CPO Science

Foundations of Physics

Unit 5, Chapter 14
 Unit 5: Waves and Sound
Chapter 14 Waves

 14.1 Waves and Wave Pulses

 14.2 Motion and Interaction of Waves

 14.3 Natural Frequency and Resonance

 Chapter 14 Objectives
1. Recognize a wave in nature or technology.
2. Measure or calculate the wavelength, frequency, amplitude, and
speed of a wave.
3. Give examples of transverse and longitudinal waves.
4. Sketch and describe how to create plane waves and circular waves.
5. Give at least one example of reflection, refraction, absorption,
interference, and diffraction.
6. Describe how boundaries create resonance in waves.
7. Describe the relationship between the natural frequency,
fundamental mode, and harmonics.
 Chapter 14 Vocabulary Terms
 wave  continuous  resonance
 propagation  fixed boundary  mode
 amplitude  open boundary  node
 frequency  reflection  constructive
 wavelength  refraction interference
 hertz (Hz)  absorption  fundamental
 wave pulse  boundary condition  harmonic
 transverse wave   boundary
incident wave
 longitudinal wave  interference
 reflected wave
 oscillation  destructive
 refracted wave
 crest interference
 standing wave
 trough  diffraction

 superposition 
wave front absorption
 circular wave principle  antinode
 plane wave  natural frequency
 14.1 Waves and Wave Pulses

Key Question:
What is the speed of a
wave?

*Students read Section 14.1

AFTER Investigation 14.1
 14.1 Waves
 A wave is an oscillation that
travels.

 A ball floating on water can

oscillate up and down in harmonic
motion.

 The surface of the water oscillates

in response and the oscillation
spreads outward from where it
started.
 14.1 Why learn about waves?

 Waves carry useful

information and energy.

 Waves are all around us:

— light from the stoplight
— ripples in a puddle of
— electricity flowing in wires
— radio and television and cell
phone transmissions
 14.1 Recognize waves
 Anytime you see a vibration that moves...
 Anything that makes or responds to sound...
 Anything that makes or responds to light ...
 Anything that transmits information through the air (or
space) without wires...
— cell phones, radio, and television.
 Anything that allows you to “see through” objects...
— ultrasound, CAT scans, MRI scans, and X rays
 14.1 Characteristics of waves
 Waves have cycles, frequency, and amplitude, just like
oscillations.
The amplitude of a wave is the
maximum movement from
The frequency of a wave tells how equilibrium.
often each point oscillates.

The wavelength of a wave is the

length of one complete cycle.
 14.1 Wave pulses

A wave pulse is a short length of wave, often just a single

oscillation.
14.1 Relationship between speed, frequency,
and wavelength
 The speed of a wave equals the frequency times the
wavelength.

Frequency (cycles/sec)

Speed (m/sec) v=f

Wavelength (m)
14.1 Calculate wave speed
 A student does an experiment with waves in
water.
 The student measures the wavelength of a
wave to be 5 centimeters.
 By using a stopwatch and observing the
oscillations of a floating ball, the student
measures a frequency of 4 Hz.
 If the student starts a wave in one part of a
tank of water, how long will it take the wave
to reach the opposite side of the tank 2
meters away?
14.1 Transverse and longitudinal waves
 A transverse wave has its oscillations perpendicular to
the direction the wave moves.

 A longitudinal wave has oscillations in the same

direction as the wave moves.
 14.2 Motion and Interaction of Waves

Key Question:

How do waves move and

interact with things?

*Students read Section 14.2

AFTER Investigation 14.2
 14.2 Waves in Motion
 Waves have crests and troughs.

 The crest of a wave is sometimes called a

wave front.

 The shape of a wave is determined by its

wave front.
 14.2 Propagation of waves

The word propagation means “to spread out and

grow.”
 14.2 Propagation of waves
 Water waves propagate along surfaces that
are continuous.

 A water wave can not spread across a

discontinuous surface.
 14.2 Waves and boundaries
 A boundary is a place where conditions change.

 What a wave does at a boundary depends on the

boundary conditions.

 Waves can interact with boundaries in four

different ways...
 14.2 Waves and boundaries
 The wave approaching a
boundary is called the incident
wave.

 The wave sent from a boundary

is the reflected wave.

 A wave that is bent passing This incident plane wave

refracts a circular wave
through a boundary is called a after passing through a
convex barrier.
refracted wave.
 14.2 Waves and boundaries
 Boundaries that are not
straight can be used to change
the shape of the wave fronts
and therefore change the
direction of a wave.

 A sharp boundary creates

strong reflections.

 A soft boundary absorbs wave

energy and produces little
reflection.
 14.3 Natural Frequency and Resonance

Key Question:
How do we make and control waves?

*Students read Section 14.3 AFTER Investigation 14.3

 14.2 Superposition principle
 It is common for there to be many waves in the same system
at the same time.
 When more than one wave is present, the total oscillation of
any point is the sum of the oscillations from each individual
wave.

 The sound waves and light waves you experience are the
superposition of thousands of waves with different
frequencies and amplitudes.

 Your eyes, ears, and brain separate the waves in order to

recognize individual sounds and colors.
 14.2 Interference
 If two waves add up to create a larger amplitude,
constructive interference has occurred.
 In destructive interference, waves add up to make a smaller
amplitude.
14.3 Natural Frequency and Resonance
 Waves can show natural frequency and
resonance, just like oscillators.

 The natural frequency of a wave depends on

the wave and also on the system that contains
the wave.
 Resonance in waves is caused by reflections
from the boundaries of a system.
 14.3 Standing waves
 A wave that is confined
between boundaries is
called a standing wave.
 With all waves,
resonance and natural
frequency are
dependent on
reflections from
boundaries of the
system containing the
wave.
 14.3 Standing Waves and Harmonics
 The standing wave with the
longest wavelength is called the
fundamental.
 The fundamental has the lowest
frequency in a series of standing
waves called harmonics.
 The first three standing wave
patterns of a vibrating string
shows that patterns occur at
multiples of the fundamental
frequency.
 14.3 Energy and Waves
 All waves propagate by
exchanging energy between two
forms.
 For water and elastic strings, the
exchange is between potential and
kinetic energy.
 For sound waves, the energy
oscillates between pressure and
kinetic energy.
 In light waves, energy oscillates
between electric and magnetic
fields.
 14.3 Describing Waves
 Standing waves have nodes and antinodes.
 A node is a point where the string stays at its equilibrium
position.
 An antinode is a point where the wave is as far as it gets from
equilibrium.
 14.3 Describing Waves
 A mode is a category of
types of wave behavior.
 One mode of the vibrating
string is a rotating wave and
the other mode is a
transverse wave.
 Because a vertical vibrating
string moves in circles, the
wave looks the same from
the front and from the side.
14.3 Standing waves in 2 and 3 dimensions

 Most vibrating objects have

more complex shapes than a
string.

 Complex shapes create more

ways an object can vibrate.

 Two- and three-dimensional

objects tend to have two or
three families of modes.
Application: Microwave Ovens