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1800-102-2727Chapter 15 Wave motion and waves on a string drive focus on how waves are Classified. It also deals with the terms required to determine a wave. Wave motion can be defined as the transfer of energy and momentum from one point in a medium to another. But, here's the catch: The phenomenon happens without the actual transport of matter between the two points under consideration. Instead, energy and momentum are transferred this way. There are three ways in which wave motion occurs. Therefore, the Classification is based on the following criteria:
The wave particles vibrate in a direction that is perpendicular to the direction of propagation of the wave. Thus, the region where the maximum upward displacement takes place is called the crest, whereas the region where the maximum downward displacement takes place is called the trough.
Transverse wave motion happens only when a wave passes through a medium with rigidity modulus or shape conservation. For example, string waves exhibit transverse wave motion. Thus, the kind of waves observed in strings is called transverse waves. If the disturbance produced is continuous and periodic in nature, the wave observed is called a periodic wave. This is because the disturbance travels through the medium under consideration due to the wave particles' consistent and continuous periodic oscillations about their mean position. This position is also called the Equilibrium position.
There is a regular phase difference between the particles of the medium because each particle receives disturbance a little later than its preceding particle. The chapter further goes in-depth towards the waves produced in strings. The relationship between the period of a wave and its frequency can be mathematically represented as: t=1/f.
This implies that the frequency of the wave is indirectly proportional to the time period. Further, the speed is directly proportional to the wavelength of a wave and indirectly proportional to the time period.