Mechanical waves are of two types namely, transverse waves and
longitudinal (compressional) waves but electromagnetic waves are
always transverse in nature.
Transverse waves
A transverse wave is a wave where the movement of the particles
of the medium is perpendicular to the direction of propagation of
the wave .
Direction of wave travel
Particle motion
Line of zero
disturbance
A transverse wave
Line of zero disturbance
It is the line at which the net force on the particles of the
medium is zero. That is, when an oscillating particle reaches this
line, it achieves its equilibrium position.
Crest and trough
A crest is the part of the transverse wave which is above the line
of zero disturbance. A trough is the part of transverse wave which
is below the line of zero disturbance.
Amplitude
The amplitude is the maximum displacement of a particle from
its equilibrium position.
Transverse waves can be formed in solids and on the surfaces
of liquids only.
Longitudinal waves
A longitudinal wave is a wave where the particles in the medium
move parallel to the direction of propagation of the wave. Sound is
also a longitudinal wave.
Compression (or condensation)
A compression is a region in a longitudinal wave where the particles
are closer together than their normal separations.
Rarefaction
A rarefaction is a region in a longitudinal wave where the particles
are farther apart than their normal separations.
Longitudinal waves can travel through all the three media namely,
solids, liquids and gases.
Compressions are regions of high molecular density , while
rarefactions are the regions of low molecular density
Question
Sound propagates maximum in
(1) Gas (2) Liquid (3) Solid (4) All
Solution
Ans: (3)
Question
The membrane of a drum vibrates to produce sound. Similarly,
the string of a sitar vibrates to produce sound. Based on these
two examples answer the following question. Which part of a
whistle vibrates to produce sound?
(1) Body of whistle
(2) Air column
(3) Mouth of the person
(4) All of these
Solution
Ans: (3)
Homework
Question
Sound cannot travel through
(1) Air
(2) Water
(3) Vacuum
(4) All of these
Solution
Ans: (3)
Question
Sound is kind of
(1) Work
(2) Energy
(3) Force
(4) Pressure
Solution
Ans: (2)
Question
Sound is produced by
(1) Non vibrating objects only
(2) Vibrating and non vibrating objects
(3) Vibration has no relation with sound
(4) Vibrating objects only
Solution
Ans: (4)
Question
The sound waves which travel in the air are called
(1) transverse waves.
(2) longitudinal waves.
(3) electromagnetic waves.
(4) none of the above
Solution
Ans: (2)
Some basic terms related to waves
Wavelength
The minimum distance in which a wave repeats itself is called its
wavelength.
Also, the distance travelled by a wave when it completes its one
cycle is called its wavelength.
λ λ
Wavelength of a
transverse wave
λ
It is represented by a Greek symbol ‘' called lambda. It is
measured in metre.
λ λ
Wavelength of a
transverse wave
λ
Time period (or period)
The time period T is the time taken by a particle to move through
one complete cycle of motion.
In other words, time taken to complete one oscillation of a wave
is called time period or simply the period of the wave. It is
measured in seconds.
Frequency ()
The frequency is the number of complete cycles or vibrations per
unit of time.
Also, it can be defined as the number of oscillations per second.
Unit of frequency
Frequency is measured in cycles per second.
The term “cycles” is usually left off and the unit is written as s–1
or 1/s.
This unit is also called hertz (Hz). 1 Hz = 1 cycle/sec or
1 oscillation/sec = 1 s–1
Relationship between time period and frequency
Frequency () is the reciprocal of time period (T).
𝟏
That is, =
T
Wave speed (v): Wave speed is distance travelled by the
pattern of the wave per unit time.
We know that in a time period T, the distance travelled by the
wave is one wavelength (l).
Its unit is m/s.
Now,
distance λ 1 _________(1)
= = =λ
time T T
We know that, Frequency,
1 _________(2)
=
T
Using (1) & (2), we get,
i.e., speed = frequency × wave length
V= 𝝊 𝝀
Homework
Question
Time period of a wave in a medium is the time taken by
(1) A compression to pass through a point.
(2) A rarefaction to pass through a point.
(3) An oscillation to pass through a point.
(4) None of the above
Solution
Ans: (3)
Question
The distance between two consecutive crests in a wave train
produced in a string is 5 cm.
If 2 complete waves pass through any point per second, the
velocity of the wave is
(1) 10 cm/sec
(2) 2.5 cm/sec
(3) 5 cm/sec
(4) 15 cm/sec
Solution
Ans: (1)
Question
A tuning fork makes 256 vibrations per second in air. When the
velocity of sound is 330 m/s, then wavelength of the tone
emitted is
(1) 0.56 m
(2) 0.89 m
(3) 1.11 m
(4) 1.29 m
Solution
Ans: (4)
