Imagine you’re at the beach watching the sea. Waves in the water go up and down in a rolling motion. Waves aren’t just in water: there are waves in light and sound, and even in waves you can’t see, like radio waves.
What is a Wave?
A wave is just a way that energy moves from one place to another. When you throw a pebble into a pond, you see ripples spreading out in circles: that’s energy moving through the water.
Properties of a Wave
The top of a wave is called crest and its bottom is called throgh.
Waves have a few important features:
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Wavelength: This is the distance from one wave top to the next wave top. If waves are close together, they have a short wavelength. If they’re far apart, the wavelength is longer.
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Amplitude: This is how tall a wave is. Higher waves have more energy. So, if you see big waves in the ocean, you know they’re carrying a lot of energy!
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Frequency: This is how many waves pass by a point in a certain amount of time. If lots of waves come quickly, that’s a high frequency. If they come slowly, that’s a low frequency.
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Speed: This is how fast the wave moves. Different waves travel at different speeds. For example, light waves move much faster than sound waves, which is why you see lightning before you hear thunder!
