Waves are most familiar in the context of waves on the surface of water, but many other phenomena (sound, light, vibrations of mechanical structures, and even matter itself) can be understood as wave phenomena. This block will touch on these aspects, but the emphasis will be on gaining a clear understanding of the most easily understood examples of wave motion. You will be introduced to Fourier transforms and the method of separation of variables as techniques for solving linear partial differential equations. This block concludes with a discussion of how some of the characteristic phenomena of wave propagation (such as reflection, refraction, and Doppler shifts) can be understood from the solutions of the wave equation.