WHAT ARE WAVES?Wave is a disturbance that transfers energy.

Medium(plural media) is a substance through which a wave can travel. The particles of a medium do not travel with the wave.

Mechanical waves requires a medium to travel through.

Vibration is a repeated back-and-forth or up-and-down motion. This is the source of the wave.

Waves are classified according to how they travel through a medium.

What causes waves?Waves are generated when a source of energy forces the matter in a medium to vibrate.

The three types of waves are transverse waves, longitudinal waves, and surface waves.

TRANSVERSE WAVES

LONGITUDINAL WAVES

SURFACE WAVES

TRANSVERSE WAVES

Waves that move the medium perpendicular to the direction that the waves are traveling

Trough is the lowest part of a transverse wave.

Crest is the highest part of a transverse wave

LONGITUDINAL WAVES

Waves that move the medium parallel to the direction that the waves are traveling.

Compressions are particles of the medium that are close together in a longitudinal wave.

Rarefactions are particles of the medium that are far apart in a longitudinal wave.

SURFACE WAVES

Transverse and longitudinal waves can combine to form surface waves.

In a surface wave, up-and-down motion combines with back-and-forth motion. The combination produces circular motion.

These waves occur at the surface between two media, such as water and air.

CrestTrough Trough

Direction of wave

Anatomy of Waves

Wavelength

Amplitude