Name: Laila Horine Date: 11/11/22

Student Exploration: Waves

Directions: Follow the instructions to go through the simulation. Respond to the questions and
prompts in the orange boxes.

Vocabulary: amplitude, compression, crest, frequency, linear mass density, longitudinal wave, medium, period,
power, rarefaction, transverse wave, trough, wave, wavelength, wave speed

Prior Knowledge Questions (Do these BEFORE using the Gizmo.)

1. A buoy is anchored to the ocean floor. A large wave approaches the buoy. How
will the buoy move as the wave goes by?

It will move in the direction the wave is going so it will move up and down
because the wave will push it.

2. The two images show side views of ocean waves. How are the two sets of waves different?

The two images are different because in the first

image the wave is higher than in the second.
And the first wave is longitudinal and the second
is transverse.

Gizmo Warm-up
Ocean swells are an example of waves. In the Waves Gizmo, you will observe
wave motion on a spring model. The hand can move the spring up and down or
back and forth.

To begin, check that the Type of wave is Transverse, Amplitude is 20.0 cm, Frequency is 0.75 Hz, Tension
is 3.0 N, and Density is 1.0 kg/m. (Note: In this Gizmo, “density” refers to the linear mass density, or mass
per unit length. It is measured in units of kilograms per meter.)

1. Click Play ( ). How would you describe the motion of a transverse wave? Click Pause ( ). Notice the
crests (high points) and troughs (low points) of the wave.

The wave moves left to right while the hand moves up and down. And the transverse wave
moves left to right while the particles move up and down.

2. Click Reset ( ). Choose the Longitudinal wave and increase the Amplitude to 20.0 cm. Click Play.
How would you describe the motion of a longitudinal wave? Click Pause. Notice the compressions in the
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 wave where the coils of the spring model are close together and the rarefactions where the coils are
spread apart.

The hand is moving from left to right and so is the wave.

Get the Gizmo ready:

Activity A:
● Click Reset. Select Transverse waves.
Measuring waves ● Set Amplitude to 20.0 cm, Frequency to 1.0 Hz,
Tension to 2.0 N, and Density to 2.0 kg/m.

Question: How do we measure and describe waves?

1. Observe: Click Play. Observe the motions of the hand and of the green dot in the middle.

A. What is the motion of the hand?

B. Turn off the Lights on the checkbox and

observe the green dot. What is the motion of
the green dot?

C. Follow the motion of a single crest of the

wave. How does the crest move?

In a transverse wave, the motion of the medium (what the wave moves through—in this case, the spring)
is perpendicular to the direction of the wave. So, each point of the spring moves up and down as the wave
travels from left to right.

2. Measure: With the lights on, click Pause. Turn on Show rulers.

A. Use the horizontal ruler to measure the horizontal distance

between two crests. What is this distance?
This is the wavelength of the wave.
B. What is the distance between the two troughs?

The wavelength can be found by measuring the distance between two successive crests, two
successive troughs, or any two equivalent points on the wave.

C. Click Reset. Set the Density to 1.0 kg/m. Click Play, and then
Pause. What is the wavelength of this wave?

3. Measure: Click Reset. The amplitude of a transverse wave is the maximum distance a point on the wave
is displaced, or moved, from its resting position. Turn off the lights. Click Play, and then click Pause. Use
the vertical ruler to measure the height of the green trace, showing how far the green dot moved up and
down.
A. What is the height of the green trace?

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 B. The wave’s amplitude is equal to half of this height. What is the
amplitude?

4. Observe: Click Reset. Select Lights on and turn off Show rulers. Select Longitudinal waves. Check that
the Amplitude is 10.0 cm, the Frequency is 1.00 Hz, and the Tension is 2.0 N. Set the Density to 1.0
kg/m, and click Play.
A. What is the motion of the hand?

B. Turn the lights off. What is the motion of the

green dot?

C. Follow the motion of a single compression of

the wave. How does the compression
move?

In a longitudinal wave, the motion of the medium is parallel to the direction of the wave. So, each
point of the spring moves back and forth as the wave is transmitted from left to right.

5. Measure: With the lights on, click Pause. Turn on Show rulers.
A. The wavelength of a longitudinal wave is equal to the distance between
two successive compressions (or rarefactions). What is this distance?

B. How does this compare to the wavelength of the comparable transverse

wave? (See your answer to question 2C.)

6. Measure: Click Reset. The amplitude of a longitudinal wave is equal to the distance a point on the wave is
displaced from its resting position. Turn off the lights. Click Play, and then click Pause. Use the horizontal
ruler to measure the width of the green trace.
A. What is the width of the green trace?

B. The wave’s amplitude is equal to half of this height. What is the

amplitude?

7. Calculate: Click Reset. Select Transverse waves. Select Lights on and Show grid and turn off Show
rulers. Set the Frequency to 0.50 Hz. A single cycle is the time it takes the hand to move up, move down,
and then back up to the starting position. Click Play, and then click Pause after exactly one cycle. (This
may take a few tries.)
A. How long does one cycle take?
This is the period (T) of the wave.

B. Frequency (f) is equal to 1 divided by the period: f = .

Frequency is measured in hertz (Hz), where 1 Hz = 1
cycle/sec.

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 What is the frequency of this wave?

Get the Gizmo ready:

Activity B:
● Click Reset. Check that Transverse is selected.
Wave dynamics ● Set Amplitude to 20.0 cm, Frequency to 0.75 Hz,
Tension to 3.0 N, and Density to 1.0 kg/m.

Question: What factors affect the wavelength, speed, and power of waves?

1. Record: The speed of a wave is the distance a wave pulse travels per second. The wave speed is
displayed below the spring. Click Play. What is the wave speed?

173.2 cm/s

2. Experiment: The wavelength and speed of a wave can be influenced by many factors. Adjust the
amplitude, frequency, tension, and density as described in the table below. Then report whether this causes
the wavelength and wave speed to increase or decrease. Return each variable to its original value after
each experiment.

Adjustment Effect on wavelength Effect on wave speed

Increase amplitude stays the same stays the same
Increase frequency decreases stays the same
Increase tension increases increases
Increase density increases decreases

3. Analyze: Click Reset. Set the Frequency to 0.80 Hz, Tension to 2.0 N, and Density to 2.0 kg/m. Click
Play, and then click Pause. Turn on Show rulers.

A. What is the wavelength? 125 cm

B. What is the wave speed? 100 cm/s

C. How are the wavelength, frequency, and v=fλ They are related because if you
wave speed related? In general, the wave can find two of them you can figure out
speed (v) can be calculated from the the third one. They are all connected.
frequency (f) and wavelength (λ) using the
formula v = f • λ.

D. What is the wavelength of a wave with f = 172.11 cm

0.9 Hz and v = 154.9 cm/s? To check, set

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 Frequency to 0.90 Hz, Tension to 2.4 N,
and Density to 1.0 kg/m.

E. Change the Density to 1.5 kg/m, and click It will decrease.

Play. Based on the wave speed, what do
you expect the wavelength to be? Measure
the wavelength to check.

4. Gather data: Click Reset, and turn off Show rulers. The power of a wave is the amount of energy it
transmits each second. The power of the wave is displayed below the spring when Play is pressed. Record
the wave power for each of the settings below.

Amplitude Frequency Tension Density Power

20.0 cm 0.60 Hz 2.0 N 1.0 kg/m 0.402 W
40.0 cm 0.60 Hz 2.0 N 1.0 kg/m 1.61 W

20.0 cm 0.50 Hz 2.0 N 1.0 kg/m 0.2279 W

20.0 cm 1.00 Hz 2.0 N 1.0 kg/m 1.12 W

20.0 cm 0.60 Hz 2.0 N 1.0 kg/m 0.402 W

20.0 cm 0.60 Hz 4.0 N 1.0 kg/m 0.568 W

20.0 cm 0.60 Hz 2.0 N 0.5 kg/m 0.284 W

20.0 cm 0.60 Hz 2.0 N 1.0 kg/m 0.402 W

Which factors increased the power of the wave?

Frequency, tension, density, and amplitude.

5. Compare: Click Reset. Select Longitudinal waves. Set Amplitude to 20.0 cm, Frequency to 0.60 Hz,
Tension to 2.0 N, and Density to 1.0 kg/m. Click Play.

A. What is the power of this longitudinal wave? .402 W

B. Compare this power to the power of a transverse wave with the same settings. Does changing the
type of wave affect its power? The power of the wave stayed the same.

6. Apply: Sound waves are longitudinal waves that can travel through air. Would you expect sound waves to
travel faster through a low-density gas (such as helium) or a higher-density gas such as carbon dioxide?
Justify your answer based on what you have learned.

The lower the density the faster they travel so they travel faster in low density gas.

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7. Apply: As ocean waves approach the shore, friction with the ocean bottom causes them to slow down. If
the frequency is the same, how will this affect the wavelength of the waves?

The wavelength of the waves would get smaller if the frequency remained constant. The
wavelength and the frequency determine the velocity. If the velocity falls to the same level
as the frequency the wavelength will fall too.

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 Get the Gizmo ready:
Activity C:
● Click Reset. Select Combined waves.
Combined waves ● Set Amplitude to 10.0 cm, Frequency to 0.75 Hz,
Tension to 2.0 N, and Density to 1.0 kg/m.

Question: What does wave motion look like when transverse and longitudinal waves are combined?

1. Observe: Click Play. Observe the motions of the hand and of the green dot in the middle.

A. What is the motion of the hand?

B. Deselect the Lights On checkbox. What is

the motion of the green dot?

In a combined wave, the motion of the medium is circular. So, each point of the spring
moves in a circle as the wave is transmitted from left to right.

C. Click Pause. Compare the crests (high

points) to the troughs (low points). What do
you notice?

Combined waves, such as ocean waves, do not look exactly like transverse waves. In the
Gizmo, the troughs are pointy and the crests are rounded. In the ocean, the crests are
relatively pointy while the troughs are rounded.

2. Measure: Click Reset. Select Lights on and Show rulers. Set the Frequency to 1.0 Hz. Check that the
Tension is 2.0 N, the Density is 1.0 kg/m, and the Amplitude is 10.0 cm.

A. Measure the horizontal distance between

two crests. What is this distance?

B. What is the distance between two troughs?

C. How do the wavelength, wave speed, and

wave power of the combined wave compare
to a transverse wave with the same
settings? Explain.

D. Why do you think the combined wave is

more powerful than either the transverse or
longitudinal wave with the same amplitude,
frequency, tension, and density?

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