WAVES

WHAT ARE WAVES?

• Wave – a travelling disturbance consisting of
coordinated vibrations that transmit energy with no
net movement of matter.
• Though many and diverse, they share some basic
features.
• All waves involves:
• Vibration or oscillation of matter
• It move and carry energy yet do not have mass
• Medium – the substance through which wave travels
• Sound
• Water ripples
• Waves on rope
 WHAT ARE WAVES?
• Other waves do not require a medium for their
propagation (Electromagnetic waves)
• Light
• Radiowaves
• Microwaves
• X-rays
• Waves occurs in great variety of substances
• Gases (sound)
• Liquids (water ripples)
• Solid (seismic waves through rock)
 WHAT ARE WAVES?

• A wave can be:

• Short and fleeting (wave pulse)
• Sound of bursting balloon
• tsunami
• Steady and repeating (continuous
wave)
• Sound from a tuning fork
• Light from the sun
 MECHANICAL WAVES

•Mechanical Waves are waves which

propagate through a material medium
(solid, liquid, or gas) at a wave speed
which depends on the elastic and inertial
properties of that medium.
•There are two basic types of wave
motion for mechanical waves: 
• Longitudinal waves
• Transverse waves
 LONGITUDINAL WAVE

• A wave in which the oscillations

are along the direction of the
wave.
 TRANSVERSE WAVE

• A wave in which the oscillations are

perpendicular (transverse) to the
direction the wave.
 ANATOMY OF A WAVE
• Crest: highest point on a wave
• Trough: lowest point on a wave
• Node: midway point between crest
and trough
• Wavelength: distance between crest
(λ in meters)
• Amplitude: height of a wave (A) –
shows how much energy a wave
carries
• Frequency: how many waves hit a
certain point every second (Hz =
Hertz = waves per second)
• Cycle – any segment of a wave that is
one wavelength long.
 SPEED OF A WAVE

• This is the rate of movement of the

disturbance
• The speed is determined by the
properties of the medium.
• Ex. In a Slinky, the mass of each coil
and the force acting on it will
determine how quickly it -- and
therefore the wave – moves.
 WAVE SPEED IN SOLID

v = √F/p
Where:
v = wave speed
F = force
p = (rho)
linear mass density (mass divided by its length
(m/l)
 SAMPLE PROBLEM

A student stretches a Slinky out on

the floor to a length of 2 meters.
The force needed to keep the
Slinky stretched is measured and is
found to be 1.2 Newton. The
slinky’s mass is 0.3 kilograms.
What is the speed of any wave sent
down the Slinky by the student?
 SPEED OF WAVE IN AIR

•The speed of sound in air or any

other gas depends on the ratio of the
pressure of the gas to the density of
the gas. But for each gas, this ratio
depends only on the temperature.
•In particular, the speed of sound in a
gas is proportional to the square
root of the kelvin temperature.
 WAVE SPEED IN AIR

v = 20.1√T
Where:
v = wave speed
T = temperature in kelvin
 SAMPLE PROBLEM

What is the speed of

sound in air at room
temperature? (20ºC)
 WAVE SPEED IN OTHER
GASES
• The numerical factor (20.1) in the second problem is
determined by the properties of the molecules that
comprise air and therefore applies to air only.
• The speed of sound in any other gas will be different,
and the corresponding equation for v will have a
different numerical factor.
Ex
• Speed of sound in helium
V = 58.8 x 20.1 x √T
• Speed of sound in carbon dioxide
V = 15.7 x 20.1 x √T
 WAVE SPEED, WAVELENGTH,
AND FREQUENCY

v=fλ
Where:
v = wave speed
f = frequency
λ = wavelength
 SAMPLE PROBLEM

Before a concert, musicians in an

orchestra tune their instruments to
note A, which has a frequency of
440 hertz. What is the wavelength
of this sound in air at room
temperature? The speed of sound
at this temperature is 344 m/s.
QUIZ NO. 1
 GIVE WHAT IS BEING ASKED IN THE
FOLLOWING ITEMS.
1. This is a traveling disturbance that
transmits energy.
2. The substance through which wave
travels is called_____.
3. A wave in which the oscillations are
along the direction of the wave is
known as_____.
4. The highest peak of a wave is _____.
 GIVE WHAT IS BEING ASKED IN THE
FOLLOWING ITEMS.
5. The distance between two adjacent
wave is called_____.
6. The number of cycles of a wave per
second is known as_____.
7. T or F. Mechanical wave can travel to
vacuum or space.
8. A wave in which the oscillations are
perpendicular to the direction the wave.
 GIVE WHAT IS BEING ASKED IN THE
FOLLOWING ITEMS.
9. T or F. Wave travels faster in liquid
than in gas.
10. T or F. The speed of wave in gas is
dependent on the temperature of the
medium.
 QUIZ

1. Two children stretch a jump rope between

them and send wave impulses back and forth
on it. The rope is 3 m long, its mass is 0.5 kg,
and the force exerted on it by the children is
40 N.
a) What is the linear mass density of the rope?
b) What is the speed of the waves on the rope?
 QUIZ
2. The force stretching the D string on a certain
guitar is 150 N. the string’s linear mass density is
0.005 kg/m. What is the speed of the waves on the
string?
3.What is the speed of sound in air at the normal
boiling temperature of water?
4. A 4 hertz continuous wave travels on a slinky. If
the wavelength is 0.5 m, what is the speed of the
waves on the slinky?
5. A wave travelling 80 m/s has a wavelength of
3.2 m. what is the frequency of the wave?