Kimo Jesus, here are the Waves notes. If they're any good, then post them. If not, just ignore
GENERAL WAVE PROPERTIESDistinguish between transverse and longitudinal wavesIf the end of a slinky is shaken from side to side a transverse wave travels down the spring. The spring is displaced perpendicular to the direction of travel of the pulse. If the spring is continually shaken from side to side then a transverse wave travels down the spring.
A water wave is an example of a transverse wave. Looking down on a ripple tank, the wavefronts are just the crests of the waves. Electromagnetic waves are also transverse.
If the end of the slinky is shaken along the length of the spring then a longitudinal pulse travels down the slinky. As the pulse moves along, the spring is displaced along the direction of travel. Sound waves travel as longitudinal waves.
Longitudinal waves travel as a series of compressions and decompressions (rarefactions), but there is no overall movement of the material they travel through. The atoms vibrate backwards and forwards, parallel to the direction of motion. Sound waves are longitudinal.
Definitions of speed, frequency, wavelength and amplitudeThe speed v of a wave is simply the speed at which the pulse or wave travels. e.g. how far the crest of a water wave, or the compression of a sound wave, travels in one second.
The frequency, f, of a wave is the number of complete waves passing by per second. It is measured in cycles/sec or hertz (Hz)
The wavelength, ?, of a wave is the distance between two adjacent crests of the wave.
The amplitude is the height of the wave measured from the undisturbed position (midpoint).
v = f ?Wave speed (m/s) = frequency (Hz) × wavelength (m)
Reflection, refraction and diffraction When drawing wave diagrams, make sure the wavelength doesn’t change on reflection or diffraction.
In diffraction, the amount of spreading depends on the wavelength and the width of the gap. The same waves will diffract more at a narrower gap. Longer wavelengths will diffract more at the same size gap.
In refraction, the wavelength decreases when the wave slows down – this is what causes the wave to change direction, e.g. for water waves passing into shallower water, or light travelling into glass.
FYI, for some reason I can't add the lambda sign for the equation!