Terms & Definitions

Sound Wave
Vibrations of air molecules that travel through air carrying energy with them.  Sound waves can also travel through water and solids, but cannot travel in space where there are no molecules to vibrate. When sound travels through air, the molecules do not actually move to a new location, instead each set of molecules "bumps" the molecules next to it, progressively transferring motion to new sets of molecules farther and farther away from the sound source until the wave motion dies out. Play with the "Sound" tab on this simulation to see sound travel through air.



Leaping Dolphins