amplitude.

What is meant by wave amplitude?

A wave is moving through a medium. A point on the medium is undergoing many up and down oscillations in a short amount of time. This is conclusive evidence that the wave has a relatively large ____.

To be successful at this question, you must know the definition of the various wave quantities: frequency, period, speed, wavelength, and amplitude. A wave involves the repeated and periodic vibration of a medium. As each particle of the medium undergoes its up and down (or back and forth) vibration, the familiar wavelike pattern is established in the medium. This question is describing how often a point on the medium is vibrating up and down. The question is clearly not describing any quantity pertaining to length or distance, which rules out amplitude and wavelength as possible choices. It states that a point (and thus all the points) on the medium undergoing a large number of vibrations in a short amount of time. You must determine what wave quantity describes the number of vibrations per unit of time.

Many students confuse the speed of a wave with the frequency of a wave. Both are time-based quantities. But don't be fooled! The speed of a wave is the distance traveled by a point on the wave pattern per unit of time. The frequency of a wave refers to the number of back-and-forth vibrational cycles which a point on the medium makes per unit of time. Speed refers to how fast the wave travels and frequency refers to how often a point on the medium repeats its vibration.

What is meant by wave frequency?

In terms of wave characteristics, how would a fast-traveling wave be described?

Which three of the following are units of frequency? List all that apply ... .

Definition of Frequency:

The frequency of a wave refers to the number of back-and-forth vibrational cycles which a point on the medium makes per unit of time.

A wave involves the repeated and periodic vibration of a medium. As each particle of the medium undergoes its up and down (or back and forth) vibration, the familiar wavelike pattern is established in the medium. The frequency of a wave refers to how often the particles of the medium vibrate back and forth about their resting position. Mathematically, frequency is the number of cycles per unit of time. As such, the units of frequency will have the form of cycles/time or waves/time or vibrations/time. The standard metric unit of frequency is the Hertz (abbreviated Hz) and has the meaning of per second. In referring to a frequency as being 10 Hz, it is assumed that there are 10 repetitions (cycles, waves, vibrations, etc.) occurring per second.

Many students confuse the speed of a wave with the frequency of a wave. Both are time-based quantities. As such, they often confuse their units as well. But don't be fooled! Speed refers to how fast the wave travels or the distance traveled per unit of time. As such, units on speed are distance units per time units. This is different than the units of repetitions per second which is typical of frequency units.

What are the various units used to measure wave frequency?

A wave which is traveling fast can be said to have a high ____.

To be successful at this question, you must know the definition of the various wave quantities: frequency, period, speed, wavelength, and amplitude. A wave involves the repeated and periodic vibration of a medium. As each particle of the medium undergoes its up and down (or back and forth) vibration, the familiar wavelike pattern is established in the medium. This question is describing how fast a wave is moving. The question is clearly not describing any quantity pertaining to length or distance, which rules out amplitude and wavelength as possible choices. The question simply states that a wave is traveling fast. You must determine what wave quantity is used to describe the fastness or slowness of a wave.

Definition of Wave Speed:

The wave speed refers to the distance traveled by a point on the wave pattern per unit of time. It is often measured in units such as meters/second and describes how fast the wave is moving through the medium.

In terms of wave characteristics, how would a fast-traveling wave be described?

Which of the following two quantities are reciprocals of each other?

Here is a short little activity your can do on your own. Clench your fingers together and rap on the table one time per second. How much time elapses between each rap on the table? Now rap on the table two times per second. How much time elapses between each rap. Finally (if you can do it), rap on the table three times per second. How much time elapses between each rap.

You hopefully noticed the following pattern:

1 rap/second ---> 1 second between raps

2 raps/second ---> 1/2 seconds between raps

3 raps/second ---> 1/3 seconds between raps

For any periodic and repeating event, there are two quantities which describe the event which are reciprocals of each other. The number of occurrences per second and the time elapsed between occurrences are reciprocals of each other.

A wave is a periodic and repeating event which reoccurs in a regular time pattern. Particles of the medium vibrate back-and-forth in a regular time pattern. The frequency of the wave describes how often they vibrate - the number of vibrations per second. And the period of the wave describes the time elapsed between vibrations - the time required for a particle of the medium to complete its vibration. These two quantities are reciprocals of each other.

The reciprocal nature of frequency (f) and period (T) are seen in the following mathematical definitions.

f = # of cycles / timeT = amount of time / cycle

How is the period of a wave related to the frequency of a wave?

A wave is present in a slinky. A coil of the slinky makes 12 complete up and down cycles of vibration in 4 seconds. The period of this wave is _____ and the frequency is _____.

The frequency (f) and the period (T) of a wave reveal information about how often a wave vibrates (frequency) and the time elapsed for a single wave cycle (period).

f = # of cycles / timeT = amount of time / cycle

A wave is a periodic and repeating event which reoccurs in a regular time pattern. Particles of the medium vibrate back-and-forth in a regular time pattern. The frequency of the wave describes how often they vibrate - the number of vibrations per second. And the period of the wave describes the time elapsed between vibrations - the time required for a particle of the medium to complete its vibration. Typical units for frequency are waves per second or Hertz; typical units of period are seconds (or some unit of time).

How is the period of a wave related to the frequency of a wave?

What is meant by wave frequency?

Two boats - Boat A and Boat B - are anchored a distance of 20 meters apart. The incoming water waves force the boats to oscillate up and down, making one complete cycle every 10 seconds. When Boat A is at its peak, Boat B is at its low point. There are never any wave crests between the two boats. The vertical distance between Boat A and Boat B at their extreme is 8 meters. The wavelength is ___ m, the period is ___ s, the frequency is ___ Hz, and the amplitude is ___ m. (HINT: begin with a diagram.)

Definition of Wave Quantities:

The wavelength of a wave is the length of the wave. It is often measured as the distance between two consecutive crests.

The amplitude of a wave is the maximum amount of displacement a point on a medium is makes relative to its resting position. It is often measured as the distance between the resting position and a crest position.

The frequency of a wave is the number of cycles occurring per unit of time. See Formula Fix section below.

The period of a wave is the time elapsed between cycles. See Formula Fix section below.

The frequency (f) and the period (T) of a wave reveal information about how often a wave vibrates (frequency) and the time elapsed for a single wave cycle (period).

f = # of cycles / timeT = amount of time / cycle

This question will certainly give your understanding of the various wave quantities a real workout. Begin by constructing a diagram of the situation - draw a straight line for the resting position of the water surface. Then draw the familiar wave pattern which depicts the presence of a wave on the water surface. Position Boats A and B, with Boat A being at a crest position and Boat B being at a trough position. Label the horizontal distance between them and the vertical distance between them. Then ask, what is the wavelength? and what is the amplitude? Review the definitions of these terms if necessary. See Define Help section above.

What is meant by wavelength?

What is meant by wave amplitude?

What is meant by wave frequency?

How is the period of a wave related to the frequency of a wave?

A 'snapshot in time' of a wave is shown at the right. Which one of the diagrams below represents a wave with twice the amplitude and one-half the wavelength?

The diagram shows the resting position (the horizontal line) and the presence of a wave on the medium. Since the diagram represents how the wave stretches across space at a single instant in time, the spatial properties of wavelength and amplitude are depicted in the diagram. You should be able to use your understanding of wavelength and amplitude (see Define Help section below) to select the diagram which depicts a wave with the specified wavelength and amplitude.

Definition of Wavelength and Amplitude:

The wavelength of a wave is the length of the wave. It is often measured as the distance between two consecutive crests.

The amplitude of a wave is the maximum amount of displacement a point on a medium is makes relative to its resting position. It is often measured as the distance between the resting position and a crest position.

What is meant by wavelength?

What is meant by wave amplitude?