Speed+Of+Wave+Lab


 * Lab Title:** Speed of Wave


 * Primary Authors:** Lindsay, Troy
 * Contributing Authors:**


 * Abstract:** The goal of this lab was to determine the speed of a wave.


 * Introduction:** The wave in question was set up on a machine that could change the frequency at which a string was moving up and down, creating a transverse wave. In class, we experimented with increasing the frequency, which we found had a direct correlation to the number of antinodes. Once we had determined 4 frequencies, F1= 7 Hz, F2= 14 Hz, F3= 21 Hz, and F4= 28 Hz, we attempted to find the speed of the variations of the wave, which should be consistant.


 * Methods:** The speed of a wave can be determined by the equation Speed = wavelength * frequency. The length of the string was 1.6 meters. First we need to figure out the wavelength of the wave. Depending on how many waves are present, we can determine the wavelength using the equation: Length = waves* wavelength. Then once that wavelength is found we can multiply it by the frequency getting the speed of the wave.

Length of String (L) = 1.6 m
 * Results:**

F1= 7 Hz L = 1/2 * λ; λ=3.2; 3.2λ * 7Hz = 22.4 m/s F2= 14 Hz L = 1 *λ; λ=1.6; 1.6λ *14 Hz = 22.4 m/s F3= 21 Hz L = 3/2 * λ; λ= 1.067; 1.067λ * 21Hz = 22.4 m/s F4= 28 Hz L = 2*λ; λ= .8; .8λ * 28 Hz = 22.4 m/s

The speed of the wave is 22.4 m/s!


 * Conclusion:** We determined the speed of the wave to be 22.4 m/s by using the equation of length in relation to the number of waves and the wavelength, and by determining the frequency uing the machine. Because the material of the medium remained the same, the speed of the wave was constant.