Waves Interference‌Remote Lab 2 Interference

(This‌l‌esson‌is designed f‌ or‌‌a‌‌student‌‌working‌remotely‌.)‌

This lab uses the Waves Interference simulation from PhET Interactive Simulations at University of
Colorado Boulder, under the CC-BY 4.0 license.
https://phet.colorado.edu/sims/html/wave-interference/latest/wave-interference_en.html

Note about prior learning: Students should have completed Waves on a String Remote Lab and Waves
Interference Remote Lab ‌1 (or Waves Intro‌Remote Lab‌ ) or lessons with similar learning goals.

Learning Goals: Students will be able to:

A. Create an interference pattern with two sources, and determine the ways to change the pattern.
B. Find points of constructive and destructive interference by eye and by using the detectors.
C. Put up a barrier to see how the waves move through one or two slits. What sort of pattern do the
slits create? How can you change this pattern?

Develop your understanding: Open the Interference screen, then explore to make water waves with
varying patterns.

Explain your understanding:

1. Consider these three patterns of water waves:

A B C
a. Describe the similarities and differences of the three patterns of water waves.

All the waves show interference pattern, all waves are slitting.

Wave A: There are two slits.

Wave B: There are three slits.

Wave C: There is one slit only.

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 b. Experiment to make similar patterns, then explain how you can use the simulation to
make each.

I could use disks and strings; each disk has an extra string than the last one.

If a laser beam was directed towards them it would get the same pattern as the water waves

c. Why do the directions say “similar patterns”?

Similar is used because all of them are interference pattern. And basic phenomenon behind all is
superposition of waves.

2. Experiment to make waves of different interference patterns with water, sound, and light.
Use your own words and captured images from the simulation to show you can meet
learning goal A: “Create an interference pattern with two sources, and determine the ways to
change the pattern.”

Take two pins and place them in a water tank with a short space between them. Begin
sliding the pins up and down at the same time.
Several water ripples in the container are visible, and all these waves entails a series to
generate an interference pattern. This design may be recorded, or the pattern's shadow
could be cast on a sheet at the bottom of the tank by placing an electrical lamp above it.
This interference pattern may be seen if the two pins travel up and down at the same
time; in this instance, the center band is maximum, luminous; if one needle rises and the
other moves down, the interference pattern entirely changes. The middle band in this
example is minimal, or dark.

3. Use the Water Level tool to understand what is happening in the

water tank:

a. Measure the dark and light areas of waves made with only one faucet. Insert a screen
image to help explain your answer.
Circular ripples will be created if only one faucet is used. However, if the container is
level, then level of water will stay unchanged.
Darker regions are also the spots where water exhibits zero displacement from
equilibrium point, or in other words, total displacement of equilibrium position is 0,
while envisioning a circular wave created by a single faucet drop.
Displacement is greatest in light regions.
The most crucial thing to remember is that water doesn't really travel.

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 b. Make waves using both faucets and measure the dark, light and fuzzy spots. Insert a
screen image to help explain your answer.
We have two circular waves once more. However, there will be a blurry area, a bright
spot, and a dark spot in certain areas.
The crests and troughs that pass across the water are disturbances. Highest disruption
sites, zero disturbance points, and intermediate disturbance points will all be present
in this case.
The bright spot indicates where the disturbances combine to produce greatest
displacement, whereas the blurry spots are where the disturbances cancelled off.
Double crests, great displacement, crest + crest
flat area with zero displacement = crest + trough
c. What do you think constructive and destructive interference means based on your
measurements?
The waves vibrate out the of phase at times, and the overall apparent amplitude is less
than the amplitude of each wave separately. This is what is known as disruptive
interference.
d. Verify your understanding using your text or online references. (cite references)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wave_interference. The illustration on the webpage depicts
how the fuzzy spot and bright spot are created. Interference, both destructive and
constructive, is to cause.

4. Consider the light pattern on the right:

a. Describe where the points of constructive and destructive
interference are in the image on the right.

In the figure shown, the blue lights are the constructive interference points. In
other hands, and the black light are the points of distructive interference.

b. Create a similar wave pattern and use the detectors to find points of
constructive and destructive interference.

c. Explain how you made the waves and used the detector. Insert an image of the entire screen
for evidence.

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There are two conditions of interference pattern:

1. They should be in a single wavelength (monochromatic)

2. They emit identical waves with constant difference (cohernt)

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5. These three patterns were made with sound waves by varying only one thing.

.
A B C
a. What do you think was varied?
Based on my opinion the length of aperture changed
b. Test your idea by making similar patterns.
Tested already by making an experiment (water Diffraction) by water waves and changing
aperture.
c. Is there more than one way to make these three patterns by varying only one thing? Test
your ideas and provide evidence for support.
Changing wavelengths can generate similar patterns, we could use other substances for
other wavelengths such as vinegar as a medium.
d. Try to make similar patterns with light. Describe your observations and ideas.

I noticed that the aperture size for light should be quite small, on the order of millimeters. A
decent aperture is formed by the gap between typical blades.

6. Summarize key ideas that you want to remember about the relationships of interference
patterns of water, sound and light waves.

Whenever 2 waves approach one another, energy is redistributed and the two waves try to
impose, resulting in a pattern of alternate dark and brilliant fringes.
When the crests of both waves collide, the merged wave's crest is equal to the total of the
two original crests' heights. Similarly, if the troughs collide, the merged trough will have the
same depth as the remaining two troughs. Constructive interference is the term for this.
Whenever the peak with one wave collides with the trough of another, the new wave will have
crests that really are smaller than the crests either with originating wave and troughs that are
deeper than both entering waves. Destructive interference is the term for this.
Just when light waves come from coherent light sources does interference arise. The
frequency of both waves may be the same.

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 Develop your understanding: Open the Slits screen, then explore to make water waves with varying
patterns.

Explain your understanding:

7. How do waves made by a dripping faucet compare to the waves seen passing through slits?
You may want to have both Interference and Slits open (or open the full simulation Waves
Interference), so that you can easily compare the waves and their patterns.

According to the longitudinal motions of water molecules, the wave produced by either a
dripping faucet is a pure sine wave. When viewed from a specific location, there are equipage
peaks and minima. As you get further away from the faucet, the amplitude of the peaks and
minima decreases.

8. Do the same concepts apply when you compare the sound and light waves in Interference
and Slits screens?
Due to superposition, the maxima and minima are created. They superposed due to the
fluctuation in strength of the sound waves, and the variation took the form of a pattern of
maximas and minimas during superposing. The wave's nature is also a sine wave, having
equispaced peaks and minima in all directions. As the distance from the source grows in either
direction, the amplitude of the wave decreases.

9. Summarize your understanding of waves as they pass through slits. Make sure you
demonstrate meeting learning goal C “Put up a barrier to see how the waves move through one or two
slits. What sort of pattern do the slits create? How can you change this pattern?”
Two waves of the same nature/frequency superimpose on one other when they travel
throughout a slit. We can see a fluctuation in the wave's strength in space as a result of this
superposition. This change of maximum and minimum fits a pattern and is a sine wave
characteristic.

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