WAVE ON A STRING
General Physics Course Worksheets
Professor Sheng Yun Wu
Department of Physics, National Dong Hwa University, Hualien 97401, Taiwan
[Link]
Wavr on a String Simulation
[Link]
Part I: Examine the Properties of the Wave:
Adjust the settings:
a. Select “no end”
b. Adjust “Dampening” to “None”
c. Select “Oscillate”
d. Set “Tension” to “High”
e. Set the “Amplitude” to 0.75 cm
f. Set the “Frequency” to 2.00 Hz
g. Turn on the “Rulers”
Take a couple of minutes to try out the different controls in the simulation to familiarize yourself
with them.
1. If the simulation isn’t creating a wave, click the play button to create a wave.
2. Pause the simulation so that 2 complete waves are on the screen.
3. Measure the distance between one crest and the following crest and enter it here:
________3cm__
4. What property of the wave did you just measure?
Wavelength
5. Measure the distance between one trough and the following trough and enter it here:
____3cm______
6. How do the values you entered for #3 and #5 compare? Why do you think this is?
The distance of #3 and #5 are the same. Because they are crest and trough in a complete
wave.
7. While it is paused, measure the distance from the center line to the top of the wave and enter it
here: ______0.8cm____
8. What property of the wave did you just measure?
Amplitude
9. Also measure the distance between the center line and the bottom of the wave and enter it here:
____0.8cm______
10. How did the values you entered for #7 and #9 compare? Why do you think this is?
They are the same. Because they are half of the amplitude
11. Turn on “Slow Motion” by selecting it in the simulation. Then, select the “Timer” tool.
12. Start the timer when the wave generator reaches its highest point. Time how long it takes to
move down and then back up to the top. Repeat this three times, calculate the average of the
three trials, and enter your data below:
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Time to complete one cycle (seconds)
Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Average of the
Trials
.29 .22 .28 .26
13. Why do you think you got the time you did in the previous step?
It take more times to move down than back up to the top
Determine the Speed of the Wave:
1. Measure the wavelength of the wave, convert it to meters, and enter it below. Also, read the
frequency from the simulation and enter it as well. Use the equation v = λƒ to calculate the
wave speed and enter that into the table.
Wavelength (m) Frequency (Hz) Wave Speed (m/s)
0.032 2.00 0.064
2. Repeat the previous step with the different frequencies shown in the table below. For some
frequencies, you may only see ½ of a wave. In this case, measure the distance from the crest
to the trough and double is to get the wavelength.
Wavelength (m) Frequency (Hz) Wave Speed (m/s)
0.5 0.0065
0.013
0.013 1.0 0.013
1.5 0.0195
0.013
0.013 2.5 0.0325
0.013 3.0 0.039
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3. Keeping the frequency constant, try different values for the amplitude. Based on what you
observe, how does the amplitude of the wave affect the speed of the wave?
The amplitude of a wave does not affect the speed at which the wave travels.
4. Change the wave generator to “Pulse.” Use the timer to time how long it takes for a wave to
travel 5 cm. You should start the timer when the generator reaches its highest point and stop
it when the top of the wave reaches a point 5 cm from where it started. Use the speed
equation (speed = distance/time) to calculate the speed of the wave. Show your work for
this:
5.2 / 0.96 = 5.41667 cm/s
5. Was the speed what you expected? Explain.
Yes,because the distance is approximately equal to 1
6. Experiment with the different controls to find ways to change the speed of the waves
generated. What method(s) did you find to change the speed of the wave?
Wave frequency does not affect wave speed. An increase in wave frequency caused
a decrease in wavelength while the wave speed remained constant.
Part II: Wave Investigation
Investigative Question: What effect does frequency and amplitude have on wavelength in waves?
Procedures:
1. Access the ‘Waves on a String’ simulation through the link on the Google Classroom
Assignment.
2. Make sure that the green box in the left corner is set to Oscillate and the box to the right
has a NO end.
3. Play with the Amplitude in the bottom box. ✎ What do you see happen to the wave on the
string when you increase the amplitude?
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The size of the wave increases.
4. Play with the Frequency in the bottom box. ✎ What do you see happen when you increase
the frequency?
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The pulse of the wave increases.
5. Click on the Rulers button on the bottom box. Then set the amplitude and frequency to the
values below. Measure the wavelength (the distance from the top of one wave to the next).
✎ Record the wavelength.
Amplitude Frequency Wavelength
(cm) (Hz*) (cm)
1.25 cm 2.05 Hz 3
*Hz stands for Hertz, which means ‘how many times a second’.
Design Your Experiments
Use the previous data as a control. Design an experiment where the wavelength is the responding
variable. Answer the following questions: What happens to wavelength when you vary amplitude?
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What happens to wavelength when you vary frequency? Record data to support your answers.
Remember you should only be changing one manipulated variable at a time.
A. What happens to wavelength when you vary amplitude?
Amplitude (cm) Frequency (Hz*) Wavelength (cm)
1.25 cm 2.05 Hz 3
1.00cm 2.05Hz 3
0.75cm 2.05Hz 3
✎ Evidence: (your data)
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✎ Claim: (answer to the question)
Amplitude does not affect wavelength
✎ Reasoning: (explain how your evidence proves your claim)
Vary amplitude does not affect wavelength
B. What happens to wavelength when you vary frequency?
Amplitude (cm) Frequency (Hz*) Wavelength (cm)
1.25 cm 2.05 Hz 3
1.25 1.5 4
1.25 1 6
✎ Evidence: (your data)
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✎ Claim: (answer to the question)
as the frequency increases, the wavelength gets shorter.
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✎ Reasoning: (explain how your evidence proves your claim)
Amplitude is the same, different frequencies make different wavelengths.
Analysis/Reflection
✎ Write a short reflection about a time where you’ve seen waves (can be water waves [i.e. at the
ocean or in a bathtub] or strings/ropes, etc) and describe what you remember about the
amplitude, frequency, and wavelength of these waves and how they might have changed. Use
those terms in your story and describe what they mean.
On my summer vacation, we went to the beach and we went out into the
ocean. The height of the waves or the amplitude would vary. The wait or
frequency between two waves was sometimes short or long but the waves
had a short delay between them or wavelength
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