project Physics 3

Unit 3 Project: Waves Waves A wave can be described as a disturbance that travels through a medium from one location to another location. . Click on the links in the Red Box to view the Project Rubrics for this project. Medium Physics Is a substance or material that carries the wave. You have perhaps heard of the phrase news media. The news media refers to the various institutions (newspaper offices, television stations, radio stations, etc.) within our society that carry the news from one location to another. 1. What makes a wave a wave? 2. What characteristics, properties, or behaviors typically characterize as being a wave? A Wave Transports Energy and Not Matter When a wave is present in a medium (that is, when there is a disturbance moving through a medium), the individual particles of the medium are only temporarily displaced from their rest position. There is always a force acting upon the particles that restores them to their original position.A wave is said to involve the movement of a disturbance without the movement of matter. The particles of the medium simply vibrate about a fixed position as the pattern of the disturbance moves from one location to another location. In conclusion, a wave can be described as a disturbance that travels through a medium, transporting energy from one location (its source) to another location without transporting matter. Each individual particle of the medium is temporarily displaced and then returns to its original equilibrium positioned 1. In order for John to hear Jill, air molecules must move from the lips of Jill to the ears of John. True / False 2. Curly and Moe are conducting a wave experiment using a slinky. Curly introduces a disturbance into the slinky by giving it a quick back and forth jerk. Moe places his cheek (facial) at the opposite end of the slinky. Using the terminology of this unit, describe what Moe experiences as the pulse reaches the other end of the slinky. The Speed of Sound A sound wave is a pressure disturbance that travels through a medium by means of particle-to-particle interaction. As one particle becomes disturbed, it exerts a force on the next adjacent particle, thus disturbing that particle from rest and transporting the energy through the medium. The speed of a wave is defined as the distance that a point on a wave (such as a compression or a rarefaction) travels per unit of time, it is often expressed in units of meters/second (abbreviated m/s). The equation form, this is speed = distance/time Question: An automatic focus camera is able to focus on objects by use of an ultrasonic sound wave. The camera sends out sound waves that reflect off distant objects and return to the camera. A sensor detects the time it takes for the waves to return and then determines the distance an object is from the camera. If a sound wave (speed = 340 m/s) returns to the camera 0.150 seconds after leaving the camera, how far away is the object