Browse Activities
Standing Waves
- phet standing waves.doc - 27 kB
| Title | Standing Waves |
| Description | Students will observe and describe interference when a wave is reflected back along a rope. Students will also create a standing wave. |
| Subject | Physics |
| Level | High School |
| Type | Lab |
| Duration | 60 minutes |
| Answers Included | No |
| Language | English |
| Keywords | Sound, Waves |
| Simulation(s) | Wave on a String |
| Author(s) | Stephan Graham |
| Contact Email | stephangraham@hotmail.com |
| School / Organization | Arrupe Jesuit High School |
| Date submitted | 2/20/07 |
| Date updated | 9/18/07 |
Comments
Hello, I am trying to create standing waves using this simulation but need to know some information about the string. For instance: What is the mass? Can we determine the tension? gschneck@gmail.com
gabriel schneck
5/6/11
Hi, I as well am trying to create a standing wave, however, one end is lose, and one and is fixed. Do you have any tips for me? (natashatomm@gmail.com)
Natasha T.
6/16/11
The waves are generated on a frictionless surface perpendicular to gravitational force as if they were made by a rope on a table. The simulation is not meant to be highly quantitative. The challenge to make a standing wave is more for making sense of definitions that are in texts and for fun than actually deriving a definition.
Trish
6/18/11
Natasha,
You will need to fix the right end to get a standing wave.
Trish
6/18/11
Why does the sim break down after observing a standing wave?
Jared
4/29/14
The sim was designed to address many qualitative learning outcomes and is optimized for those. However, some teachers find it useful to approximate standing waves. The sim is based on discrete vector addition and the step intervals are not small enough to enable ideal standing waves. In order to have more small intervals, the processing calculations slow down the sim so much that the sim would not be useful.
Trish
5/6/14
