1. 8th Grade Integrated Science
Properties of Waves
8th Grade Integrated Science

2. Properties
Amplitude
Wavelength
Wave Height
Frequency
Speed

3. Amplitude
Maximum distance that the particles of the medium carrying the wave move away from their rest positions.
Amplitude

4. Wavelength and Wave Height
Distance from crest to crest (or trough to trough, one complete cycle) is wavelength
Distance from crest to trough is wave height
Wavelength
Wave Height

5. Frequency
The number of complete waves that pass a given point in a certain amount of time.
Measured in Hertz (Hz). A wave that occurs once every second has a frequency of 1 Hz.

6. Speed
The speed, wavelength, and frequency of a wave are related to one another by mathematical formulas.
Speed = Wavelength x Frequency
Frequency = Speed / Wavelength
Wavelength = Speed / Frequency

7. Assessment Questions What are the four basic properties of waves?
Which wave properties are distances?
Which properties are measured relative to time?
What formula relates speed, wavelength, and frequency?
A wave’s frequency is 2 Hz and its wavelength is 4 m. What is the wave’s speed?