MYP IB Physics Topic 3 Waves and Oscillations

Waves and Oscillations

Waves Characteristics
● A wave is a model of any disturbance that propagates through a medium, transferring energy
without the transfer of matter




● Longitudinal wave: particle motion parallel to the direction of energy transfer
● Transverse waves: particle motion is perpendicular to direction of energy transfer

WAVE SPEED = FREQUENCY X WAVELENGTH
T = 1 / f (time period = 1 / frequency)

Sound Waves
● Sound waves are a type of longitudinal wave, it starts off with the a vibration and ultimately
the particles get squished together (compression) and then the particles spread out
(refraction)
● Compression = high pressure
● Refraction = low pressure
● Waves travel in all directions
● The higher the density of the environment the wave will pass through, the faster the sound
will be.
● Sound cannot travel in space because there is no air for the vibrations to travel through.
Space is a vacuum
● Amplitude determines the energy of a wave: higher the amplitude = louder the sound.
● The higher the frequency the higher the pitch
● Ultra sounds are sounds too high for humans to perceive

Light Waves