When you do a "Mexican wave" in a stadium, the wave travels around โ but you don't! You just stand up and sit down; the PATTERN moves, not the people. All waves work this way: they transfer ENERGY from place to place without transferring MATTER. Sound waves bring music to your ears, but no air molecules travel from the speaker to you. Light waves bring images to your eyes across millions of kilometres of empty space!
This introduction covers Energy Without Matter Moving within Wave Properties for GCSE Physics. Revise Wave Properties in Waves for GCSE Physics with 21 exam-style questions and 15 flashcards. This topic appears regularly enough that it should still be part of a steady revision cycle. It is section 1 of 13 in this topic. Use this introduction to connect the idea to the wider topic before moving on to questions and flashcards.
Practice questions for Wave Properties
What do waves transfer from one place to another?
Explain the difference between a transverse wave and a longitudinal wave.
Quick recall flashcards
Wave equation
v = fฮป (wave speed = frequency ร wavelength)
What is amplitude?
Maximum displacement from rest position (determines energy/loudness/brightness)