1.

5 ANALYSING INTERFERENCE WAVE

1. Interference is the superposition of two waves from two coherent sources meet
2. Two waves are in coherent if they are of the same .and ,
3. There are two types of interference :
Principle of superposition
1. The principle of superposition states that

2. Constructive interference occurs when

3.

Destructive interference occurs when

4. (a)

Constructive Interference
+

Before superposition

During superposition

Figure 6.50 (a)

Before superposition

During superposition

Figure 6.50 (b)

When the vertical displacement of two waves are in the same direction as in Figure 6.50
(a) and (b), (constructive/destructive) interference occurs.
(b)

Destructive Interference
+
Before superposition

=
During superposition

Figure 6.51
If a wave with a positive displacement meets another with a negative displacement of the same
magnitude, they cancel each other and the combined amplitude becomes ...................

Interference of Water Waves

Figure 6.52: Interference of water waves

1.

At the points of constructive interference, the water moves up and down with a (large/
small) amplitude

2.

The points of constructive interferences, is known as ..( nodes/antinodes)

The points of destructive interferences is known as (nodes/antinodes).

Exercise 1.51
B
C
A

1.

Figure 6.53
Figure 6.53 shows the interference pattern of water by two coherent sources of water waves.
(i)
At point A, two crest meet resulting in .. interference.
(ii)
At point B, two through meet resulting in ..interference.
(iii)
At point C, a crest meet a trough resulting in interference.

2. Complete the table below.

Before superposition

During superposition

After superposition

3.

Categorize each labelled position as being a position where either constructive or

destructive interference occurs.

(a) Constructive interference:.

(b) Destructive interference:..
.

4.

The diagram shows a full-scale interference pattern of a ripple tank experiment 2

seconds after vibration started. The crests of the water ripples are represented by the dark lines.
(a) What is represented at P at this instant?
.
(b) What is the frequency of the vibrator?

5.

Two dot vibrators which has a separation of 5.0 cm are placed on a water surface in
a ripple tank. The distance between two adjacent antinodes on a screen is 3.0 cm. If
the perpendicular distance between the dot vibrators and the screen is 10.0 cm, what
is the wavelength of the water waves?

Answer:
=
= 1.5 cm

Inteference of Light Waves

A ray of light passes through the single slit and reaches the double-slit will give
rise to two coherent light rays.

1. Interference occur when at least two coherent light waves overlap or superpose
2. The superposition of 2 rays produces:
(i)
(ii)
3. When constructive occurs there will be a (bright/dark) fringe
When destructive occurs there will be a (bright/dark) fringe
4. The wavelength of monochromatic light can be found by the formula:

a = ..
x = .
D = .

Exercise 1.52
1. In a Youngs double slit experiment, a light of wavelength 633 nm passes through
Vertical fringes are observed on a screen placed
4 m from the slits.
(i)
Calculate the distance between two adjacent bright fringes.
(ii)
What will happen to the distance between two adjacent bright fringes if a light of
shorter wavelength is used?
Answer:
(a) = 633 nm = 633 x 10-9
a = 0.5 mm = 0.5 x 10-3 m
D =4m
x=
x = 5.064 x 10-3 mm

14 mm
2. The wavelength of light can be determined with a double-slit plate. The diagram above shows
the pattern of interference fringes obtained in a Youngs double-slit experiment. The separation
distance of the two slit is 0.20 mm and the distance between the screen and the double-slit plate
is 4.0 m.
Calculate the wavelength of the light used in the experiment.
Answer:
7x = 14 mm
x = 2 mm = 2 x 10-3 m
D = 3.0 m

Inteference of Sound Waves

The wavelength of sound wave can be found by the formula:

a = ..
x = .
D = .
Exercise 1.53
1. Two loud speakers placed 2 m apart are connected to an audio signal generator that is
adjusted to produce sound waves of frequency 550 Hz. The detection of loud and soft
sounds as a person moves along a line is at 4.0 m from the loudspeakers.
Calculate the
(a) wavelength
(b) speed
of the sound waves.
Answer:
(a) a = 2 m
D = 4.0 m
=
= 0.6 m
(b) f = 550 Hz
V=f
= 550 x 0.6
= 330 m s-1