ObjectiveTo demonstrate longitudinal and transverse waves
Materials
Measuring tape
Slinky spring
Method
Spread a measuring tape on a flat floor so that it cannot shift about.
Tie a piece of coloured thread to one section of the slinky.
Place the slinky on the measuring tape and steadily push it a little forward and pull it back. Observe the wave this produces. Such a wave is called a longitudinal wave.
Again move the slinky steadily left and right and observe the transverse wave produced. Such a wave is called a transverse wave.
Fill in the information about both kinds of wave in a table like the one below.
Properties
Longitudinal wave
Transverse wave
Motion of the thread and wave frequency (f) ......................
Time taken by the thread to move forward and back 10 times = ..........; times it moved forward and back in 1 s (f) = .... Hz
Time taken by the thread to move left and right 10 times = ..........; times it moved left and right in 1 s (f) = .... Hz
The wavelength is written as λ.
Distance from one squeezed section, a compression, to the nearest squeezed section = .... m
Distance from the section that swings farthest left of the tape, a crest, to the next such section = .... m
Wave velocity v = f × λ
............... = .... m/s
............... = .... m/s
Discussion
Point out the differences between the two kinds of wave, longitudinal and transverse.
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