Table of Contents
- 1 What does a straight line in a transverse wave mean?
- 2 What is the point of a transverse wave called?
- 3 What is not a transverse wave?
- 4 What are the parts of the transverse wave?
- 5 How light is a transverse wave?
- 6 What is the wavelength of transverse waves?
- 7 What does the Yellow Line represent in a wave?
What does a straight line in a transverse wave mean?
Transverse waves can be represented by a curved line passing above and beneath a straight line. A transverse wave travels at a right angle to the direction of disturbance. The amplitude is the vertical distance from the straight line to the peak of a crest. One complete wave is called a cycle.
What is the straight line in a wave called?
A straight line that originates at some point is called a ray.
What is the point of a transverse wave called?
Key terms
| Term (symbol) | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Crest | Highest point on a transverse wave. Also called the peak. |
| Trough | Lowest point on a transverse wave. |
| Expansion | A point of maximum spacing between particles of a medium for longitudinal waves. |
| Compression | A point of minimum spacing between particles of a medium for longitudinal waves. |
What does a transverse wave carry?
A transverse wave is a moving wave that consists of oscillations occurring perpendicular (or right angled) to the direction of energy transfer. If a transverse wave is moving in the positive x-direction, its oscillations are in up and down directions that lie in the y–z plane. Light is an example of a transverse wave.
What is not a transverse wave?
Surface waves are neither longitudinal nor transverse.
What is the difference between transverse and longitudinal waves?
The direction of these oscillations is the difference between longitudinal or transverse waves. In longitudinal waves , the vibrations are parallel to the direction of wave travel. In transverse waves , the vibrations are at right angles to the direction of wave travel.
What are the parts of the transverse wave?
Crest – The highest part of a transverse wave. Trough – The lowest part of a transverse wave. Wavelength – The distance between one crest and the next in a transverse wave. Amplitude – The height from the resting position to the crest of the transverse wave.
Which letters represent the trough of the wave?
The crest of a wave is the point on the medium that exhibits the maximum amount of positive or upward displacement from the rest position. Points C and J on the diagram represent the troughs of this wave.
How light is a transverse wave?
Light is a transverse wave because its components vibrate perpendicular to the direction of propagation. A transverse wave is a wave that oscillates perpendicular to its direction of propagation.
Why is light a transverse wave?
Light is a wave in which an electric field propagates in vacuum or inside a medium. All electromagnetic waves, including light, are transverse waves because they vibrates energy in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the wave is travelling.
What is the wavelength of transverse waves?
Transverse waves can be represented by a curved line passing above and beneath a straight line. A transverse wave travels at a right angle to the direction of disturbance. The wavelength is the distance from crest to crest or from trough to trough. The amplitude is the vertical distance from the straight line to the peak of a crest.
How can a transverse wave be created in a rope?
A transverse wave can be created in a rope if the rope is stretched out horizontally and the end is vibrated back-and-forth in a vertical direction. If a snapshot of such a transverse wave could be taken so as to freeze the shape of the rope in time, then it would look like the following diagram.
What does the Yellow Line represent in a wave?
Parts of a Wave. The yellow line represents the position of the medium as a wave travels through it. We simply say that the yellow line is the wave. If we consider the rope mentioned before, this wave could be created by vertically shaking the end of the rope.
Do longitudinal waves travel in the same direction?
A longitudinal wave travels in the same direction as the disturbance that caused it. Longitudinal waves move through a medium from the point of the disturbance in the form of compressions (where particles of the medium are bunched together) followed by rarefactions (where particles of the medium are farther apart).