3. Key terms
• Displacement: how far the
wave is disturbed from its rest
position
• Oscillation: a complete to and
fro movement; this could be
going up and down or
sideways
4. What is a wave?
A wave is a
disturbance
moving through a
material
5. What causes a wave?
• The source of a wave
is always something
that vibrates
• The material that the
wave travels through
is called the medium
6.
7.
8.
9.
10. Amplitude, A
• The maximum distance that each point in the
medium moves from its normal position as
the wave passes
• Measured in metres, m
11. Frequency, f
• This is the number of waves that pass any
point in the medium every second, so it is the
same as the number of vibrations per second
• Frequency is measured in per seconds or
hertz, 1/s, s-1 or Hz
12. Wave speed, v
• This is the speed at which each wave crest
moves through the medium.
• Measured in metres per second, m/s or ms-1
13. Wavelength, λ
• This is the length of a complete wave
measured from any point to the next identical
point – the distance is always the same no
matter which point you choose
• It is measured in metres, m
14. Wavelength, λ
• This is the length of a complete wave
measured from any point to the next identical
point – the distance is always the same no
matter which point you choose
• It is measured in metres, m
15. fv
Where:
v = speed of wave / m/s
f = frequency of wave / Hz (1/s)
λ = wavelength of wave / m
16. How can we prove this?
1
1
330
330
msf
msv
fv
What would happen if we increased the wavelength of a wave?
What would happen if we decreased the wavelength of a wave?
17.
18.
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20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26. Assessment activity 2.6
• Discuss how you could model the movement
of a wave (P3)
• Construct your model or role play it to
another group
• REMEMBER: the longer the wavelength, the
smaller the frequency. When calculating
speed, make sure you change the prefixes
