Drop a stone in a pond and rings race outward, yet a floating leaf only bobs in place. The ripples carry energy across the water without carrying the water itself. Describing that travelling disturbance is what wave features are for.
A wave transfers energy without transferring matter. Its wavelength is the distance for one complete wave, its amplitude is the maximum displacement from rest, its frequency is the number of waves per second in hertz, and its period is the time for one wave.
The wavelength is the distance between two adjacent points in step (one complete wave); the amplitude is the maximum displacement from the rest position; the frequency is the number of waves passing a point each second.
A wave carries energy, not matter. Amplitude is measured from the middle, not crest to trough.
Change the amplitude and frequency and watch the wavelength and period respond.
Four quick checks. Each correct answer earns XP and lights this skill on your star map.
The wavelength of a wave is...
The amplitude of a wave is...
Frequency is measured in...
A wave transfers...
Wavelength, amplitude, frequency and period are linked, and frequency is simply one over the period.
A wave has a period of 0.20 s. Find its frequency.
A wave transfers energy, not matter: the water, air or rope it travels through stays put on average. And amplitude is measured from the rest position to a crest, not all the way from a crest down to a trough.
Unlocks once the four checks above are done. Worth more XP, written in the style of Paper 2.
A wave has a period of 0.20 s. Its frequency is...
The amplitude of a water wave is correctly measured from...
Two waves travel at the same speed, but wave A has a longer wavelength than wave B. Wave A therefore has a...
The first wave skill is lit. Keep the chain going.