4. Waves

1. What are waves?

Waves are disturbances that transport energy from one location to another, without transportation of matter.

Play with wave!

2. What are mechanical waves?
Are the waves which require a medium to propagate from one point to another.

3. Why can waves propagate?
Because of the interactive forces between particles of a medium.

4. In the 'spring model', what do the springs represent?

Springs represent the interaction forces between the particles of the medium.

5. Can you specify two different types of mechanical waves?

Longitudinal Waves

Transverse Waves

6. Can you define both kinds of waves?

Longitudinal Waves: This kind of waves make the particles of the medium vibrate parallel to the direction of wave motion. Look here an example of longitudinal waves

Transverse Waves: They make the particles of the medium vibrate perpendicular to the direction of wave motion. Look here an example of transverse waves

7. What is 'inertia'?

Inertia is the tendency of objects to resist the change in motion when they are pushed or pulled, look an example of inertia.

8. What kind of particles tend to have more inertia?

Particles which have more inertia are those with more mass.

9. In longitudinal waves, are the particles of the medium carried along by the propagating waves?

The particles of the medium aren’t carried along by the propagating waves because each particle moves left and right in succession as the waves propagate.

10. In longitudinal waves, why don't the particles of the medium move at the same time?

Because the inertia makes particles move in succession and not at the same time.