Name: ________________________

Section: _______________________
Wave on a String Activity
The purpose of this activity is to introduce you to some characteristics of waves in
general, and waves on strings in particular. Some of this information will be useful in
understanding how waves propagate. In fact, most of what well learn here also applies
to electromagnetic waves!
1) Go to the following website:

http://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulation/wave-on-a-string
Run the Waves on a String simulation.
Activity 1
2) Slide the bar labeled Damping all the way to the left (zero). By clicking on the
wrench and moving it, create a wave pulse.
3) Experiment with the wrench to see if you can get pulses with different amplitudes.
(Recall that the amplitude is the height of the pulse.). Answer the following
questions:

Now slide the damping bar to the right. What happens?

What do you think damping means?

In real life, do you think a string would behave more like the zero damping
situation or more like the damped string? Test your prediction on either a string
or a rope.
PHYSICS 131 Lab #2 (Online Activity)

What did you find? Was your prediction confirmed?

4) Put the damping level at zero again, and create another wave pulse. Notice what
happens to the wave pulse as it hits the fixed end. (This occurs because when the
pulse exerts an upward force on the clamp, the clamp exerts and equal and
opposite (downward) force on the string, reversing the orientation of the pulse.)

Is this a hard reflection or a soft reflection? Give one example, involving light
waves reflecting at the boundary between two substances, where you would
expect this kind of reflection: what kind of substances did you choose, and why?

What do you predict would change with the wave pattern if the clamp were
removed?

Test your prediction by selecting Loose end and repeating the wave pulse. Was
your prediction correct? What kind of reflection is this? Give another example of
two substances which would show this kind of behavior when light reflects at the
boundary between them.
5) Go back to the wave pulse (manual setting). Play around with the dials in the
green box and figure out what controls the speed of the wave pulse. (It may help to
the select the timer option.)

Does how hard you move the wrench affect the speed?
CONCLUSIONS
PHYSICS 131 Lab #2 (Online Activity)
This demonstrates a very important fact about wavesthe speed of a wave through a
given medium depends only on the properties of the medium itself.

For this system, what is the medium?

What property of the medium determines the wave speed?

In light of this, can you say why players of string instruments (for example, in an
orchestra) often adjust the knobs that control the tightness of the strings before
playing? What does this do to the sound?
Activity 2: Standing Waves

The type of wave we studied in Activity 1 was a pulse. Can you get the
simulation to produce a continously traveling wave? How?

Now try to get it to make a standing wave. How did you get that to happen?

What makes a standing wave different from a traveling wave?

Warning: For the rest of this activity, it is very important that you do not change the
tension of the string. Pick a tension you like (medium is good) and stick with it.

Examine your standing wave. How many wavelengths fit onto the string?

Note (but dont touch yet!) the frequency slider at the top. This controls how fast
the driving wheel moves (the wheel that controls the movement of the string.)
Lets review some terminology:
- Frequency represents _________________ per second
PHYSICS 131 Lab #2 (Online Activity)
- Period represents
________________________________________________________.
- Wavelength means the distance between
________________________________________________________.

Now use the timer to figure out how many cycles of the wave take place in 15
seconds.

What is the frequency of the wave in Hertz? (1 Hz = 1 cycle per second). If you
don't have a calculator, you can use Google. Show your work.

What is the period of the wave?

Measure the wavelength using the ruler option.

Calculate the wave speed (v) using the formula f = v/!.

Predict what would happen if you increase the frequency of the driving oscillator
wheel.

What will happen to the number of cycles you measure in a 15-second interval of
time?
PHYSICS 131 Lab #2 (Online Activity)

What will happen to the wave speed? (Hint: recall what you learned in Activity
1.) Justify your answer.

Given your answers above, what must happen to the wavelength of the wave
when the frequency is increased? Hint: Look at the equation f = v/!. If you
increase f (the left hand side of the equation), the right hand side must also
increase, in order for the equation to still be true.
Now increase the frequency of the wave using the slider button.

How many cycles take place in 15 seconds?

What is the new frequency? Is this consistent with what you predicted?

What is the new wavelength? Is this consistent with what you predicted?

Calculate the new wave speed. Is this consistent with what you predicted?
CONCLUSIONS
Summarize what effect increasing the frequency of the wave has on the other properties
of the wave (period, speed, amplitude, wavelength).
Activity 3: Example
On a guitar, the wavelength of the wave is fixed by the position of the frets (the little
bars across the neck). Thus, adjusting the tension knobs cant change the wavelength of
PHYSICS 131 Lab #2 (Online Activity)
the wave.
1
It does change the speed of the wave (as we found in Activity 1). If you look
at the equation for frequency, f = v/!, you might notice that the larger the speed (v), the
larger the frequency (f), keeping in mind that wavelength (!) is a constant.
Suppose you adjust the tension knob on a guitar string so there is more tension in the
string. Predict what happens to each of the following quantities (increase / decrease /
doesnt change) and justify your answer.
The speed of the wave ______________ because _____________________________
The wavelength of the wave ___________________
because ______________________________________________________________
The frequency (pitch) of the sound ______________________ because
_____________________________________________________________________
PHYSICS 131 Lab #2 (Online Activity)
1
On a non-fretted string instrument like a violin, it is the placement of the musicians fingers that
determines the wavelength. Thus, the musician has to know where to put their fingers in order to achieve
the correct wavelength. An inexperienced player of a violin will typically produce notes that are slightly
off pitch.