‫جامعة الملك عبدالعزيز‬

KING ABDULAZIZ UNIVERSITY

PHYS 203
BAM, BBM

MON – WED

08:00 – 09:20

Physics Department
 Chapter 4

Chapter Four
Waves - I
 Transverse Waves

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 Transverse Waves

1. Mechanical Waves: Governed by Newton’s laws, exist only

within a material medium. Examples: water waves, sound
waves.

2. Electromagnetic waves: Require no material medium to

exist. For example, light waves from stars travel through the
vacuum of space to reach us at speed c = 299 792 458 m/s.

3. Matter waves: These waves are associated with electrons,

protons, and other fundamental particles, and even atoms
and molecules.
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 Transverse Waves

 A typical string element moves up and

down continuously as the wave
passes. This is transverse wave.

 Oscillations of an element of the air

are parallel to the direction in which
the wave travels, the wave is a
longitudinal wave.

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 Transverse Waves

where ym is the amplitude,

λ is the wavelength and
T is the period.

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 Transverse Waves

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 Transverse Waves

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 Transverse Waves
Example 1:

A traveling sinusoidal wave is shown below. At which

point is the motion 1800 out of phase with the motion at
point P?

Solution:
(C)
(A) A
(B) B
(C) C
(D) D

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 Transverse Waves
Example 2:

A wave is described by y(x,t) = 0.1 sin(3x + 10t), where x is

in meters, y is in centimeters and t is in seconds. The
angular wave number is:

Solution:
(D)
(A) 3 red/m
(B) 10 red/m
(C) 10 red/m
(D) 3.0 red/m

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 Transverse Waves
Example 3:

A wave is described by y(x,t) = 0.1 sin(3x - 10t), where x is

in meters, y is in centimeters and t is in seconds. The
angular frequency is:

Solution:
(B)
(A) 3 red/s
(B) 10 red/s
(C) 10 red/s
(D) 3.0 red/s

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 Transverse Waves
Example 4:

A wave is described by y(x,t) = 0.1 sin(3x – 10t), where x is

in meters, y is in centimeters and t is in seconds. At time t =
0, the point at x = 0 has a vertical displacement y = 0.0 cm.
When is its displacement equal to 0.1 cm?

Solution:
(B)
(A) 0.16 s
(B) 0.47 s
(C) 2.5 s
(D) 7.5 s

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 Transverse Waves
Example 5:

A sinusoidal wave is traveling toward the right as shown.

Which letter correctly labels the amplitude of the wave?

Solution:
(D)
(A) A
(B) B
(C) C
(D) D

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 Transverse Waves
Example 6:

A sinusoidal wave is traveling toward the right as shown.

Which letter correctly labels the wavelength of the wave?

Solution:
(A)
(A) A
(B) B
(C) C
(D) D

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 Transverse Waves
Example 7:

In the diagram below, the interval PQ represents:

Solution:
(C)
(A) wavelength/2
(B) wavelength
(C) period/2
(D) period

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 Transverse Waves
Example 8:

This plot shows the displacement of a string as a function of

time, as a sinusoidal wave travels along it. Which letter
corresponds to the amplitude of the wave?

Solution:
(D)
(A) A
(B) B
(C) C
(D) D

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 Transverse Waves
Example 9:

This plot shows the displacement of a string as a function of

time, as a sinusoidal wave travels along it. Which letter
corresponds to the period of the wave?

Solution:
(A)
(A) A
(B) B
(C) C
(D) D

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 Transverse Waves
Example 10:

A wave is described by y(x,t) = 0.1 sin(3x – 10t), where x

is in meters, y is in centimeters and t is in seconds. How
long does it take the wave to travel 2.0 m?

Solution:
(A)
(A) 0.6 s
(B) 1.0 s
(C) 3.0 s
(D) 7.0 s

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