Blog Post 5: Wave Interference Simulation Activities

1. Measure the wavelength of two drops of different amplitude, leave frequency constant.

1) wavelength = 5.24 cm: low frequency, high amplitude

2) wavelength = 5.27 cm: low frequency, low amplitude

2. Measure the wavelength of two drops with different frequency, leave amplitude constant.

1) 5.02 cm: low frequency, mid amplitude

2) .95 cm: high frequency, mid amplitude

3. Explain your results for Question 1 and 2.

amplitude has no effect on the wavelength, it is the frequency that can dramatically change the wavelength.

4. Introduce a second faucet for the next set of questions.

- measure the wavelength of the two drips, in cm

#1 wavelength = 2.91 cm

#2 wavelength = 2.91 cm

- then measure distances from each drip to the 6 constructive interference points and report these values, cm

Drip 1 distance to:

A: 3.72 cm

B: 4.45 cm

C: 4.43 cm

D: 8.06 cm

E: 7.66 cm

F: 7.76 cm

Drip 2 distance to:

A: 4.12 cm

B: 4.69 cm

C: 7.99 cm

D: 4.56 cm

E: 7.89 cm

F: 11.12 cm

- explain the observation you have on the distance comparisons to the constructive interference points to the wavelength of the water wave.


the points become more frequent when the two different wavelengths start to interfere with each other, and because of that the wavelengths become seemingly shorter.