The Nature and

Properties of Waves
Section 11.1 & 11.2
 What’s in a Wave?
 Wave – a rhythmic disturbance that
transfers energy through matter or space

 Carriesenergy without transporting matter

from place to place
 Mechanical Waves
 medium – solid, liquid, or gas that a wave
travels through
 Two types of mechanical waves:
 Transverse

 Compressional/

Longitudinal
 Transverse Waves
 Transverse waves – matter moves in the
medium back and forth at right angles to
the direction that the wave is traveling
 Light waves & water waves
 Compressional Waves
 Compressional waves – matter in the
medium moves back and forth in the same
direction that the wave travels
 Sound waves
 Seismic Waves

 Seismicwaves – combination of
transverse and compressional waves
which carry energy along and through
Earth
 The Parts of a Wave
 Crest– the highest points of a wave
 Trough – the lowest points of a wave
 Compression – place in compressional
wave where the particles are pushed
together
 Rarefaction – place in compressional
wave where the particles are spread apart
 Wavelength
 Wavelength – the distance between one
point on a wave and the nearest point just
like it
 Frequency and Period

 Frequency – the number of waves that pass a

given point each second
 Measured in Hertz = 1/sec

 Period: The amount of time it takes one

wavelength to pass a point
 Period and frequency relationship
T = period
 f = frequency

Period Frequency
T= 1/f f = 1/T

One hertz is equal to one peak (or cycle) per

second. 1/sec
Frequency and Wavelength
 Frequency and
wavelength are
inversely related
 Long wavelength

= Low frequency
 Short wavelength

= High Frequency
 Wave Speed
 Thespeed of a wave depends on the
properties of the medium it is traveling
through
 In general sound waves travel the fastest
through solids then liquids then gases
 Light waves travel the fastest in empty space
and slowest through solids
 Sound waves travel faster through warmer
mediums
 Calculating Wave Speed
 Speed = wavelength x frequency
V = λ x f
 V = velocity (m/s)
 λ = wavelength (m)
 f = frequency (Hz; 1/sec)
 Example #1
 Whatis the speed of a wave with a
wavelength of 2m and a frequency of
3 Hz?
V=λxf
V = (2)(3)
V = 6 m/s
 Example #2
 A wave is traveling at a speed of 12 m/s
and its wavelength is 3m. Calculate the
wave’s frequency.
V=λxf
12 = (3)(f)
12 = f
3
4 Hz = f
 Do these on your own 
 A tuningfork has a frequency of 280 Hertz
and the wavelength of the sound produced
is 1.5 meters. Calculate the velocity of the
wave.

 A wave is moving toward shore with a

velocity of 5.0 m/s. If its frequency is 2.5
hertz, what is its wavelength?
 Amplitude and Energy
 Amplitude – the energy carried by a wave or
how high the wave is; related to the amount of
energy
 For compressional waves it’s the amount of
compression in the wave
 Example: The higher the wave, the more energy
(THINK on ocean waves)
 For transverse waves it’s the height
of the wave
 1. Two waves on identical strings have
frequencies in a ratio of 2 to 1. If their
wave speeds are the same, then how do
their wavelengths compare?
 a. 2:1
 b. 1:2
 c. 4:1
 d. 1:4
 Answer: B
 Frequency and wavelength are inversely
proportional to each other. The wave with
the greatest frequency has the shortest
wavelength. Twice the frequency means
one-half the wavelength. For this reason,
the wavelength ratio is the inverse of the
frequency ratio.
 2. Mac and Tosh stand 8 meters apart and
demonstrate the motion of a transverse
wave on a snakey. The wave e can be
described as having a vertical distance of
32 cm from a trough to a crest, a
frequency of 2.4 Hz, and a horizontal
distance of 48 cm from a crest to the
nearest trough. Determine the amplitude,
period, and wavelength and speed of such
a wave.
 Amplitude = 16 cm
 (Amplitude is the distance from the rest position to the
crest position which is half the vertical distance from a
trough to a crest.)
 Wavelength = 96 cm
 (Wavelength is the distance from crest to crest, which is
twice the horizontal distance from crest to nearest
trough.)
 Period = 0.42 s
 (The period is the reciprocal of the frequency. T = 1 / f)
 Speed = 230 cm/s
 (The speed of a wave is calculated as the product of the
frequency times the wavelength.)
 3. Dawn and Aram have stretched a slinky
between them and begin experimenting with
waves. As the frequency of the waves is
doubled,

 a. the wavelength is halved and the speed

remains constant
 b. the wavelength remains constant and the
speed is doubled
 c. both the wavelength and the speed are
halved.
 d. both the wavelength and the speed remain
constant.