ripple tank

Cards (8)

what is a ripple tank used to observe?
the features of water waves
what is a ripple tank?
a shallow tray of water, in the water is a vibrating bar. the bar is connected to a power pack
what happens when the bar vibrates?
it creates waves across the surface of the water
what is above and below the ripple tank?
above the ripple tank is a lamp and below the tank is a sheet of white paper
what is the ripple tank used to measure?
the wavelength, frequency and speed of the water waves
how do we measure the wavelength of the waves?
place a ruler on the paper, we then freeze the image of the waves. we now measure the distance between 1 wave and 10 waves further (the total of 10 wavelengths)
how do we find the frequency?
we place a timer next to the paper, then count the number of waves passing a point in 10 seconds then divide by 10
how do we find the speed of the waves?
use the wave equation