Physical World and Measurements

1. Physical quantities: All quantities in terms of which laws of physics can be

expressed and which can be measured directly or indirectly are called physical
quantities.
2. Fundamental unit: fundamental units are not those units, which can be derived
from one another, nor can they be further resolved into any other units.
3. Derived units: The units of all such physical quantities, which can be expressed in
terms of the fundamental units of mass, length and time, are called derived units.
4. Standard unit: A standard unit should be well defined, of suitable size, easily
reproducible, easily accessible, should not change with time and also from place to
place and with change in physical conditions (temperature, pressure etc).
5. Metre (m): It is defined as to be equal to 1,650,763.3 wavelengths in vacuum of the
orange-red colored radiation emitted by Kr-86.
6. Kilogram (kg): It is mass of a platinum-iridium cylinder kept in the International
Bureau of weights and Measures at Sevres, near Paris, France.
7. Second (s): It is defined as to be equal to the duration of 9,192,631,770 vibrations
corresponding to the transition between two hyperfine levels of cesium-133 atom in
the ground state.
8. Light year: One light year is defined as the distance travelled by the light in one
year.
9. Astronomical year: It is the mean distance of the sun from the earth.
10. Parsec: It is the distance at which an arc of length one astronomical unit subtends
an angle of one second of an arc.
11. Dimensions: The dimensions of a physical quantity are the powers to which the
fundamental units of mass, length and time have to be raised in order to obtain its
units.
12. Dimensional Formula: It is the expression that indicates which of the
fundamentals of mass, length and time enter into the derived unit of that quantity
and with powers.
13. Dimensional equation: The equation obtained, when a physical quantity is
equated with its dimensional formula is known as dimensional equation.

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14. Significant figures: The digits, whose values are accurately known in a particular
measurement, are called its significant figures.
15. Constant errors: When the results of a series of observations are in error by the
same amount, the error is said to be a constant one.
16. Systematic errors: A systematic error is one that produces an error of the same
sign.
17. Absolute error: The magnitude of the difference of true value and the measured
value is called absolute error.
18. Relative error: The ratio of the absolute error to the true value is called relative
error.

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 Motion in a Straight Line

1. Reference point: The point of intersection of three perpendicular axes (X-axis,

Y-axis & Z-axis respectively) is called origin and also called as reference point.
2. Frame of reference: The coordinate system along with a time is called as frame of
reference.
3. Kinematics: The study of the motion of the objects without taking into account the
cause of their motion is called kinematics.
4. Dynamics: The study of the motion of the objects by taking into account the cause
of their change of state (rest or of uniform motion) is called dynamics.
5. Motion: An object is said to be in motion, if it changes its position w.r.t its
surroundings with the passage of time.
6. Rest: If an object does not changes its position w.r.t its surroundings with the
passage of time, it said to be at rest.
7. Path length: The distance covered by the object in a given time is called path
length. Its unit is m.
8. Displacement: The distance covered by the object in a particular direction is called
displacement. The displacement of an object between two points tells the shortest
distance between these points. Its unit is m.
9. Uniform motion: The motion of an object is said to be uniform, if it covers equal
displacements (or distances) in equal intervals of time, however small these
intervals may be.
10. Speed: The time rate of covering the distance by an object is called its speed. The
speed of an object is a scalar quantity. Its unit is m/s.
11. Velocity: The time rate of change of displacement of an object is called the velocity.
It is a vector quantity. Its unit is m/s.
12. Acceleration: The time rate of change of velocity of an object is called the
acceleration. It is a vector quantity. Its unit is m/s2.
13. Uniformly accelerated motion: The motion of an object is said to be uniformly
accelerated, if the same change in its velocity takes place in each unit of time.

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14. Variable velocity: An object is said to be moving with variable velocity, if it
undergoes unequal displacements in equal intervals of time.
15. Instantaneous velocity: The velocity of an object at a particular instant or at a
particular point of its path is called instantaneous velocity.
16. Instantaneous acceleration: The acceleration of an object at a particular instant
or at a particular point of its path is called instantaneous acceleration.
17. Relative velocity: The relative velocity of an object w.r.t another moving object is
the effective velocity with which the object will appear to move, when the other
object is considered to be at rest.
(a) When the two objects are moving along a straight line in the same direction:
When the two objects A and B move in the same direction along a straight line,
the magnitude of the relative velocity of the object A w.r.t B is equal to the
magnitude of the velocity of the object A minus the magnitude of velocity of the
object B.
(b) When the two objects are moving along a straight line in the opposite direction:
When the two objects A and B move in the opposite directions, magnitude of the
relative of object A w.r.t the object B is equal to the sum of the magnitudes of
their velocities.

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 Motion in a Plane

1. Scalars: The physical quantities, which have a magnitude but no direction, are
called scalars. e.g. mass, length, time etc.
2. Vectors: The physical quantities, which possess both magnitude and direction, are
called vectors. e.g. Displacement, velocity, force etc.
3. Position vector: The vector which specifies the position of a point w.r.t some fixed
point (like origin) is called position vector.
4. Unit vector: A vector having unit magnitude is called unit vector.
5. Negative vector: A vector having the same length but drawn in opposite direction.
6. Equal vectors: Two vectors are said to be equal, if they have the same magnitude
and direction.
7. Co-initial vectors: Two vectors are said to be co-initial, if they have a common
initial point.
8. Collinear vectors: Two vectors having equal or unequal magnitudes, which either
act along the same line or along the parallel lines in the same direction or along the
parallel lines in opposite direction, are called collinear vectors.
9. Zero vector: A vector having zero magnitude is called a null vector or zero vector.
10. Resultant vector: The resultant of two (or more) vectors is a single vector, which
produces the same effect as the individual vectors together produce.
11. Resolution of vector: The process of splitting up a vector into two or more vectors
is known as the resolution of a vector. The vectors into which a given a vector is
splitted are called component of vectors.
12. Projectile: Any object projected into space or air, such that it moves under the
effect of gravity alone, is called a projectile. The path followed by the projectile is
called its trajectory.
13. Time of flight: It is the time taken by the projectile to return to ground or the time
for which the projectile remains in air above the horizontal plane from the point of
projection. Its unit is s.

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14. Maximum Height: It is the greatest height to which a projectile rises above the
point of projection. Its unit is m.
15. Horizontal range: It is the distance covered by a projectile along the horizontal
between the point of projection to the point on the ground, where the projectile
returns again. Its unit is m.
16. Angular displacement (): It is defined as the angle, which its position vector
sweeps out in that time interval. Its unit is radian.
17. Average angular velocity (av): It is defined as the ratio of angular displacement
to the time taken by the object to undergo the displacement. Its unit is rad/sec.
18. Instantaneous angular velocity: It is defined as the limiting value of the average
angular velocity of the object in a small time interval, as the time interval
approaches zero.
19. Time period (T): The time period of an object in circular motion is defined as the
time taken to complete one revolution. Its unit is s.
20. Frequency (f): The frequency of an object in circular motion is defined as the
number of revolutions completed per second. Its unit is s-1 or Hz.
21. Uniform circular motion: The motion of an object along a circular path with
constant angular speed is called uniform circular motion.
22. Centripetal acceleration: Uniform circular motion is an accelerated motion, in
which acceleration is directed along the radius of the circle and towards its centre.
Such acceleration is called radial or centripetal acceleration.

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 Laws of Motion

1. Force: It is a push or pull which either changes or tends to change the state of rest
or of uniform motion of a body. Its unit is Newton (N).
2. Inertia: In the absence of external unbalanced force, the inability of a body to
change its state by itself is called inertia.
3. Linear momentum: It is defined as the total quantity of motion contained in a
body and is measured as the product of the mass of body and its velocity. Its unit is
N*s or kgm/s.
4. Impulse: Impulse is defined as the product of the average force and the time for
which the force acts. Its unit is N*s or kgm/s.
5. Concurrent forces: If a number of forces act at the same point, they are called
concurrent forces.
6. Free body diagram: A diagram for each body of the system depicting all the
diverging forces on the body by the remaining part of the system is called the free
body diagram.
7. Friction: Friction is the opposing force that is set up between the surfaces of
contact, when one body slides or rolls or tends to do so on the surface of another
body.
The atomic and molecular forces of attraction between the two surfaces at the
point of contact give rise to friction between the surfaces.
8. Static friction: The opposing force that is set up between the surfaces of contact of
the two bodies, when one body tends to slide over the surface of another body.
9. Limiting value of static friction: The maximum value of the force of friction
which comes into play before a body just begins to slide over the surface of another
body is called limiting value of static friction.
10. Kinetic friction: The opposing force that is set up between the surfaces of contact
of the two bodies, when one body is in relative motion over the surface of another
body.

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11. Coefficient of friction (): It is defined as the ratio of force of limiting friction to
the normal reaction.
12. Angle of friction (): The angle of friction may be defined as the angle which the
resultant of the limiting friction and normal reaction makes with the normal
reaction.
13. Angle of repose (): The angle of repose is defined as the angle of the inclined
plane at which a body placed on it just begins to slide.
14. Centripetal force: An external force required to make a body move along circular
path with uniform speed is called centripetal force.
15. Centrifugal force: The outward radial force experienced by an object, when in
circular motion, is called centrifugal force. This force is also called as fictitious or
pseudo force.
16. Conical pendulum: A conical pendulum is a small heavy mass suspended by a
string from a rigid support and whirled round in a horizontal circle with a constant
speed.

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 Work, Energy & Power

1. Scalar product: The scalar product of two vectors A and B is defined as the
product of the magnitudes of the vectors A and B and the cosine of the angle
between them. It is also known as dot product or inner product of the two vectors.
2. Work: The work done by the force is defined to be the product of component of the
force in the direction of the displacement and the magnitude of this displacement.
Its unit is Joules (J) or Nm.
3. Energy: The energy of a body is defined as its capacity for doing work. Its unit is
J.
4. Kinetic energy: The energy possessed by a body by virtue of its motion is called
kinetic energy.
5. Potential energy: The energy possessed by a body by virtue of its position or
configuration (shape or size).
6. Conservative forces: A force is said to be conservative, if the work done by the
force in moving a body between any two points is independent of the path followed.
A force is said to be conservative, if the work done by the force in moving a
particle along a closed path is zero. e.g. Gravitational force
7. Non-conservative forces: If the work done by a force in moving a body over a
closed path is non-zero, the force is said to be a non-conservative force. e.g. Frictional
force.
8. Spring constant (k): The spring constant of a spring is numerically equal to the
restoring force set up in the spring per unit extension. Its unit is N/m.
9. Power: The time rate of doing work is called power. Its unit is Watt (W) or J/s or
Nm/s.
10. Collision: It is defined as mutual interaction of the bodies for a short interval of
time as a result of which the energy and momentum of the interacting bodies
change.

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11. Elastic collision: Those collisions, in which both momentum and kinetic energy of
the system are conserved, are called elastic collisions.
12. Inelastic collision: Those collisions, in which the momentum of the system is
conserved but the kinetic energy is not conserved, are called inelastic collisions.
13. Perfectly inelastic collision: Those collisions, in which the colliding bodies stick
together after the collision and then move with a common velocity, are called
perfectly inelastic collision.
14. Coefficient of restitution (e): It is defined as the ratio of velocity of separation to
the velocity of approach of the colliding bodies.
15. Ballistic pendulum: A ballistic pendulum is a device used to measure the speed of
a fast moving object, such as a bullet fired from a gun.

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 System of particles and Rotational motion

1. Rigid body: A body with a perfectly definite and unchanging shape is called rigid
body. The distances between the different pairs of such a body do not change.
2. Centre of mass: The point in the system, where, the whole mass of the system can
be supposed to be concentrated, is called the centre of mass of the system.
3. Vector product of vector: The magnitude of the cross product of the two vectors A
and B is defined as the product of the magnitudes of the vectors A and B and sine of
the smaller angle between them.
4. Moment of force (Torque): The turning effect of a force about the axis of rotation
is called moment of force and is measured as the product of the magnitude of the
force and the perpendicular distance of the line of action of the force from the axis of
rotation. Its unit is N/m.
5. Couple: A couple is defined as the pair of two equal and unlike parallel forces acting
on a rigid body along different lines of action. Its unit is N/m.
6. Angular momentum: The turning movement of a particle about the axis of rotation
is called the angular momentum of the particle and is measured as the product of
the linear momentum and the perpendicular distance of its line of action from the
axis of rotation. Its unit is kgm2s-1.
7. Equilibrium of a rigid body: A rigid body is said to be in mechanical equilibrium,
if both its linear momentum and angular momentum do not change with time.
8. Centre of gravity: The point, where the weight of the body (the resultant force due
to gravity on the particles constituting the body) may be supposed to act, is called
the centre of gravity of the body.
9. Moment of Inertia (I): The moment of inertia of a rigid body about a given axis of
rotation is the sum of the products of the masses of the various particles and squares
of their perpendicular distances from the axis of rotation.

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10. Radius of Gyration (K): It is defined as the distance from the axis of rotation at
which, if whole mass of the body were supposed to be concentrated, the moment of
inertia would be same as with the actual distribution of the mass of body in the form
of the constituting particles.

Gravitation

1. Acceleration due to gravity: The acceleration produced in the motion of a body

under the effect of gravity is called acceleration due to gravity.
2. Latitude (): The latitude at a point on the surface of the earth is defined as the
angle, which the line joining that point to the centre of the earth makes with the
equatorial plane.
3. Gravitational field: The space surrounding a material body in which its
gravitational force of attraction can be measured is called its gravitational field.
4. Intensity of the gravitational field: It is defined as the force experienced by a
unit mass (test mass) placed at that point, provided the unit mass (test mass) itself
does not produce any change in the field of the body.
5. Gravitational potential energy: It is defined as the amount of work done in
bringing the body from infinity to that point against the gravitational force.
6. Gravitational potential: The gravitational potential at a point in the gravitational
field is defined as the amount of work done in bringing a body of unit mass from
infinity to that point.
7. Escape velocity: The minimum velocity with which a body must be projected up so
as to enable it to just overcome the gravitational pull, is known as escape velocity.
8. Orbital velocity: It is the velocity required to put the satellite into its orbit around
the planet.
9. Natural satellites: A heavenly body revolving around a planet in a stable orbit is
called a natural satellite.
10. Artificial satellite: A satellite put to in its orbit around a planet by the man is
called an artificial satellite.
11. Polar satellite: The satellite that revolves in polar orbit around the earth is called
a polar satellite.

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12. Communication satellite: A satellite used for communication purposes is known
as communication satellite.
13. Geostationary satellite: A satellite, which revolves in an orbit around the earth in
the equatorial plane in anticlockwise direction with a period of 24hrs, so that it
always stays over the same place on the earth, is called a geostationary satellite.
Properties of Bulk matter

1. Deforming force: Force acting on a body, instead of producing a change in its state
of rest or of uniform motion, produces a change in the shape of the body. Such a force
is called deforming force.
2. Elastic body: A body that returns to its original shape and size on the removal of
the deforming force is called an elastic body.
3. Plastic body: A body that does not return to its original shape and size on the
removal of deforming force, however small the magnitude of deforming force may be,
is called a plastic body. e.g. Paraffin wax, putty etc.
4. Elasticity: The property of matter by virtue of which it regains its original shape
and size, when the deforming forces have been removed is called elasticity.
5. Stress: It is defined as the restoring force per unit area set up in the body, when
deformed by the external force. Its unit is N/m2.
(a) Normal stress: The deforming force acting per unit area normal to the surface
of the body is called normal stress.
(b) Tangential stress: The deforming force acting per unit area tangential to the
surface of the body is called tangential stress.
6. Strain: The ratio of change in dimension of the body to its original dimension is
called strain.
(a) Longitudinal strain: It is defined as the increase in length per unit original
length, when deformed by the external force.
(b) Volumetric strain: It is defined as change in volume per unit original volume,
when deformed by the external force.
(c) Shear strain: It is defined as the angle (in radian), through which a line
originally perpendicular to the fixed face gets turned on applying tangential

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 deforming force. This angle, through which the reference line turns, is called the
angle of shear.
7. Youngs Modulus (Y): It is defined as the ratio of normal stress to the longitudinal
strain.
8. Bulk Modulus (K): It is defined as the ratio of the normal stress to volumetric
strain.
9. Compressibility: The reciprocal of the bulk modulus of a material is called its
compressibility.
10. Modulus of rigidity (): It is defined as the ratio of tangential stress to shear
strain.
11. Elastic after effect: The delay in regaining the original state by a body after the
removal of the deforming force is called elastic after effect.
12. Elastic fatigue: It is defined as the loss in the strength of a material caused due to
repeated alternating strains to which the material is subjected.
13. Elastomer: The elastic substances, which can be subjected to large values of strain,
are called elastomers.
14. Thrust: The total force exerted by a liquid on any surface in contact with it, is called
thrust of liquid.
15. Pressure: The thrust exerted by a liquid (at rest) per unit area of the surface in
contact with the liquid is called pressure.
16. Gauge pressure: It is defined as the difference between actual pressure and
atmospheric pressure.
17. Viscosity: The property of liquids (or gases) by virtue of which an internal
resistance or friction comes into play, when a liquid is in motion, is called viscosity.
18. Coefficient of viscosity: It is defined as the tangential viscous force, which
maintains a unit velocity gradient between its two parallel layers, each of unit area.
19. Terminal velocity: When a spherical body falls through a viscous fluid, the
constant velocity at which viscous force balances the driving force (weight of the
body) is called terminal velocity.
20. Streamline flow: A flow in which each element of the liquid passing through a
point travels along the same path and with the same velocity as the preceding
element passing through the same point.

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21. Critical velocity: It is the maximum velocity of the liquid, above which the flow of
liquid turns from streamline to turbulent flow.
22. Reynolds number: Reynolds number of a liquid determines, whether the flow of a
liquid will be streamlined or turbulent.
23. Cohesion: The force of attraction between molecules of the same substance is called
the force of cohesion.
24. Adhesion: The force of attraction between molecules of the different substances is
called the force of cohesion.
25. Surface tension: Surface tension is that property of a liquid by virtue of which, it
behaves like an elastic stretched membrane with a tendency to contract, so as to
occupy a minimum surface area.
26. Surface energy: The potential energy per unit area of the surface film is called the
surface energy.
27. Capillarity: A tube of very fine bore is called a capillary (hair-like) tube.
28. Angle of contact: The angle , which the tangent to the liquid surface at the point
of contact makes with the solid surface inside the liquid, is called the angle of
contact or the capillary angle.

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 Thermal Properties of Matter & Thermodynamics

1. Heat: Heat is a form of energy which produces in us the sensation of warmth.

2. Temperature: Temperature is a condition, which determines the direction of flow of
heat, when two bodies are mixed together.
3. Coefficient of linear expansion (): It is defined as the increase in its length per
unit length per unit rise in its temperature.
4. Coefficient of superficial expansion (): It is defined as the increase in its
surface area per unit surface area per unit rise in its temperature.
5. Coefficient of cubical/volumetric expansion (): It is defined as the increase in
its volume per unit volume per unit rise in its temperature.
6. Specific heat: The specific heat of the material of a substance may be defined as
the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of the unit mass of the
substance through 10C.
7. Water equivalent: It is defined as the mass of water, which absorbs or emits the
same amount of heat as is done by the given body for the same rise or fall in
temperature.
8. Latent heat: The latent heat of a substance may be defined as the quantity of heat
required to change the unit mass of the substance completely from its one state to
another at constant temperature.
(a) Latent heat of fusion: It is defined as the amount of heat required to change
the unit mass of the solid to its liquid state at its melting point.
(b) Latent heat of vaporization: It is defined as the amount of heat required to
change the unit mass of the liquid to its vapor state at its boiling point.
9. Calorimeter: A device in which heat measurement can be made is called a
calorimeter.

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10. Conduction: It is the process by which heat is transmitted from one point to
another through a substance in the direction of fall of temperature without the
actual motion of the particles of the substance themselves.
11. Convection: It is the process by which heat is transmitted through a substance
from one point to another due to the bodily motion of the heated particles of the
substance.
12. Radiation: It is the process by which heat is transmitted from one place to another
without heating the intervening medium.
13. Thermal Radiation: The energy emitted by a body in the form of radiation on
account of its temperature is called thermal radiation.
14. Temperature gradient: It is defined as the rate of change of temperature with
distance in the direction of flow of heat.
15. Coefficient of thermal conductivity (K): It is defined as the quantity of heat
energy that flows in unit time between the opposite faces of a cube of unit side made
of that material, the faces being kept at one degree difference of temperature.
16. Thermal Equilibrium: Two systems are said to be in thermal equilibrium with
each other, if they are at the same temperature.
17. Thermodynamic variables: The variables which determine the thermodynamic
behavior of a system are called thermodynamic variables.
18. Isothermal process: A thermodynamic process that takes place at constant
temperature is called isothermal process.
19. Isobaric process: A thermodynamic process that takes place at constant pressure
is called isobaric process.
20. Isochoric process: A thermodynamic process that takes place at constant volume
is called isochoric process.
21. Adiabatic process: A thermodynamic process in which no heat enters or leaves the
system is called adiabatic process.
22. Cyclic process: A thermodynamic process in which the system returns to its
original state is called a cyclic process.
23. Internal energy: The internal energy of a gas is defined as the sum of the kinetic
energy and the intermolecular potential energy of the molecules of the gas.

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24. Indicator diagram: A graphical representation of the state of a system with the
help of two thermodynamic variables is called indicator diagram of the system.
25. Specific heat of a gas at constant volume (C v): It is defined as the amount of
heat required to raise the temperature of 1 g of a gas through 10C at constant
volume.
26. Specific heat of a gas at constant pressure (C p): It is defined as the amount of
heat required to raise the temperature of 1 g of a gas through 1 0C at constant
pressure.
27. Reversible process: Any process which can be made to proceed in reverse direction
is called reversible process.
28. Irreversible process: Any process which cannot be made to proceed in reverse
direction is called an irreversible process.
29. Heat engine: A heat engine is a device for converting heat energy continuously into
mechanical work.
30. Efficiency of heat engine (): It is defined as the ratio of the external work
obtained to the amount of heat energy absorbed from the heat source.
31. Coefficient of performance (): It is defined as the ratio of the quantity of heat
removed per cycle from the contents of the refrigerator to the work done by the
external agency to remove it.

Kinetic Theory of Gases

1. Boltzmanns constant (k): It is defined as the universal gas constant per molecule
of the gas.
2. Mean velocity: It is defined as the arithmetical mean of the velocity of the gas
molecules.
3. Root mean square velocity: It is defined as the square root of the mean of the
squares of the velocities of the gas molecules.
4. Most probable velocity: It is defines as the velocity, which is possessed by
maximum number of molecules in a gas sample.

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5. Degrees of freedom (f): The degrees of freedom of a system are defined as the total
number of co-ordinates or independent quantities required to describe the
configuration of the system completely.
6. Mean free path: The mean free path of a molecule is defined as the average
distance travelled by the molecule between two successive collisions and is measured
as the mean of a large number of free paths.
7. Avogadro number: The number of atoms in 12 grams of C12 is called Avogadro
number.
Oscillations

1. Periodic motion: A motion which repeats itself over and over again after a regular
interval of time is called a periodic motion.
2. Oscillatory motion: A motion that repeats itself over and over again about its
mean position, such that it remains confined within two well definite limits (called
extreme positions) on either side of the mean position is called oscillatory motion.
3. Time period: The smallest interval of time, after which the periodic motion
completes itself, is called its time period.
4. Frequency: The number of vibrations that occur in a unit time is called the
frequency of the periodic motion.
5. Displacement: The displacement of a particle at any instant is the distance of the
oscillating particle from its mean position at that instant.
6. Amplitude: The amplitude of a SHM is defined as the maximum displacement on
either side of the mean position.
7. Simple harmonic motion (SHM): It may be defined as that periodic motion, in
which acceleration is directly proportional to the displacement from mean position
and is always directed towards the mean position.
8. Simple pendulum: A simple pendulum is a heavy point mass suspended by a
weightless, inextensible and a perfectly flexible string from a rigid support about
which, it can vibrate freely.
9. Second pendulum: A seconds pendulum is the pendulum, which possesses a time
period of two seconds.

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10. Anharmonic oscillator: Any object or a system executing SHM may be called as
anharmonic oscillator.
11. Free oscillations: A body is said to be executing free oscillations, if it vibrates with
its natural frequency.
12. Forced oscillations: The oscillations produced by an oscillator under the effect of
an external periodic force of frequency other than the natural frequency of the
oscillator are called forced oscillations.
13. Resonance: The phenomenon of setting a body into oscillations of large amplitude
by the influence of another vibrating body having the same natural frequency is
called resonance.
14. Damped oscillations: The periodic oscillations of gradually decreasing amplitude
produced by an oscillator due to the presence of resistive forces are called damped
oscillations.

Waves

1. Wave motion: Wave motion is a form of disturbance which travels through a

medium due to the repeated periodic motion of the particles of the medium about
their mean positions, the motion being handed over from one particle to other.
2. Mechanical waves: The waves, which can be produced or propagated only in a
material medium, are called elastic or mechanical waves.
3. Electromagnetic waves: The waves, which can take place even without a medium,
are called electromagnetic waves.
4. Transverse wave motion: When the particles of the medium vibrate about their
mean position in a direction perpendicular to the direction of propagation of
disturbance, the wave motion is called the transverse wave motion.
5. Crest: A crest is a portion of the medium, which is highly raised above the normal
positions of rest of the particles of the medium, when a transverse wave passes
through it.
6. Trough: A trough is a portion of the medium, which is highly depressed below the
normal positions of rest of the particles of the medium, when a transverse wave
passes through it.

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7. Wavelength: The distance travelled by the disturbance in the time, the particle of
the medium completes one vibration, is called wavelength.
Wavelength is equal to the distance between two consecutive crests or troughs.
8. Longitudinal wave motion: When the particles of the medium vibrate about their
mean positions in the direction of propagation of disturbance, the wave motion is
called the longitudinal wave motion.
9. Compression: A compression is a region of the medium, in which particles come to
distances less than the normal distance between them.
10. Rarefaction: A rarefaction is a region of the medium, in which particles of the
medium get apart to distances greater than the normal distance between them.
11. Non-dispersive medium: A medium, in which the speed of wave motion is
independent of the frequency of waves, is called non-dispersive medium.
12. Wave functions: The functions involving x and t, which can mathematically give
description of an extended moving object (such as a wave pulse), are called wave
functions.
13. Harmonic wave function: A periodic wave function, whose functional form is sine
or cosine is called a harmonic wave function.
14. Periodic wave: A periodic wave is that in which displacement repeats itself after a
distance equal to the wavelength or after a time equal to the period of the wave.
15. Progressive wave (Travelling wave): Ave which travels continuously in a
medium in the same direction without any change in its amplitude is called a
progressive wave or a travelling wave.
16. Wave velocity: It is the velocity with which a progressive wave travels through the
medium.
17. Particle velocity: The instantaneous particle velocity of a particle is defined as the
time rate of change of its displacement.
18. Phase: The argument of sine in the equation of the progressive wave is called the
phase of the wave.
19. Interference of waves: When two waves of same frequency (or wavelength)
moving with the same speed and in the same direction superpose on each other, they
give to an effect, called interference of waves.

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20. Stationary waves: Whenever two progressive waves of the same wavelength and
amplitude travel with the same speed through a medium in opposite directions and
superpose upon each other, they give rise to what is called stationary or standing
waves.
21. Nodes: When the standing waves are set up in the string, the points where the
amplitude is zero are called nodes.
22. Antinodes: When the standing waves are set up in the string, the points where the
amplitude is maximum are called antinodes.
23. Beats: The periodic variations in the intensity of sound due to the superposition of
two sound waves of slightly different frequencies are called beats.
24. Beat frequency: The number of beats produced per second is called beat frequency.
25. Doppler effect: Doppler effect is the phenomenon of change in apparent pitch of
the sound due to relative motion between the source of the sound and the listener.
26. Doppler effect in light: The phenomenon of apparent change in frequency (or
wavelength) of the light due to the relative motion between the source of light and
the observer is called Doppler effect in light.

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