Shadowing Practice: GCSE Physics - Longitudinal & Transverse Waves - Labelling & Calculating Wave Speed (2027/28 exams) - Learn English Speaking with Video
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In today's video, we're going to look at the basics of waves, including how to label the different parts, how to calculate the wave speed,
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and the differences between transverse and longitudinal waves.
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The first thing to understand about waves is that they transfer energy from one place to another, but they don't transfer any matter.
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So when light waves pass from a phone screen to your eye, or sound waves pass from the speakers to your ear,
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only energy is being transferred.
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Sometimes though we can interpret that energy as meaningful information,
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which is why our brain is able to build up images and tunes from the light and sound that it receives.
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To travel from one place to another, the waves vibrate or oscillate, as we can see in this displacement distance graph.
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The distance is how far the wave has travelled from the starting point,
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while the displacement is how far from the equilibrium point the wave has oscillated, so how far it's gone up or down.
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The maximum displacement is known as the amplitude, while the distance of one entire oscillation is called the wavelength.
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So that could be from equilibrium, up, down, and back up.
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Or it could be from the very top of a wave, which we call the crest, down and back up to the next crest.
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It just has to be one entire oscillation.
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And the opposite of the crest is called the trough.
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Now, sometimes you might see a displacement time graph instead, which looks pretty much the same,
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but because we have time on the x -axis instead of distance,
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the length of one complete oscillation would be the time period instead of the wavelength,
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and the time period is just the time it takes for one complete oscillation.
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The benefit of knowing the time period is that we can then use this equation here to work out frequency,
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which is measured in hertz and is the number of complete oscillations per second.
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To see how it works, imagine that each oscillation takes 0 .5 seconds,
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or in other words, the time period is 0 .5 seconds.
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This means that there must be a total of 2 oscillations per second, so the frequency is 2,
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which is what we'd get if we did 1 divided by the time period of 0 .5.
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We can also use the equation the other way around, so time period equals 1 over frequency.
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So if we were told that the frequency of a wave was 4 hertz, which means 4 oscillations per second,
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then to find the time period, we're to just do 1 divided by 4,
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which tells us that each oscillation must be 0 .25 seconds.
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The next equation to know is that we can find the speed of the wave, so the wave speed, by multiplying the wavelength by the frequency.
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So basically we multiply how long each wavelength is by how many there are per second,
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and that will give us the total distance they travel per second.
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To see how this works, let's imagine we had a sound wave that had a frequency of 400 hertz and a wavelength of 70 centimeters.
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what is its wave speed well in this case all we'd
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have to do is convert the 70 centimeters to 0 .7 meters
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because we always want our wavelength in meters
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and then multiply it by the frequency of 400 hertz which gives us 280 meters per second as our wave speed
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The last thing we need to look at are the differences between transverse and longitudinal waves.
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In transverse waves, the oscillations are perpendicular to the direction of energy transfer,
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or the direction in which the wave is moving.
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Which is why on our drawing, the vibrations are going up and down, whilst the overall wave is travelling from left to right.
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Most waves we can think of are transverse, including all electromagnetic waves like light and radio waves,
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ripples and waves in water, and the waves of strings like on a guitar are.
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Longitudinal waves, on the other hand, have oscillations that are parallel to the direction of energy transfer.
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This one's a bit trickier to get your head around, but basically it leads to some regions that are more spread out,
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and other regions that are more compressed, because the wave is vibrating back and forth.
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In motion, it would look as if this area of compression is moving from the left to the right within the wave.
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Examples of longitudinal waves include sound waves and some types of shock waves, like seismic P waves.
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If you haven't heard yet, you can find all of our videos on our website, cognito .org.
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You'll also find questions, flashcards, exam -style questions, and past papers.
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And we track all of your progress so that you always know what to study next.
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So sign up for free by clicking here, or browse our playlist here on YouTube.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “GCSE Physics - Longitudinal & Transverse Waves - Labelling & Calculating Wave Speed”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: wave, oscillation, frequency, period, wavelength. This video has 52 sentences and 807 words to shadow. The speech runs for 6:26. The speaker talks at a steady 125 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 83% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| frequency noun | /ˈfɹiːkwənsi/ | The rate of occurrence of anything; the relationship between incidence and time period. |
| displacement noun | /dɪsˈpleɪsmɪnt/ | The act of displacing, or the state of being displaced; a putting out of place. |
| meter noun | /ˈmitəɹ/ | A device that measures things. |
| equation noun | /ɪˈkweɪ.ʒən/ | The act or process of equating two or more things, or the state of those things being equal (that is, identical). |
| crest noun | /kɹɛst/ | The summit of a hill or mountain ridge. |
| divide verb | /dɪˈvaɪd/ | To split or separate (something) into two or more parts. |
| graph noun | /ɡɹæf/ | A data chart (graphical representation of data) intended to illustrate the relationship between a set (or sets) of numbers (quantities, measurements or… |
| equilibrium noun | /ɛkwɪˈlɪbɹɪəm/ | The condition of a system in which competing influences are balanced, resulting in no net change. |
| guitar noun | /ɡɪˈtɑɹ/ | A stringed musical instrument, of European origin, usually with a fretted fingerboard and six strings, played with the fingers or a plectrum (guitar pick). |
| shock noun | /ʃɔk/ | A sudden, heavy impact. |
| label noun | /ˈleɪ.bəl/ | A small ticket or sign giving information about something to which it is attached or intended to be attached. |
| string noun | /stɹɪŋ/ | A long, thin and flexible structure made from threads twisted together. |
| whilst adverb | /waɪlst/ | Often preceded by the: During the time; meanwhile. |
| parallel adjective | /ˈpæ.ɹəˌlɛl/ | Equally distant from one another at all points. |
| tune noun | /tjuːn/ | A melody. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| go up verb | To move upwards. | |
| back up verb | To move backwards, especially for a vehicle to do so. | |
| build up verb | To erect; to construct. | |
| spread out verb | Become further apart. | |
| work out verb | /ˌwɝk ˈaʊt/ | To calculate. |
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | being transferred · is known · is called |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | has travelled · has oscillated · haven't heard |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 7 contractions and reduced forms, such as we'd, we're, don't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: wavelength /ˈweɪvˌlɛŋ(k)θ/, trough /tɹɔθ/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: equation /ɪˈkweɪ.ʒən/, shock /ʃɔk/, compression /kəmˈpɹɛʃ.ən/, vibration /vaɪˈbɹeɪʃən/, oscillation /ˌɒ.sɪˈleɪ.ʃən/
- Long words — get the stress right: equilibrium /ɛkwɪˈlɪbɹɪəm/, electromagnetic /ɪˌlɛk.tɹoʊ.mæɡˈnɛ.tɪk/, oscillation /ˌɒ.sɪˈleɪ.ʃən/, longitudinal /ˌlɔn.dʒɪˈtu.dɪ.nəl/, perpendicular /ˌpɜː.pənˈdɪk.jə.lə(ɹ)/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Shadow it sentence by sentence at normal speed, repeating each one until your rhythm matches the speaker.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like frequency, displacement, meter.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.