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Physics Notes_6_General Properties of Waves

Waves are disturbances that carry energy through a medium and can be classified into transverse and longitudinal types. Key characteristics of waves include amplitude, wavelength, frequency, and period, with the wave equation (speed = frequency x wavelength) used to calculate wave speed. The document also provides examples and calculations related to wave properties and homework exercises.

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2 views

Physics Notes_6_General Properties of Waves

Waves are disturbances that carry energy through a medium and can be classified into transverse and longitudinal types. Key characteristics of waves include amplitude, wavelength, frequency, and period, with the wave equation (speed = frequency x wavelength) used to calculate wave speed. The document also provides examples and calculations related to wave properties and homework exercises.

Uploaded by

vivianmafoti10
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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GENERAL PROPERTIES OF WAVES

Definition
A wave is a disturbance produced at a point in a medium which spreads throughout
the medium. Waves carry energy from one point to another.
Examples of waves include the following:
i. Ripples in water.
ii. Disturbances in a spring (or rope) which is fixed on one end and moved up and
down on the other.
iii. Disturbances in a spring which is held under tension then progressively relaxed.
iv. Sound.
v. Electromagnetic waves such as light.

Types of waves
There are two types of waves; transverse and longitudinal.

Transverse waves
These are waves in which the vibrations are perpendicular to the directions of the wave.
Transverse waves have crests and troughs.

Crest

Trough

Examples of transverse waves include electromagnetic waves (such as light), ripples in


water and disturbances in a spring (or rope) which is fixed on one end and moved up
and down on the other.

Longitudinal waves
These are waves in which the vibrations are parallel to the directions of the wave.
Longitudinal waves have rarefactions and compressions.

Rarefaction

Compression

Page 1 of 4 – Physics notes – P C Musonda – KCM Konkola Secondary Trust School


Examples of longitudinal waves include sound waves and waves in a spring held under
tension and then progressively relaxed.

Characteristics of Waves
1. Amplitude (A): This is the maximum displacement of the particles of the medium
from the rest position.
2. Wavelength (λ): This is the distance from one crest to the next; or the distance from
one trough to the next. Wavelength is also defined as the distance between any two
successive points which are in phase.

Crest λ

λ A

λ
A
λ
Trough

Rarefaction
A A A λ

λ
λ

λ
Compression
3. Phase: Two points are said to be in phase if they undergo similar displacement at
the same time; otherwise they are out of phase.
4. Wavefront: This is a line joining points which are in phase. We normally represent
wavefronts with equally spaced lines as shown below.

You can imagine these lines to be representing successive crests or troughs.

5. Period (T): This is the time taken to generate one complete wave. The S.I unit of
period is the second (s).
6. Frequency (f): This is the number of complete waves produced in one second. The
unit of frequency is the Hertz (Hz) or per second (/s).

The wave equation


This equation is used to calculate the speed of waves.
Speed = frequency x wavelength = fλ
Page 2 of 4 – Physics notes – P C Musonda – KCM Konkola Secondary Trust School
Examples
1. Calculate the speed of waves of wavelength 4m and frequency 3Hz.
V = fλ = 3 x 4 = 12 m/s
2. A motor is used to generate water waves. A dipper attached to the motor creates the
waves by striking the water in a ripple tank. The motor has a frequency of 50Hz.
a) What is the period of the waves?
1 1
T= 𝑓
= 50
= 0.02s
b) How many waves are produced in 10s?
𝑡
T= 𝑛
𝑡 10
n= 𝑇
= 0.02
= 500 waves
c) How long does it take to produce 200 waves?
𝑡
T=
𝑛
t = T x n = 0.02 x 200 = 4s
3. The figure below shows a transverse wave.

8cm

A B

0.4s

a) Use the diagram to determine:


i. The amplitude.
A = 2 x 8 = 16 cm
ii. The period.
0.4 x 4 = 1.6s
iii. The frequency.
1 1
f= 𝑇
= 1.6
= 0.63Hz

b) Given that the distance between A and B is 3.2m, calculate:


i. The wavelength.
λ = 3.2 ÷ 4 = 0.8m
ii. The speed.
V = fλ = 0.63x0.8 = 0.5m/s

Page 3 of 4 – Physics notes – P C Musonda – KCM Konkola Secondary Trust School


Home Work
1. Calculate the speed of waves of:
a) Wavelength 0.4m and frequency 4Hz.
b) Wavelength 50cm and frequency 2Hz.
2. A motor is used to generate water waves. A dipper attached to the motor creates the
waves by striking the water in a ripple tank. The dipper strikes the water 300 times
in 5 minutes.
a) Calculate the period of the waves.
b) Calculate the frequency of the waves.
d) How many waves are produced in 20 seconds?
e) How many waves are produced in 2 minutes?
f) How long does it take to produce 400 waves?
3. The figure below shows a transverse wave.

A B

5cm

1.5s

a) Use the diagram to determine:


iv. The amplitude.
v. The period.
vi. The frequency.
c) Given that the distance between A and B is 130cm, calculate:
iii. The wavelength.
iv. The speed.
4. Explain two differences between transverse waves and longitudinal waves.
5. Ripples in water have a wavelength of 1.5m and frequency 0.2Hz.
a) Calculate the speed of the waves.
b) The waves move into water of different depth. The wavelength increase to 2.0m.
i. Is the new water deeper or shallower?
ii. Calculate the new speed of the waves.

END

Page 4 of 4 – Physics notes – P C Musonda – KCM Konkola Secondary Trust School

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