PROBLEMS

1. The speed of sound wave in air is 330 m/s. What is wavelength of a sound wave of
frequency 170 Hz?
Data : v = 330 m/s, f = 170 Hz, λ = ?
 v = fλ
λ = v/f
= 330 m s-1/170 Hz = 1.94 m
2. Determine the speed of a wave with a frequency of 1.0 kHz and wavelength of 0.2 m?
Data: f =1.0 kHz = 1000 Hz, λ = 0.2 m, v= ?
v = fλ
= 1000 Hz x 0.2 m
= 200 m/s

WAVE GRAPHS
There are two ways of representing waves; plotting
• a displacement- distance graph
• a Displacement- time graph
displacement- distance graph

wavelength = 2.0 cm
amplitude = 5.0 cm
In a displacement – distance graph, one complete cycle represent one wavelength.

Displacement – time graph

This graph can be used to find the period (T) of a wave. One complete cycle represent the
period (T).
 Period T = 2.0 s
Frequency f = 1/2.0 s =0.5 Hz
Amplitude a = 3.0 cm.

Wave fronts:
Lines joining points on different waves produced by same source at the same time OR lines
drawn to represent the positions of the crests on a wave.
• A circular wavefronts are used to represent circular waves (ripples) and are
concentric. Circular waves can be produced by a single point source(e.g. a finger or
vibrating dipper in a ripple tank)

• Straight wavefronts are used for straight water waves and are parallel. Straight
waves can be produced using a vibrating bar or a ruler.

*wavefronts are always perpendicular to the direction of the wave travel.

Wavelength is equal to the distance from the centre of one compression (or rarefaction) to the
centre of the next.
Examples of longitudinal waves

- waves on the slinky springs

- sound waves
9.4 REFLECTION AND REFRACTION OF WAVES
Reflection: waves can undergo reflection when they meet an obstacle (barrier).
This can be shown using a ripple tank (to demonstrate reflection of water waves)
- A flat/plane surface is placed a short distance from a vibrator. Waves are then
produced. The straight wavefronts are reflected from the boundary as shown below
The angle at which wavefronts bounce off the barrier is equal to the angle at which they meet
the surface
The angle of incidence = the angle of reflection
Circular wavefronts are reflected as shown below. Notice that the reflected waves seem to be
coming from an imaginary source behind the boundary and the reflected waves are the mirror
image of the incident waves.
The distance from the real source to the barrier is the same as from the imaginary source to
the barrier.

Refraction: if a small glass is placed in the centre of ripple tank the depth of the water
here is reduced. As the water waves enter this region we can see that the wavelength
changes because the speed changes but the frequency remains the same. The wavelength
will increase when the wave enters the deeper water again indicating that the speed has
increased.
The ratio of the speed (velocity) v1 of waves in deep water to the speed v2 water in shallow
water is known as refractive index.
Notice that if the boundary between shallow and deep water is at an angle to the direction in
which water waves are moving, the direction of the wave of travel will change. The wave is
said to have been refracted or undergone refraction.
The waves bend towards the normal as they enter shallow water and are slowed down. They
bend away from the normal as they leave shallow water and enter deep water.
9.5 DIFFRACTION
When waves enter/pass through an opening (gap), they often spread out even to regions that
are not directly in front of the entrance. When the waves spread through a gap or around an
obstacle, this effect is called diffraction.

When a wave is diffracted, its wavelength does not change. However, the size of its
wavelength affects how much it is diffracted.
Note: a) if wavelength is similar to the size of the gap, the waves are strongly diffracted.
b) If the wavelength is much smaller than the size of the gap, the waves are weakly
diffracted.
c) If the gap is much wider, diffraction is also weaker (see diagram (a) above).
QUESTIONS

1. How is a wave produced? Give two examples of different ways of producing waves.
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2. What is the difference between the longitudinal and transverse waves? Give two
examples for each.
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3. What is meant by a compression and rarefaction in a spring?
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4. What is the speed of a wave of frequency 400 kHz with wavelength 2.0 m?
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5. Water waves are produced with a frequency of 4 Hz, by hitting the water surface with
the tip of a pencil. If the waves travel 20 m in 10 s, what is

a) The speed of the wave?

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b) The wavelength of the wave?

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6. A sound wave of frequency of 300 Hz and wavelength 4 m is travelling in water.

Calculate the speed and period of the wave.
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7. Fig 7.0 shows a transverse wave at a certain instant. The vertical arrows indicate the
direction of motion of some individual points on the wave at a particular instant.

Fig. 7.0
On the diagram use arrows to show:

a) The direction of energy flow

b) wavelength
c) Amplitude

8. In the diagram on the below, waves are moving towards a harbour wall

a) What will happen to waves striking the harbour wall at A?

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b) What will happen to waves slowed by the submerged sandbank at B?

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c) What will happen to waves passing through the harbour entrance at C?

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d) If the harbour entrance were wider, what difference would this make?
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9. The diagram below represents water waves travelling across a boundary between deep
water and shallow water. The waves in deep water have been drawn, but those in the
shallow water are missing. Waves travel more slowly in shallow water than in deep
water. Copy the diagram and complete it to show how the waves might behave in the
shallow water.

10. The diagram below shows waves being produced in a ripple tank by a wave machine.

a) How many water waves are shown in the diagram?

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b) If the above waves were produced in 2.5 s what is their frequency?

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c) If the wavelength of the water waves is 5 cm calculate their speed.
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