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| Basic Terms Connected to Waves |
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| The four important terms used in the study of waves are Wavelength, Amplitude, Frequency and Wave velocity. |
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| Wavelength 'l' is the distance between two consecutive points on the wave which are in the same phase. (same phase means same state of vibrations) |
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| Amplitude is the maximum displacement of the particle from its mean position. |
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| Frequency is the number of periodic oscillations completed in one second. The frequency f = 1/T where 'T' is the time taken to complete one oscillation. The unit of this measure is hertz [Hz]. |
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| Wave velocity 'v' is the velocity with which the energy is propagated in a medium. |
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| Sound wave |
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| As wavelength is the distance covered during one oscillation and frequency is the number of oscillations per second, the product of the wavelength and frequency would give us the wave velocity. |
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| Distance travelled in 1 s = number of waves in one second x wave length |
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| Wave velocity = Frequency x Wavelength |
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| or, v = f x l |
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