Mechanical Waves and Sound
Joseph Brown
4 min read
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Study Guide Overview
This study guide covers mechanical waves, including topics like period, amplitude, frequency, velocity, and wavelength. It explores wave behavior such as interference, nodes, and antinodes, and relates these concepts to sound and musical instruments. Note: This unit (Unit 10) is not tested on the AP Physics 1 exam.
As of 2021, College Board only tests Units 1-7 on the AP Physics 1 exam. This page's content will not be tested on the exam, but we kept it online for you all as a resource.
Unit 10 shifts away from the electrical focus of Units 8 & 9 and transitions back to discussing topics like energy (Unit 4), period (Unit 6) and motion (Unit 1). This time the focus is on describing mechanical waves, such as waves in slinkies, ropes, and water, as well as sound waves. Additionally we will apply our knowledge of waves to explain how musical instruments generate specific tones. This unit covers approximately 12-16% of the AP exam and will typically take 11-14 45 minute class periods to cover.
#Applicable Big Ideas
Big Idea #6: Waves Waves can transfer energy and momentum from one location to another without the permanent transfer of mass and serve as a mathematical model for the description of other phenomena
#Image courtesy of Giphy.
#Key Concepts 🔑
- Period (T)
- Amplitude
- Frequency (f)
- Velocity (v)
- Wavelength (𝜆))
- Interference
- Node
- Antinode
#Key Equations 🗝
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