This week, we started a new unit on waves. We learned about transverse and longitudinal waves. Also how those wave can either have measures of amplitude, frequency and wavelength or compression and rarefactions. To demonstrate these measurements, we did an experiment with slinkies and we watched the energy go through them.
We learned that longitudinal waves are like slinkies. The movement is in the same direction that the energy is being transferred. Longitudinal waves go through compression (shrinking) and rarefaction (expanding). You can see the compression and rarefaction in slinkies if you send a pulse of energy through them.
Transverse waves are different from longitudinal waves in the way that their movement goes up and down while the energy goes straight through them. These are the waves where you can measure things like amplitude and wavelength.
The experiment that we did this week was where we took slinkies and waved them side to side. It created a transverse wave. From that we measured the period for one wave to go through the slinky.
We could even measure the amplitude if we wanted to because we could see how big the wave got.
I think I did alright this week. I get most of what we've been taught about waves so I figure that I'm in good shape.
No comments:
Post a Comment