Wave Pulse Superposition 1
- Author:
- Craig Howald
Q1: When the pulses meet, does each continue moving in the direction it was originally moving, or do they reverse direction? (Do the wave pulses bounce off each other or pass through each other?)
Q2: What evidence supports your conclusion?
Pause the animation.
Use the slider to move time until the moment when the two wave pulses overlap as completely as possible.
Q3: Measure the maximum displacement at the instant of perfect overlap. (Assume each grid is 1 cm.)
Move the slider so that the two pulses are well separated.
Q4: What two measurements could you make and add to get maximum displacement at the instant of perfect overlap?
Q5: How could you determine what the displacement would be 1 cm to the left of the peak at the instant of perfect overlap?
Q6: Test your answer to Q5. Does it work?
Use the slider to adjust t to 1.12 s.
Q7: Describe the shape of the string.
Q8: What is the value of the displacement at the local minimum?
Turn on the check box “Show individual pulses during superposition”.
Q9: Explain how you could use the orange and blue curves to predict the value you measured in Q8.