Waves What is a wave? A disturbance that travels through

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Waves
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What is a wave?

• A disturbance that travels through a medium from
  one location to another location
• A medium is a substance or material which carries
  the wave

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Longitudinal

• Vibrates parallel to (in the same direction of)
  wave travel
• sound waves
• the other end of the medium without the actual
  movement of matter

Animation courtesy of Dr. Dan Russell, Kettering
University
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Animation courtesy of Dr. Dan Russell, Kettering
University
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Longitudinal

• Use your Slinky to demonstrate a longitudinal
  wave
• Work with a partner
• Stretch it out along the table
• One of you grasp and draw several coils of a
  stretched Slinky toward yourself
• Release the coils
• The other student must hold his or her end of the
  Slinky still
• A longitudinal wave pulse will be generated and
  travel down the length of the Slinky.

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Longitudinal

• Are composed of
• Compressions, where the parts of the medium
  (coils of the Slinky) are closer together than
  normal
• In this investigation, you created (generated)
  compressional longitudinal waves
• The waves traveled through a media (the slinky)

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Longitudinal

• Use your Slinky to demonstrate a longitudinal
  wave
• Work with a partner
• Stretch it out along the table
• One of you stretch a segment of the Slinky
• Release the coils
• The other student must hold his or her end of the
  Slinky still
• A longitudinal wave pulse will be generated and
  travel down the length of the Slinky.

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Longitudinal

• Are composed of
• Rarefactions, where the parts of the medium are
  farther apart than normal
• In this demonstration, you created (generated)
  rarefactional longitudinal waves
• The waves traveled through a media (the slinky)

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Transverse

• Vibrates perpendicular (at right angles) to the
  wave travel
• Electromagnetic waves

Animation courtesy of Dr. Dan Russell, Kettering
University
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Transverse

• Use your Slinky to demonstrate a transverse wave
• Work with a partner
• One of you move your end of the Slinky back and
  forth (left and right, like a snake crawling),
  perpendicular to its stretched length.
• The other student must hold his or her end of the
  Slinky still
• A series of transverse waves will be generated
  and will travel through a medium (Slinky)

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Water Waves

• A combination of longitudinal transverse

Animation courtesy of Dr. Dan Russell, Kettering
University
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Electromagnetic Waves

• Wave which is capable of transmitting its energy
  through a vacuum (i.e., empty space)
• Produced by the vibration of electrons within
  atoms on the Sun's surface
• Travel through space until they reach Earth These
  waves subsequently travel through the vacuum of
  outer space, subsequently reaching Earth

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Mechanical Waves

• Are not capable of transmitting its energy
  through a vacuum (space)
• Require a medium in order to transport their
  energy from one location to another

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Mechanical Waves

• Waves traveling through a solid medium can be
  either transverse waves or longitudinal waves
• Waves traveling through a fluid (such as a liquid
  or a gas) are always longitudinal waves