Directions on How to Use the
Flashcards
1. Print the cards, and paste the
pictures on the back of the
vocabulary cards.
2. After you paste the pictures on
the back of the cards, cut the cards
out.
3. Try to match the vocabulary word
with the correct definition. You
will know if you’re correct if the
pictures match up.
*The vocabulary terms and their definitions were taken
from Prentice Hall: Science Explorer
Wave
Energy
Medium
A disturbance that
transfers energy from
place to place.
The ability to do
work.
Material through
which a wave travels.
Mechanical Wave A wave that requires a
medium through
which to travel.
Vibration
A repeated back-andforth or up-and-down
motion.
Transverse Wave A wave that moves the
medium in a direction
perpendicular to the
direction in which the
wave travels.
Crest
The highest part of a
transverse wave.
Trough
The lowest part of a
transverse wave.
Longitudinal
Wave
A wave that moves the
medium parallel to the
direction in which the
wave travels.
Compression
The part of a
longitudinal wave
where the particles of
the medium are close
together.
Rarefaction
The bending of waves
as they enter a
different medium.
Surface Wave
A wave that occurs to
the surface between
two mediums.
Reflection
The bouncing back of
a wave when it hits a
surface through which
it cannot pass.
Angle of
Incidence
The angle between an
incoming wave and an
imaginary line drawn
perpendicular to the
surface of the barrier.
Angle of
Reflection
The angel between a
reflected wave and an
imaginary line drawn
perpendicular to the
surface of a barrier.
Refraction
The bending of waves
as they enter a
different medium.
Diffraction
The bending of waves
around a
barrier.
Interference
The interaction
between waves that
meet.
Constructive
Interference
The interference that
occurs when two
waves combine to
make a wave with a
larger amplitude.
Destructive
Interference
The interference that
occurs when two
waves combine to
make a wave with
smaller amplitude.
Standing Wave
Node
Antinode
Resonance
A wave that appears to
stand in one place, even
though it is really two
waves interfering as they
pass through each other.
A point of zero
amplitude on a
standing wave.
A point of maximum
amplitude on a
standing wave.
The increase in the
amplitude of vibration
that occurs when external
vibrations match the
object’s natural
frequency.
Tsunami
Surface wave on the
ocean caused by an
underwater
earthquake.
Seismograph
Instrument used to
detect and measure an
earthquake.
Seismic Wave
A wave produced by
an earthquake.
Primary Wave A longitudinal seismic
wave.