AMPLITUDE

BUILDING UTILITIES 3
DE LA LUNA, MARGARETTE A.
2013120415

AMPLITUDE
measures how far a wave rises and
falls.
A wave'samplitudeis defined as half
the distance from its highest point to
its lowest point.
Amplitudeis proportional to the
energy of a wave, a high energy wave
having a highamplitudeand a low
energy wave having a lowamplitude.

AMPLITUDE

Imagine a wave in the ocean.

It could be a LITTLE ripple
or a GIANT tsunami.
What you are actually seeing are
waves with different amplitudes.
They might have the exact
samefrequencyandwavelength,
but the amplitudesof the waves can
be very different.

AMPLITUDE
Theamplitudeof a wave is
measured as:
1. The height from the equilibrium
point to the highest point of
acrestor
2. The depth from the equilibrium
point to the lowest point of
atrough

AMPLITUDE
When you measure the amplitude
of a wave, you are really looking at
the energy of the wave.
It takes more energy to make a
bigger amplitude wave.
Anytime you need to remember
this, just think of a home stereos
amplifier it makes the amplitude
of the waves bigger by using more
electrical energy.

WAVELENGTH
Wavelengthis a property of a wave that
most people (once they know what to
look for) can spot quickly and easily, and
use it as a way of telling waves apart.
Any of the parts of the wave that are
pointing up like mountains are called
crests. Any part that is sloping down
like a valley is atrough.
Wavelengthis defined as the distance
from a particular height on the wave to
the next spot on the wave where it is at
the same height and going in the same
direction

How is the Energy Transported Related

to the Amplitude?
The amount of energy carried by a
wave is related to the amplitude of
the wave.
A high energy wave is
characterized by a high amplitude;
a low energy wave is
characterized by a low amplitude.
The amplitude of a wave refers to
the maximum amount of
displacement of a particle on the
medium from its rest position.

How is the Energy Transported Related

to the Amplitude?
The logic underlying the energy-amplitude
relationship is as follows:
If a slinky is stretched out in a horizontal
direction and a transverse pulse is introduced
into the slinky, the first coil is given an initial
amount of displacement. The displacement is
due to the force applied by the person upon the
coil to displace it a given amount from rest. The
more energy that the person puts into the
pulse, the more work that he/she will do upon
the first coil. The more work that is done upon
the first coil, the more displacement that is
given to it. The more displacement that is given
to the first coil, the more amplitude that it will
have.

How is the Energy Transported Related

to the Amplitude?
So in the end,
the amplitude of a transverse pulse
is related
to the energy which that
pulse transports through the medium.
Putting a lot of energy into a
transverse pulse will not effect the
wavelength, the frequency or the
speed of the pulse. The energy
imparted to a pulse will only affect the
amplitude of that pulse.

Energy-Amplitude Mathematical
Relationship
The energy transported by a wave is
directly proportional to the square of
the amplitude of the wave. This
energy-amplitude relationship is
sometimes expressed in the following
manner.

LARGER AMPLITUDE
=MORE SEVERE
=MORE ENERGY

Importance of Amplitude
The amplitude of a light's wave is
important because it tells you about
theintensity or brightnessof the light
relative to other light waves of the same
wavelength. It's a measure of how much
energy the wave carries.
So, if the light from Star A is brighter
than the same type of light from Star B,
you know that the light you see from
Star A has the larger amplitude. Its very
important to note that while amplitude
gives you information about the intensity
of the light, it is the wavelength, not the

Remember,
Wavelengthtells you thetype of light
And,
Amplitudetells you about theintensity
of the light