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characteristics of waves 

Vocabulary 

Crest - high points of a transverse wave 

Trough - low points of a transverse wave

Amplitude - measure of the size of the disturbance from a wave 

Wavelength - distance between one point to the nearest point just like it 

Period - the amount of time it takes to pass a wavelength 

Frequency - the number of wavelengths that pass each second 

Doppler Effect - an increase/decrease in the frequency of sound, light, or other waves as the source and observer move toward or away from each other.

 

Student Learning Targets 
- student can identify and describe parts of a wave
- students can calculate wave speed 
The Doppler Effect 
An example of the doppler effect would be the different frequency pitches a person hears when an ambulance is closer to them and the frequency pitches another person hears when they're five blocks away. The moving ambulance is the moving object giving the effect on the high and low pitches of the sound which comes back as the Doppler Effecy. 
  - the video demostates how the doppler effect happens in a real word problem.  
Speed of a Mechanical wave 
the speed of a mechanical wave could be affected by the substance(medium) it is going through. For example, a mechanical wave such as a sound wave could travel faster through a liguid than a gas, but slower than a solid. 
 
Speed of an Electromagnetic wave 
the speed of an electromagnetic wave could also be affected by the medium is it going through. For example, a light wave travel fastest through gases, then in liquid and slowest in solids.
 
The formula used to calculate wave speed is 
                   ws = f x wl
to find the frequency
                   f = # of waves 
                            time 
the units used for these formula incluse seconds, meters, Hz. and others. 
    - Ex. A wave traveling in a slinky has a frequency of 150 Hz. and a wavelenth of .5 m, what is the speed of the wave?       
                 ws = 150 Hz x .5 m  
                  ws = 75 m/min
 
             
 - the slinky above shows the wave figure. if we take the number of waves in a certain amount of time we could find the frequency such as 300 waves in 2 minutes. when makes the frequency 150 Hz. and if you times it by the length each wave is (.5 m) the wave speed equals 75 meters per minute.
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