Lab 4. Lesson 1

Lab 4. Lesson 1

The title of the laboratory work: Identifying the speed of surface wave propagation

Purpose of the work: 

  • Identify the speed of wave propagation with the help of experiment.

Expected results:

  • Waves propagate at constant speed in homogeneous environment.

Teacher’s Guide:

  • Divide the students to 3 students in each group.
  • Before starting laboratory work, read the safety rules:
 Safety rules
  • To download the worksheet, please follow this link:
Worksheet-4Скачать

Theoretical part

All types of waves propagate at a constant speed in a homogeneous medium:

where l — the distance traveled from the source of waves to the point, where the wave has traveled to; t – the time of propagation of the wave.

Sources:

  1. Волновое движение. (2019). Физика. Учебник для 9 класса общеобразовательной школы. 

Experimental part

Procedure:

Step 1.

Fill the cuvette with water and put the float onto the edge of the cuvette. Measure the length of the cuvette.

Step 2.

Set the float into an oscillating motion, plunging it deeper into the water. Record the time during which the wave created by the oscillatory movement of the float reaches the opposite side of the cuvette. Enter the data into the table.

Step 3. Repeat the experiment 5 times. Enter the data into the table.

Step 4. Calculate the wave speed for all experiments. Record your results in a table.

Step 5. Determine the average wave speed.

Step 6. Estimate the measurement error using a statistical method.

Step 7. Write down the measurement result as:

Research part

№Time,
t, s		Length of cuvette,
l, m		Speed of wave, 
v, m/s		Average wave speed,
 vave, m/s
1    
2    
3    
4    
5    

When deriving conclusions, answer the following questions:

  • What conditions can be settled to increase the precision of the measurements?

Conclusion

Waves propagate at a constant speed in homogeneous environments, it can be calculated by measuring the time and distance of wave propagation.