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Energy Without Matter Moving
📖 Energy Without Matter Moving
When you do a "Mexican wave" in a stadium, the wave travels around — 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!
Transverse vs Longitudinal Waves
All waves fall into one of two categories based on how particles vibrate relative to the direction the wave travels.
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🧠 Memory Aid
To remember wave types: "Transverse = T-shirt shake" — imagine shaking a T-shirt side to side; the wave goes along but the fabric moves sideways (perpendicular). Longitudinal = "along" — the vibration goes along the same direction as the wave.
Wave equation triangle:
Draw a triangle with v on top, and f and λ on the bottom. Cover the quantity you want to find: cover v → f × λ; cover f → v ÷ λ; cover λ → v ÷ f.
Now try it yourself
Quiz · Question 1 of 21
What do waves transfer from one place to another?
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This topic in real past papers
Every real exam question we've found on wave properties, with a full worked answer.