Compression occurs when particles in a medium are pushed close together, resulting in an area with high pressure and density.
Think about squeezing together tightly packed people on a crowded bus. That compression creates high pressure and density just like compression does within waves!
Rarefaction: Rarefaction happens when particles spread apart in a medium, resulting in an area with low pressure and density.
Longitudinal Wave: A longitudinal wave consists of compressions and rarefactions moving parallel to each other.
Sound Wave: Sound waves are examples of longitudinal waves that require particles to compress and rarefy in order to transmit sound energy.
Study guides for the entire semester
200k practice questions
Glossary of 50k key terms - memorize important vocab
© 2024 Fiveable Inc. All rights reserved.
AP® and SAT® are trademarks registered by the College Board, which is not affiliated with, and does not endorse this website.