air pressure: The force exerted by the weight of air molecules.
average: (in science) A term for the arithmetic mean, which is the sum of a group of numbers that is then divided by the size of the group.
axis: (in mathematics) The line to the side or bottom of a graph. It is labeled to explain the graph’s meaning and the units of measurement.
cavity: (in geology or physics) A large rigid pocketlike structure.
compression: Pressing on one or more sides of something in order to reduce its volume.
data: Facts and/or statistics collected together for analysis but not necessarily organized in a way that gives them meaning. For digital information (the type stored by computers), those data typically are numbers stored in a binary code, portrayed as strings of zeros and ones.
diameter: The length of a straight line that runs through the center of a circle or spherical object, starting at the edge on one side and ending at the edge on the far side.
frequency: The number of times some periodic phenomenon occurs within a specified time interval. (In physics) The number of wavelengths that occurs over a particular interval of time.
geometry: The mathematical study of shapes, especially points, lines, planes, curves and surfaces. Geometry can also refer to the defined shape of something (such as it had a very spherical geometry).
glass: A hard, brittle substance made from silica, a mineral found in sand. Glass usually is transparent and fairly inert (chemically nonreactive). Aquatic organisms called diatoms build their shells of it.
hertz: The frequency with which something (such as a wavelength) occurs, measured in the number of times the cycle repeats during each second of time.
horizontal: A line or plane that runs left to right, much as the horizon appears to do when gazing into the distance.
information: (as opposed to data) Facts provided or trends learned about something or someone, often as a result of studying data.
molecule: An electrically neutral group of atoms that represents the smallest possible amount of a chemical compound. Molecules can be made of single types of atoms or of different types. For example, the oxygen in the air is made of two oxygen atoms (O2), but water is made of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom (H2O).
physics: The scientific study of the nature and properties of matter and energy. Classical physics is an explanation of the nature and properties of matter and energy that relies on descriptions such as Newton’s laws of motion. Quantum physics, a field of study that emerged later, is a more accurate way of explaining the motions and behavior of matter. A scientist who works in such areas is known as a physicist.
pitch: (in acoustics) The word musicians use for sound frequency. It describes how high or low a sound is, which will be determined by the vibrations that created that sound.
plastic: Any of a series of materials that are easily deformable; or synthetic materials that have been made from polymers (long strings of some building-block molecule) that tend to be lightweight, inexpensive and resistant to degradation. (adj.) A material that is able to adapt by changing shape or possibly even changing its function.
pressure: Force applied uniformly over a surface, measured as force per unit of area.
range: The full extent or distribution of something. For instance, a plant or animal’s range is the area over which it naturally exists. (in math or for measurements) The extent to which values can vary (such as the highest to lowest temperatures). Also, the distance within which something can be reached or perceived.
resonance: (in physics) The quality of being loud and clear, or, making sound by vibrating another thing. Or a term for some system in which an external stimulus has set up a large vibration of some kind, the frequency of which matches that of the stimulus.
resonate: To reverberate, like a ringing bell, producing a clear tone or frequency of radiating energy.
resonator: (in physics) Something that traps energy at certain frequencies, causing it to reverberate. See resonate.
sound wave: A wave that transmits sound. Sound waves have alternating swaths of high and low pressure.
trough: (in physics) the bottom or low point in a wave.
vertical: A term for the direction of a line or plane that runs up and down, as the vertical post for a streetlight does. It’s the opposite of horizontal, which would run parallel to the ground.