2. A wave is a vibratory disturbance
through a material (medium) or
space.
Waves transfer energy without
transferring mass.

3. No medium required.
Travel at the speed of light .
c = 3 x 108 m/s
Examples: visible light, x-rays, infrared rays

4. MECHANICHAL WAVES
Require a medium ex. Sound, water, waves in
springs.
• Longitudinal waves
Examples - sound, seismic s-waves
• Transverse waves
Examples: light, seismic p-waves, water

5. TRANSVERSE WAVES
 Waves that move the medium at right angles
to the direction in which the waves are
traveling .

6. CREST AND TROUGH
Crest: A point on the wave where the displacement of
the medium is at maximum.
Trough: A point on the wave where the displacement
of the medium is minimum.

7. LONGITUDINAL WAVES
 Longitudinal waves have vibrations moving in
the same direction that the wave is travelling
in.

8. COMPRESSSION AND
RAREFRACTION
Compression: A region in a longitudinal waves
where the particles are closest together.
Rarefraction: A region in a longitudinal wave where
particles are farthest apart.

9. PROPERTIES OF WAVES
 Amplitude
 Frequency
 Speed
 wavelength

10. AMPLITUDE
 Maximum distance the particles of the
medium carrying the wave move away from
their rest positions.
 Amplitude of a transverse wave is the
maximum distance the medium moves up or
down from its rest position.
 Amplitude of a longitudinal wave is a
measure of how compressed or rarefied the
medium becomes.

11. WAVELENGTH
 A wave travels a certain distance before it
starts to repeat. The distance between two
corresponding parts of a wave is its
wavelength.
 Transverse measure from crest to crest or
trough to trough.
 Longitudinal measure from one compression
to the next.

13. The number of complete waves that pass a given
point in a certain amount of time.
Frequency measured in hertz

14. SPEED, WAVE LENGTH &
FREQUENCY
 The speed, wavelength, and frequency of a
wave are related to each other by a
mathematical formula.
 Speed = wavelength x frequency
 Frequency = speed/wavelength
 Wavelength = speed/frequency