6.1.10

Required Practical - Ripple Tank

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Ripple Tank

A ripple tank can be used to observe waves and calculate wave speed.

Ripple tank

Ripple tank

  • Water waves can be set up in a ripple tank, where a rod at one end of a tank of water creates a series of ripples.
  • A bright light shone through the water onto a sheet of paper shows the ripples on the water very clearly as a series of parallel lines travelling along with constant speed.
Wavefronts

Wavefronts

  • These parallel lines are the peaks of the ripples on the water. We call them wavefronts.
  • The distance between two wavefronts is the wavelength.
Wave speed

Wave speed

  • Ripple tanks allow us to calculate the wave speed.
  • The equation for wave speed is:
    • v=fλv = f\lambda
    • Wave speed = frequency × wavelength
Units

Units

  • Wave speed is measured in m/s.
  • Wave frequency is measured in Hertz (Hz).
  • Wavelength is measured in meters (m).
Jump to other topics
1

Energy

2

Electricity

3

Particle Model of Matter

4

Atoms & Radiation

5

Forces

5.1

Basics of Motion

5.2

Forces

5.3

Effects of Forces

5.4

Pressure

6

Waves

6.1

Wave Basics

6.2

Waves at a Boundary

6.3

Sound Waves

6.4

Electromagnetic Waves

6.5

Lenses

6.6

Heat & Radiation

7

Magnetism

8

Astrophysics

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