Introduction The purpose of this lab was for students to understand and explore their knowledge of standing, transverse, and longitudinal waves using a Slinky spring. It also served to investigate and verify the connection between waves and their specific properties such as: amplitude, wavelength, frequency, and period. Amplitude is directly related to the amount of energy transmitted by a wave. For a transverse wave, the amplitude is the maximum displacement above or below its position of equilibrium. the amplitude of a longitudinal wave is the maximum increase or decrease in pressure in the medium as the weave travels through. Another key term to know is wavelength, which is the distance from one point on a wave to the same point on the next …show more content…
The group’s hypothesis was that as the slinky moved faster and faster the frequency and wavelength will also directly continue to get larger.
Materials and Methods The materials used in this lab report are as follows: meter stick, nylon string, 10cm, Slinky, and stopwatch. The group did three separate experiments for each type of wave. For the transverse wave experiment the group picked a coil of the slinky about half away from each end and tied the nylon string tightly in a single knot. Then they placed the slinky on the floor. After they measured three meters with a meter stick and two people were on each end holding the slinky. Then with a rapid motion, one person shook one end of the slinky sideways and back to its original position to create a single pulse with an amplitude of about 20cm. Then they observed the transverse wave as it traveled the length of the slinky, noting the motion of