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Target Audience:
11th and 12th grade Physics Class
Objectives:
Students Will Be Able To:
• Describe parts of a wave
• Determine the difference between longitudinal and transverse waves
• Perform calculations to determine wavelength, velocity, and frequency
Misconception(s) Addressed:
• All waves travel the same way.
• Light is one or the other--a particle or a wave--only.
• Light can be a particle at one point in time and a wave at another point in time.
• Particles can't have wave properties.
• Waves can't have particle properties.
• The position of a particle always can be exactly known.
Becky McCoy
Necessary Preparation:
COPIES
• Wave Worksheet (not associated with this lesson)
• Practice Problem Sheet
MATERIALS
• Chart paper
• Markers
SET UP
Becky McCoy
Lesson Plan
Have students work in small groups to develop a KWL chart regarding waves on chart paper.
These should be hung around the classroom if possible.
Procedure:
Last class, the concept of waves was introduced considering that a transverse wave has the same
shape as the graph of the periodic motion of a simple harmonic oscillator over time.
“We discussed two types of waves – Transverse and Longitudinal – and they’re anatomy. Today
we’re going to look at them more closely.”
Draw diagrams of the two waves near each other and have students label the wavelength,
period, direction of velocity, displacement of the particle within the medium, the crest, trough,
amplitude, etc. and introduce compression and rarefaction within the longitudinal wave
(comparable to the crest and trough in the transverse wave).
This means: v =λ f
Practice problem together:
Dong-Won and Phil are on a dock at a lake. They are counting waves that are passing by. a) In
45 seconds, 15 waves pass by them. What is the frequency of these waves? When is the period?
b) If each wave is 0.8 meters long, what is the velocity of the waves?
a) f = waves/second = 45/15 seconds = 3 /sec T = seconds/wave = 15/45 = 1/3 sec
b) v = λ f = (.8)(3) = 2.4 m/s
Students should also add anything to any column of their KWL chart if needed.
Extension Activity:
Give students the opportunity to work on the homework.
Assessment:
Formative:
• Student KWL Charts
• Student conversations and contributions to discussion
Summative:
• Homework responses
Resources:
Transverse Wave: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g49mahYeNgc
Longitudinal Wave: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XA5XW0sGN_I
Mike Shum’s “Waves and Wave Motion” worksheet
Faughn, J. S., & Serway, R. A. (2003). College Physics (6 ed.). New York: Brooks Cole.
Becky McCoy
2. If the frequency of oscillation of the wave emitted by an FM radio station is 88.0 MHz,
determine the waves (a) period of vibration and (b) wavelength. (Radio waves travel at
the speed of light, 3.00 x 108 m/s).
3. A piano emits sound waves with frequencies that range from a low of about 28 Hz to a
high of about 4200 Hz. Find the range of wavelengths spanned by this instrument. The
speed of sound in air is approximately 343 m/s.
4. A transverse wave is traveling along a rope. It is observed that the oscillator that
generates the wave completes 40.0 vibrations in 30.0 seconds. Also, a given maximum
travels 425 cm along the rope in 10.0 seconds. What is the wavelength?
5. Ocean waves are traveling to the east at 4.0 m/s with a distance of 20 m between
crests. With what frequency do the waves hit the front of a boat when the boat is at
anchor?
6. A girl on the beach watching water waves sees 4 waves pass by in 2 seconds, each with
a wavelength of 0.5 m. Find (a) the period and frequency of the wave and (b) the speed of
the wave.
7. If a wave has frequency 1014 Hz and speed v = 100 m/s, what is its wavelength? How
will the wavelength change if the frequency is 1015 Hz?
8. A phone cord is 4.00 m long. Plucking one end of the taut cord produces a transverse
wave. The pulse makes four trips down and back along the cord in 0.800 seconds. What
is the wave’s velocity?
9. A circus performer stretches a tightrope between two towers. He strikes one end of the
rope and sends a wave along it toward the other tower. He notes that it takes the wave
0.800 seconds to reach the opposite tower, 20.0 m away. What is the velocity of the
wave?
10. A wave pulse travels the length of a slinky in 0.1 seconds. If the slinky is 3.0 meters
long, find the speed of the wave.