ATSC 113 Final Study Guide with
Complete Solutions
Three main factors affecting wave formation: - Answer✔✔-Wind velocity, fetch, duration.
Wind velocity: - Answer✔✔-Speed of the wind.
Fetch: - Answer✔✔-Distance over water wind can blow uninterrupted.
Duration: - Answer✔✔-Amount of time wind blows over water.
If wind speed is slow, waves will always be _________, regardless of fetch or duration. -
Answer✔✔-Slow
Drag: - Answer✔✔-Frictional force acting against relative motion of one fluid with respect to
another fluid.
Describe drag between ocean and air. - Answer✔✔-Texture of the ocean surface can alter the
way wind moves over water, and the drag produced.
Crest: - Answer✔✔-Highest point of wave.
Trough: - Answer✔✔-Lowest point of wave.
Wavelength: - Answer✔✔-Distance from one crest/trough to the next.
Wave height. - Answer✔✔-Distance from crest to trough, or vice versa.
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Wave steepness: - Answer✔✔-Ratio of wave height to wavelength.
Amplitude: - Answer✔✔-Distance from centre of wave to crest/trough.
Wave period: - Answer✔✔-Distance for one wavelength to pass a certain point.
Confused sea: - Answer✔✔-Area of large and small waves of different wavelengths moving in all
directions, caused by waves mixing with pre-existing ones.
Wave train: - Answer✔✔-Group of waves travelling in same direction.
Faster waves have: - Answer✔✔-Longer wavelength, shorter wave period.
Waves in a group are dynamic. Describe how they travel. - Answer✔✔-Smaller waves in
lead/end, larger waves in middle.
Group velocity: - Answer✔✔-Speed at which a group of waves travels across water.
Phase velocity: - Answer✔✔-Apparent speed of each wave in the group. (Typically double group
velocity. )
Capillary waves: - Answer✔✔-Waves created by small amounts of water being displaced by
small winds. Capillarity (surface tension) is the restoring force.
Gravity waves: - Answer✔✔-Waves created by larger winds. Gravity is the restoring force, hence
the name.
Which is bigger, capillary or gravity waves? - Answer✔✔-Gravity waves are bigger.
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