Waves are disturbances that transfer energy through matter and space. There are two types of mechanical waves: transverse waves, which cause particles to move perpendicular to the wave's direction of travel, and compressional (longitudinal) waves, which cause particles to move parallel to the direction of travel. Sound waves are an example of compressional waves that transfer energy through air by alternating compressions and rarefactions of the air particles.

2. Chapter: Waves, Sound, and Light
Table of Contents
Section 3: Light
Section 1: Waves
Section 2: Sound Waves

3. • Different types of waves carry signals to
televisions and radios.
• Sound and light waves move all around you
and enable you to hear and see.
What are waves?
Waves
1

4. • Waves are even responsible for the damage
caused by earthquakes.
What are waves?
Waves
1

5. • A wave is a disturbance that moves through
matter or space.
• Waves carry energy from one place to
another.
• In water waves, the energy is transferred by
water molecules.
Waves Carry Energy, not Matter
Waves
1
• When waves travel through solids, liquids,
and gases, matter is not carried along with
the waves.

6. • Waves usually are produced by something moving back and
forth, or vibrating.
2 Types of Waves
Waves
1
• It is the energy of the vibrating object that waves carry
outward.
• Some waves, known as mechanical waves, can travel only
through matter. (ex: water waves, earthquake/seismic
waves, sound waves, and the waves that travel down a rope
or spring)
• Waves called electromagnetic waves can travel either
through matter or through empty space.

7. • A transverse wave causes particles in matter to
move back and forth at right angles to the direction
in which the wave travels.
There are 2 types of mechanical waves:
Transverse Waves & (longitudinal) compressional waves
Waves
1
• High points in the
wave are called crests.
Low points are called
troughs.
• The series of crests and
troughs forms a
transverse wave.

8. • Another type of mechanical wave is a
compressional wave.
Compressional Waves
Waves
1
• A compressional wave causes particles in
matter to move back and forth along the
same direction in which the wave travels.

9. • The places
where the coils
are squeezed
together are
called
compressions
Compressional Waves
Waves
1
• The places where the coils are spread
apart are called rarefactions. The series
of compressions and rarefactions forms a
compressional wave.

10. • Seismic waves move through the ground
during an earthquake.
Compressional Waves
Waves
1
• Some of these waves are compressional,
and others are transverse.
• The seismic
waves that cause
most damage to
buildings are a
kind of rolling
(transverse)waves.

11. • Electromagnetic waves are waves that can travel
through matter or empty space where matter is not
present. (Light, radio waves, microwaves, infrared
rays, and X rays are examples of electromagnetic
waves.)
Electromagnetic Waves
Waves
1
• Electromagnetic waves are transverse waves.
• They contain electric and magnetic parts that
vibrate up and down perpendicular to the
direction the wave travels.

13. Review
• A ___________ wave is a shaped wave is
a shaped wave known for crests and
troughs. A transverse wave can be a
___________ wave which travels through
matter ONLY or an _____________ wave
which can travel through matter OR empty
space (a vacuum).

14. • The properties that waves have depend on
the vibrations that produce the waves.
Properties of Waves (don’t copy this page)
Waves
1
• For example, if you move a pencil slowly
up and down in a bowl of water, the waves
produced by the pencil’s motion will be
small and spread apart.

15. • The distance between one point on a wave
and the nearest point moving with the same
speed and direction is the wavelength.
Wavelength
Waves
1
• The wavelength
of a transverse
wave is the
distance between
two adjacent
crests or two
adjacent troughs.

16. • The wavelength of a compressional wave
is the distance between two adjacent
compressions or rarefactions.
Wavelength
Waves
1

17. • The frequency of a wave is the number
of wavelengths that pass by a point each
second (or certain amount of time).
Frequency
Waves
1
If you were watching a transverse wave on a rope, the frequency
of the wave would be the number of crests or troughs that pass you
each second.
-The closer the waves are together, the
greater the energy carried by the waves.

19. • The amplitude (largeness or height) of a wave is a
measure of the distance between a line through the
middle of a wave and a crest or trough.
Amplitude of a Transverse Wave
Waves
1
• As the distance between crests and troughs
increases, the amplitude (largeness or height) of a
transverse wave increases.

20. • The greater the force that produces a
wave, the greater the amplitude of the
wave and the greater the energy carried
by the wave.
• In a transverse wave, the higher the wave,
the higher the amplitude.
• Sounds with greater amplitude will be
louder. Light with greater amplitude will be
brighter.

21. • The amplitude of a
compressional wave
depends on the density
of material in
compressions and
rarefactions.
• The closer the
compressions, the
larger the amplitude.
• The farther apart the
compressions, the
smaller the amplitude.
Amplitude of a
Compressional Wave
Waves
1

22. • The vibrations that produce a wave transfer
energy to the wave.
Amplitude and Energy
Waves
1
• The more energy a wave carries, the larger
its amplitude.
• Seismic waves are produced by vibrations in
Earth’s crust that cause earthquakes.
• The more energy these waves have, the larger
their amplitudes and the more damage they
cause as they travel along Earth’s surface.

23. • The speed of a wave (how fast is travels)
depends on the medium in which the wave
travels.
Wave Speed
Waves
1
• You can calculate the speed of a wave if you
know its wavelength and frequency using
this equation.

24. • In this equation, v is the symbol for wave
speed and f is the symbol for frequency.
Wave Speed
Waves
1
• The SI unit for frequency is the hertz,
abbreviated Hz. One hertz equals one
vibration per second, or one wavelength
passing a point in one second.
• The wavelength is represented by the Greek
letter lambda, λ, and is measured in meters.

25. • Waves don’t always travel in a straight line.
Waves Can Change Direction
Waves
1
• Waves can change direction when they
travel from one material to another.
• The waves can reflect (bounce off a surface),
refract (change direction), or diffract (bend
around an obstacle).

26. • A line that makes an angle of 90 degrees
with a surface is called the normal to the
surface.
The Law of Reflection
Waves
1
• According to law of reflection, the angle
that the incoming wave makes with the
normal equals the angle that the outgoing
wave makes with the normal.

27. Reflection
• Reflection is the bouncing back of a wave
when it meets a surface or boundary that
does not absorb the entire wave’s energy.
All waves can be reflected.
• Examples: light reflected off a mirror,
echoes (voice, bats, dolphins)

28. • When a light wave
moves from air to
water, it slows
down.
Refraction
Waves
1
• This change in
speed causes the
light wave to bend.
• Refraction is the bending of waves caused
by a change in their speed as they pass
from one medium to another.

29. Refraction
• As waves pass at an angle from one
medium to another, they may speed up
or slow down.
• The greater the change in speed of the
waves, the more the waves will bend.
• Refraction of light going from air
through a convex lens, for example,
can make images appear larger as the
light waves bend.

30. • Waves can change direction by diffraction,
which is the bending of waves around an
object.
Refraction
Waves
1
• Prisms or diffraction gratings separate
white light into its different components or
color by bending the light at different
angles depending on the frequencies of the
light passing through the prism or
diffraction grating. Different colors of
light have different frequencies.

31. • The wavelengths of sound waves are
similar to the size of objects around you,
but the wavelengths of light waves are
much shorter.
Diffraction of Sound and Light
Waves
1
• As a result, you can hear people talking
in a room with an open door even though
you can’t see them.

32. Transmission
• Transmission of waves occurs when
waves pass through a given point or
medium (matter).
• Example: Light waves are transmitted
through transparent materials that
allow most light that strikes them to
pass through.

33. Transmission
• Only a small amount of light is
absorbed when waves are transmitted.
Most of the wave passes through the
medium (matter).

34. Transmission
• Opaque materials allow no light waves
to be transmitted through them.
• Translucent materials transmit some
light, but cause it to be scattered so no
clear image is seen.

35. Absorption
• Absorption of certain frequencies of light
occurs when the energy is not transferred
through, or reflected by the given medium.
• Objects or substances that absorb any
wavelength of electromagnetic radiation
become warmer and convert the
absorbed energy to infrared radiation.

36. 1
Section Check
Question 1
Waves carry _______, not _______.
Waves carry energy, not matter. Think of what
happens when you shake one end of a rope; a
wave travels along the rope, but the rope itself
doesn’t move forward.
Answer

37. 1
Section Check
Question 1
What is shown at point B in this illustration?

38. 1
Section Check
A. crest
B. direction rope moves
C. direction wave moves
D. trough

39. 1
Section Check
Answer
The answer is D. Low points on a wave are
called troughs.

40. 1
Section Check
Question 3
The number of wavelengths that pass by each
second is the wave’s _______.
A. diffraction
B. frequency
C. rarefaction
D. wavelength

41. 1
Section Check
Answer
The answer is B. If you were watching a
transverse wave on a rope, the frequency of the
wave would be the number of crests or troughs
that pass you each second.

42. Making Sound Waves
• Vibrations transfer
energy to nearby air
particles, producing
sound waves in air.
Sound Waves
2
• Every sound you
hear is caused by
something vibrating.
For example, when you talk, tissues in your
throat vibrate in different ways to form sounds.

43. Sound Waves are
Compressional Waves
• Sound waves produced by a vibrating object
are compressional waves.
• A vibrating drum head
produces a sound wave.
Sound Waves
2
• The drum head produces
a compression each time
it moves upward and a
rarefaction each time it
moves downward.

44. Sound Waves are
Compressional Waves
• Sound waves can only travel through matter.
• The energy carried by a sound wave is
transferred by the collisions between the
particles in the material the wave is
traveling in.
Sound Waves
2

45. The Speed of Sound
• The speed of
sound depends on
the matter through
which it travels.
• Sound waves
travel faster
through solids
and liquids.
Sound Waves
2

46. The Speed of Sound
Sound Waves
2
• The speed of sound
through a material
increases as the
temperature of the
material increases.
• The effect of
temperature is
greatest in gases.

47. The Loudness of Sound
• What makes a sound loud or soft?
• The difference is the amount of energy.
Sound Waves
2
• Loud sounds have more energy than
soft sounds.

48. Intensity
• The amount of energy that a wave carries past
a certain area each second is the intensity of
the sound.
Sound Waves
2
• This figure shows
how the intensity of
sound from the
cymbals decreases
with distance.

49. Intensity
• The intensity of sound waves is related to
the amplitude.
Sound Waves
2
• Sound with a greater amplitude also has a
greater intensity.

50. The Decibel Scale and Loudness
• The intensity
of sound
waves is
measured in
units of
decibels (dB).
Sound Waves
2
• The softest sound a person can hear has an
intensity of 0 dB.
• Sound with intensities of about 120 dB or
higher are painful to people.

51. The Decibel Scale and Loudness
• Loudness is the human perception of the
intensity of sound waves.
Sound Waves
2
• Each increase of 10 dB in intensity
multiplies the energy of the sound waves
ten times.
• Most people perceive this as a doubling
of the loudness of the sound.

52. Frequency and Pitch
• The frequency of sound waves is determined
by the frequency of the vibrations that
produce the sound.
Sound Waves
2
• People are usually able to hear sounds with
frequencies between about 20 Hz and
20,000 Hz.
• Pitch is the human perception of the
frequency sound.
• Sounds with low frequencies have low pitch
and sounds with high frequencies have high
pitch.

53. Hearing and the Ear
• The ear is a complex organ that can detect a
wide range of sounds.
Sound Waves
2
• The ear can be divided into three parts—the
outer ear, the middle ear, and the inner ear.

54. Hearing and the Ear
Sound Waves
2

55. The Reflection of Sound
• Echoes are sounds that reflect off surfaces.
Sound Waves
2
• Repeated echoes are called reverberation.

56. The Reflection of Sound
• The reflection of sound can be used to locate
or identify objects.
Sound Waves
2
• Echolocation is the process of locating objects
by bounding sounds off them.

57. The Reflection of Sound
Sound Waves
2
• By interpreting the
reflected waves, the
animals can locate
and determine
properties of other
animals.
• Some animals emit short, high frequency
sound waves toward a certain area.

58. 2
Section Check
Question 1
Every sound you hear is caused by something
that is _______.
A. compressing
B. loud
C. moving
D. vibrating

59. 2
Section Check
Answer
The answer is D. The sound of your voice is
caused by vibrations in your vocal chords.

60. 2
Section Check
Question 2
Sound waves travel
faster through
_______ than they
do through water.
A. gases
B. liquids
C. plasma
D. solids

61. 2
Section Check
Answer
The answer is D. This
table shows that sound
waves travel faster
through solids than
they travel through
water.

62. 2
Section Check
Question 3
Each increase of 10 dB in intensity multiplies
the energy of a sound wave by _______.
A. 10
B. 100
C. 1,000
D. 10,000

63. 2
Section Check
Answer
The answer is A. Most people perceive this as a
doubling of the loudness of the sound.

64. Waves in Empty Space
• Light from the Moon has
traveled through space that
contains almost no matter.
• You can see light from the
moon, distant stars, and
galaxies because light is
an electromagnetic wave.
Light
3

65. Waves in Empty Space
Light
3
• Electromagnetic waves
are waves that can travel
through matter or through
empty space.

66. The Speed of Light
• In empty space, light travels at a speed of
about 300,000 km/s.
• Light travels so fast that light emitted from
the Sun travels 150 million km to Earth in
only about eight and a half minutes.
Light
3

67. The Speed of Light
• When light travels in matter, it interacts
with the atoms and molecules in the
material and slows down.
• As a result, light travels fastest in empty
space, and travels slowest in solids.
Light
3

68. Wavelength and
Frequency of Light
• Wavelengths of light are usually expressed
in units of nanometers (nm).
• One nanometer is equal to one billionth of
a meter.
Light
3
• Green light has a wavelength of about 500
nm, or 500 billionths of a meter. A light
wave with this wavelength has a frequency
of 600 trillion Hz.

69. Properties of Light Waves
• Light waves, and all electromagnetic waves,
are transverse waves.
• An electromagnetic wave traveling through
matter can cause matter to move at right
angles to the direction the wave is moving.
Light
3

70. Properties of Light Waves
• An electromagnetic wave contains an
electric part and a magnetic part.
• Both parts are called fields and vibrate at
right angles to the wave motion.
Light
3

71. Properties of Light Waves
• The number of times the electric and
magnetic parts vibrate each second is the
frequency of the wave.
Light
3

72. Properties of Light Waves
• The wavelength is the distance between the
crests or troughs of the vibrating electric or
magnetic parts.
Light
3

73. Intensity of Light Waves
• The intensity of waves is a measure of the
amount of energy that the waves carry.
• For light waves, the intensity determines
the brightness of the light.
Light
3
• A dim light has lower intensity because the
waves carry less energy.

74. The Electromagnetic Spectrum
• The electromagnetic spectrum is the
complete range of electromagnetic wave
frequencies and wavelengths.
Light
3

75. The Electromagnetic Spectrum
• At one end of the spectrum the waves have
low frequency, long wavelength, and low
energy.
Light
3

76. The Electromagnetic Spectrum
Light
3
• At the other end of the spectrum the waves
have high frequency, short wavelength, and
high energy.

77. Radio Waves and Microwaves
• The wavelengths of radio waves are greater
than about 0.3 meters.
• Some are even thousands of meters long.
Light
3
• The shortest radio waves are called
microwaves.
• These waves have a wavelength between
about 0.3 meters and 0.001 meters.

78. Infrared Waves
• Infrared waves have wavelengths between
0.001 meters and 700 billionths of a meter.
• All warm bodies emit infrared waves.
Light
3
• Law enforcement officials and military
personnel sometimes use special night
goggles that are sensitive to infrared waves.
These goggles can be used to help locate
people in the dark.

79. Visible Light and Color
Light
3
• The range of electromagnetic waves between
700 and 400
billionths of a
meter is the
range of
wavelengths
people can see.

80. Ultraviolet Waves
• Electromagnetic waves with wavelengths
between about 400 billionths and 10
billionths of a meter are ultraviolet waves.
Light
3
• Ultraviolet waves carry more energy than
visible light waves.
• Sunlight that reaches Earth’s surface contains
a small fraction of ultraviolet waves.

81. X Rays and Gamma Rays
• The electromagnetic
waves with the highest
energy, highest
frequency, and shortest
wavelengths are X rays
and gamma rays.
Light
3
• X rays pass through soft
tissues, but are blocked
by denser body parts,
such as bones.

82. X Rays and Gamma Rays
• Gamma rays are even more energetic
than X rays.
Light
3
• One use of gamma rays is in the food
industry to kill bacteria that might
increase the rate of spoilage of food.

83. Electromagnetic Waves
from the Sun
• Most of the
energy emitted
by the Sun is
in the form of
ultraviolet,
visible, and
infrared waves.
Light
3
• Only a tiny fraction of this energy
reaches Earth.

84. Electromagnetic Waves
from the Sun
Light
3
• Most of the
ultraviolet
waves from the
Sun are blocked
by Earth’s
atmosphere.

85. The Eye of Seeing Light
• You see an
object when
light emitted
or reflected
from the
object enters
your eye.
Light
3
• The cornea and the lens focus light waves
that enter your eye so that a sharp image is
formed on the retina.

86. The Eye of Seeing Light
• Special cells
in the retina
cause signals
to be sent to
the brain
when they are
struck by
light.
Light
3

87. The Eye of Seeing Light
• The lens is flexible and changes shape to
enable you to focus on objects that are
nearby and far away.
Light
3
• The lens
becomes flatter
when you
focus on a
distant object.

88. The Eye of Seeing Light
• The lens becomes more curved when you
focus on an object nearby.
Light
3

89. Why do objects have color?
• When light waves strike an object, some of
the light waves are reflected.
Light
3
• The wavelengths of the light waves that are
reflected determine the object’s color.
• For example, a red rose reflects light waves
that have wavelengths in the red part of the
visible spectrum.

90. Rod and Cone Cells
• The retina contains over a hundred million
light-sensitive cells called rods and cones.
Light
3
• Rod cells are sensitive to dim light, and
cone cells enable you to see colors.

91. Section Check
3
Question 1
Unlike mechanical waves, electromagnetic
waves can travel through _______.
Electromagnetic waves can travel through
empty space.
Answer

92. Section Check
3
Question 2
No material thing, including spaceships, can
move faster than _______.
The answer is the speed of light. Light speed is
the upper limit on travel through space.
Answer

93. Section Check
3
Question 3
Which contains a higher frequency?

94. Section Check
3
A. gamma rays
B. infrared waves
C. microwaves
D. radio waves

95. Section Check
3
Answer
The answer is A. As wavelength decreases,
frequency increases.

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97. End of Chapter Summary File