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aqa gcse physics - waves word bank

hey guys, so i was revising and made this word bank with all the words needed for topic 6: waves
decided to put it on here if anyone needs it
if i forgot anything please let me know so i can add it on
sorry, theyre not in any particular order, js how we did them in school

wave
a pattern of oscillation that propagates outwards from a source

propagate
moves and spreads out

wavelength
the distance over which the wave pattern repeats itself

amplitude
the maximum displacement of a particles from its position of equilibrium

wavefront
a line showing where peak is at any instant in time

speed
how fast the pattern of vibration is passed through the medium (not the particles)

frequency
the number of complete vibrations per second from a specific point e.g. the source

time period
how long it takes for a full cycle of a wave

medium
the substance the wave moves through

oscilloscope
a high-speed wave plotting device

boundary
the point at which one substance ends and another substance begins

reflection
where the wave bounces off the boundary back into the original substance

transmission
where the wave passes into the second medium and travels through that

refraction
a type of transmission
where the wave changes direction at a boundary and goes into the non-original substance

absorption
where the wave enters the second substance but its energy is quickly absorbed there, often transferred to a thermal store
it does not propagate

seismometer
a device that records vibrations in the rock due to passing earthquake waves

seismograph
the trace from a seismometer

colour filter
a sheet of coloured, transparent material

black body
an object that absorbs all electromagnetic radiation that hits it irrespective of its wavelength

specular reflection
an incident beam of parallel rays is reflected as a beam of rays

diffuse reflection
an incident beam of parallel rays is reflected in scattered, random directions

carrier waves
the waves used to carry any type of signal

optically rare medium
the medium light travels faster in

optically dense medium
the medium light travels slower in

dispersion
occurs when different wavelengths of light refract through different angles

virtual image
where no rays really come from an object; they just seem to, but the image appears to come from behind the mirror

convex lens
converging lens

concave lens
diverging lens

principal focus
the point at which the refracted rays all meet

focal length
the distance from the middle of the length to the focus point

refractive index
different types of glass refract different amounts
(edited 1 month ago)
Original post by swansong3
hey guys, so i was revising and made this word bank with all the words needed for topic 6: waves
decided to put it on here if anyone needs it
if i forgot anything please let me know so i can add it on
sorry, theyre not in any particular order, js how we did them in school

wave
a pattern of oscillation that propagates outwards from a source

propagate
moves and spreads out

wavelength
the distance over which the wave pattern repeats itself

amplitude
the maximum displacement of a particles from its position of equilibrium

wavefront
a line showing where peak is at any instant in time

speed
how fast the pattern of vibration is passed through the medium (not the particles)

frequency
the number of complete vibrations per second from a specific point e.g. the source

time period
how long it takes for a full cycle of a wave

medium
the substance the wave moves through

oscilloscope
a high-speed wave plotting device

boundary
the point at which one substance ends and another substance begins

reflection
where the wave bounces off the boundary back into the original substance

transmission
where the wave passes into the second medium and travels through that

refraction
a type of transmission
where the wave changes direction at a boundary and goes into the non-original substance

absorption
where the wave enters the second substance but its energy is quickly absorbed there, often transferred to a thermal store
it does not propagate

seismometer
a device that records vibrations in the rock due to passing earthquake waves

seismograph
the trace from a seismometer

colour filter
a sheet of coloured, transparent material

black body
an object that absorbs all electromagnetic radiation that hits it irrespective of its wavelength

specular reflection
an incident beam of parallel rays is reflected as a beam of rays

diffuse reflection
an incident beam of parallel rays is reflected in scattered, random directions

carrier waves
the waves used to carry any type of signal

optically rare medium
the medium light travels faster in

optically dense medium
the medium light travels slower in

dispersion
occurs when different wavelengths of light refract through different angles

virtual image
where no rays really come from an object; they just seem to, but the image appears to come from behind the mirror

convex lens
converging lens

concave lens
diverging lens

principal focus
the point at which the refracted rays all meet

focal length
the distance from the middle of the length to the focus point

refractive index
different types of glass refract different amounts


Amazing words bank.

I think you miss out at least 2 terms: transverse wave and longitudinal wave

I recommend that you check with the specifications given by AQA or a trustworthy physics book as a number of them does not sound right or good.

Still a good job and all the best for your exam.
Reply 2
Original post by Eimmanuel
Amazing words bank.
I think you miss out at least 2 terms: transverse wave and longitudinal wave
I recommend that you check with the specifications given by AQA or a trustworthy physics book as a number of them does not sound right or good.
Still a good job and all the best for your exam.

thanks for the feedback! obviously the meaning of these words have been condensed into a way that reminds me of the specifics, and the vast majority of these definitions have been taken from what my teacher at school has taught me, and he is quite a good teacher. when you say "a number of them" please could you be a bit more specific so that i know which definitions to improve please? thank you !! <3
Original post by swansong3
hey guys, so i was revising and made this word bank with all the words needed for topic 6: waves
decided to put it on here if anyone needs it
if i forgot anything please let me know so i can add it on
sorry, theyre not in any particular order, js how we did them in school



You can use the following as a reference to improve the “description or definition”.
https://openstax.org/books/college-physics-2e/pages/16-glossary
https://openstax.org/books/college-physics-2e/pages/25-glossary

Properties of waves - AQA
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zgf97p3/revision/1
Transverse and longitudinal waves - AQA
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/z9bw6yc/revision/1
Reflection and refraction - AQA
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zw42ng8/revision/1
Sound waves - AQA
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/z2dtv9q/revision/1
Lenses - AQA
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zt7srwx/revision/1
Black body radiation - AQA
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zs63k2p/revision/1

https://bourne.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/Physics-GCSE-Keywords.pdf

https://openstax.org/books/university-physics-volume-1/pages/16-key-terms
https://openstax.org/books/university-physics-volume-3/pages/1-key-terms

wave
a pattern of oscillation that propagates outwards from a source
An important aspect of the wave is that it is a mean to transfer energy

propagate
moves and spreads out

wavelength
the distance over which the wave pattern repeats itself
I would recommend that you use the aqa specification (or bbc bitesize) which provides the definition.

amplitude
the maximum displacement of a particles from its position of equilibrium

wavefront
a line showing where peak is at any instant in time
This has a lot of ambiguities. This is not how we “define” wavefront in physics. I doubt you need to define the wavefront but you need to use wavefront to explain the refraction concept.

speed
how fast the pattern of vibration is passed through the medium (not the particles)
I would recommend that you use the aqa specification (or bbc bitesize) which provides the definition.

frequency
the number of complete vibrations per second from a specific point e.g. the source

time period
how long it takes for a full cycle of a wave
I would recommend that you use the aqa specification (or bbc bitesize) which provides the definition.

medium
the substance the wave moves through

oscilloscope
a high-speed wave plotting device
Oscilloscope is NOT a high-speed wave plotting device. It is more complicated that you think. I doubt you need to know how to define oscilloscope.

boundary
the point at which one substance ends and another substance begins
Boundary is not a point.

reflection
where the wave bounces off the boundary back into the original substance

transmission
where the wave passes into the second medium and travels through that

refraction
a type of transmission
where the wave changes direction at a boundary and goes into the non-original substance
My suggestion: Refraction of waves is the change of the direction in which they are travelling when they cross a boundary between one medium and another medium.

absorption
where the wave enters the second substance but its energy is quickly absorbed there, often transferred to a thermal store
it does not propagate

seismometer
a device that records vibrations in the rock due to passing earthquake waves

seismograph
the trace from a seismometer

colour filter
a sheet of coloured, transparent material
https://bourne.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/Physics-GCSE-Keywords.pdf

black body
an object that absorbs all electromagnetic radiation that hits it irrespective of its wavelength

specular reflection
an incident beam of parallel rays is reflected as a beam of rays
https://bourne.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/Physics-GCSE-Keywords.pdf

diffuse reflection
an incident beam of parallel rays is reflected in scattered, random directions
https://bourne.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/Physics-GCSE-Keywords.pdf

carrier waves
the waves used to carry any type of signal

optically rare medium
the medium light travels faster in

optically dense medium
the medium light travels slower in

dispersion
occurs when different wavelengths of light refract through different angles

virtual image
where no rays really come from an object; they just seem to, but the image appears to come from behind the mirror
The important aspect of virtual image is that it cannot be formed/projected on screen.

convex lens
converging lens
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zt7srwx/revision/1

concave lens
diverging lens
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zt7srwx/revision/1

principal focus
the point at which the refracted rays all meet
Not all refracted rays meet at this point.
There is a need to mention the parallel incident rays which are parallel to principal axis.

focal length
the distance from the middle of the length to the focus point
Not sure what you are describing or explaining. What do you mean by “middle of the length”?
https://bourne.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/Physics-GCSE-Keywords.pdf

refractive index
different types of glass refract different amounts
refractive index of a medium is the ratio of speed of light in vacuum to speed of light in that medium
https://openstax.org/books/college-physics-2e/pages/25-glossary

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