Light and Sound Wave Simulation

Name:______________________________________________ We are going to look at some Light and Sound wave simulations today. First log on to your computer and type in the following website: http: phet.colorado.edu new simulations inde!.php" cat#Sound_and_Waves $ou have to make it look e!actly like above. Ne!t %lick on the &Wave 'nterference( simulator and click &)un Now( A. Water Wave Simulator First you are going to record your observations about the water wave simulator. *. What happens to what you see as you move the fre+uency and amplitude sliders"

Fre+uency changes the number of waves while amplitude changes the amount of energy the waves have.
,. Now click Show graph and repeat. What do you notice with the graph of the water level" -.se terms like amplitude/ crest/ trough/ wavelength/ and fre+uency0

$ou can see the change in the number of waves when you change the fre+uency. When fre+uency increases/ wavelength decreases so you have more waves. When fre+uency decreases wavelength increases so you have more waves. When amplitude changes it affects the distance between the crest and the trough of the wave. 1ore amplitude means there is more energy.

2. Now rotate your view of the water. )ecord your observations.

3he amplitude of the wave matches the movement of the wave on the graph.
4. What happens if you add a second drip" What happens if you space them close together" Far apart"

3he two waves interfere with each other where they intersect.
5. 3urn off the second drip but add a barrier. )ecord your observations. What happens as you alter the width of the slit"

$ou can see the waves reflecting/ interfering and diffracting. 3he slit determines the amount.
B. Sound Wave Simulator Now click on the top tab that says sound. *. What do you see"

3he speaker pushes the waves out. 3he dark areas are compressions and the light areas are rarefactions.

,. What happens when you press the particle button" What happens to the particles as you alter the fre+uency and amplitude" )ecord your observations.

3he particle button allows you to see the air particles and how the energy moves through the particles but the particles always return to where they started. 6s you increase fre+uency/ the energy increases pushing through the particles -pitch changes0 and as you increase amplitude more particles are pushed -volume changes0 2. As frequency increases you have more waves,

as amplitude increases the waves get higher.

4. %lick on grayscale. What happens when you rotate the view" )ecord your observations.

.nlike the water waves which only affect the top of the water/ sound affects everything around it/ in a sphere/ so there seems to be no change.
5. What happens when you turn the speaker off"

3here is no sound/ the waves +uit moving and the particles are still.
7. 3urn the speaker back on after all the particles become still. 8. 3urn on the sound. What happens to the sound as you vary the fre+uency and amplitude"

%hanges in fre+uency changes pitch. %hanges in amplitude changes volume.

9. :ut the sliders for fre+uency and amplitude in the middle. What happens if you add a barrier" What if you alter the barrier" What if you add two"

$ou see

reflection and interference as well as diffraction.

C. Light Wave Simulator Now click the top tab that says &light( *. %lick &show graph( and &add detector(

6mplitude in light affects its brightness. Fre+uency affects the color you see.
,. What happens when you vary the amplitude" What happens if you put the amplitude at ;"

3he brightness of the color changes and when it is <ero there is no change in color and the color is dull muted.
2. What happens to the wavelength and fre+uency as you change the color"

Fre+uency and wavelength change as you change colors. )ed has the longest wavelength and violet has the shortest.
4. What can you say about the difference in colors"

%olor is related to wavelength and fre+uency.

6s the barrier gets closer/ there is more reflection which results in interference. 3here is also more diffraction.

5. Now add a slit. 1ove the slit back and forth. What happens as the slit gets closer and farther from the source" =oes changing the color affect this"

7. Now set the slit width at *;5; and the barrier location at ,>5;. .se the target on the detector to compare the amplitudes on each side of the barrier. What happen directly behind the opening versus behind the barrier"

'nterference results in lower amplitude and brightness

but diffracted light is still bright. 3he intensity graph measures the energy of the waves.
Now take the information you have observed using this simulator and write your conclusions. @ow do you think altering factors like wavelength and fre+uency affect they way we see and hear" @ow does this help us understand how things like lenses and walls can alter the way we see certain lights and hear certain sounds" 8. %lick &Show Screen( and &'ntensity ?raph.( What do you think these represent and are showing"