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RippleTankLab
TeachersGuide
Topic:
LightandColor
Thefollowinginformationisprovidedtothestudent:
Question:
Howisthepathdifferencerelatedtothewavelengthoflightforatwopointsourceinterference
pattern?
Purpose:
Todeveloptwoequations(onefornodesandoneforantinodes)forrelatingthepathdifferenceto
thewavelengthforatwopointsourceinterferencepattern.
AcompletelabwriteupincludesaTitle,aPurpose,aDatasection,aConclusionandaDiscussionof
Results.TheDataSectionshouldincludetheprovidedpatternwithmarkednodalandantinodallines,
markednodesandantinodes,andatableofdatalistingS1P,S2PandPDdistancesexpressedinterms
ofwavelengths.TheConclusionshouldstatetwoequationsrelatingpathdifferencetowavelength
onefornodalpositionsandtheotherforantinodalpositions.Thesymbolsusedintheequationshould
bedefined.TheDiscussionofResultssectionshoulddescribetheevidencewhichleadstothe
conclusionstatement;specifictrialsofdatashouldbereferencedinordertodemonstratethe
evidenceleadingtotheequation.
MaterialsRequired:
Twopointsourceinterferencepattern(providedinAuxiliaryMaterialssection).
DescriptionofProcedure:
Studentsareprovidedatwopointsourceinterferencepattern.Thepatternisdiscussed;nodaland
antinodalpointsarelocatedandmarkedonthediagram(usinganxfornodesandanoforantinodes).
Linesaredrawnthroughthenodalandtheantinodalpointstoformnodalandantinodallines.Thelines
aregivenanumberwholenumbersforallantinodallinesandhalfnumbersforthenodallines.The
numbersstartat0forthecentralantinodallineandincreasebyforeachconsecutivelinetotheleft
andtherightofthecentralline.Oncethepatternislabeled,studentspickapointonthecentral
antinodalline(m=0),labelingitwithaletter(e.g.,P).Theymeasurethenumberofwavelengthsof
distancefromeachsourcetotheselectedpoint.Theydeterminethepathdifferenceasthedifference
betweenthesetwodistances.Studentsrepeattheprocedureforapointonthem=1antinodalline
(referredtoasthefirstantinodalline);theymeasureS1PandS2Panddeterminethepathdifferenceas
thedifferencebetweenthetwomeasurements.Theprocessisrepeatedforthesecondantinodalline
andforthefirstthreenodallines.Studentsinspecttheirdata,compareresultswithclassmateswho
chosedifferentpointsonthesamelines,andsummarizetheresultsbywritinganequationwhichrelates
thepathdifferencetothewavelengthforpointsonbothtypesoflines.
AlternativeMaterialsandProcedure:
Ifarippletankandaccompanyingequipmentisavailable,considerdemonstratingtheproductionofthe
patternbytwovibratingsourcespositionedatoneendofthetank.
ThePhysicsClassroom,2009
TheLaboratory
SafetyConcern:
Thereisalwaysahigherthanusuallevelofriskassociatedwithworkinginasciencelab.Teachers
shouldbeawareofthisandtakethenecessaryprecautionstoinsurethattheworkingenvironmentisas
safeaspossible.Studenthorseplayandofftaskbehaviorsshouldnotbetolerated.
Suggestions,Precautions,Notes:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Foragroovyprelabmoment,allowstudentstheopportunitytoholdthesheetcontainingthe
patternparalleltothefloorateyelevelandtosightalongtheplaneofthesheet.Thenodaland
antinodallinesareclearlyvisiblewhenviewedfromthisperspective.
Allstudentshavethesamepattern.Differentstudentswillpickdifferentpointsonthevarious
nodalandantinodallines.TheirS1PandS2Pdistanceswillvaryfromoneanother;yetforany
givenline,theywillallhavethesamepathdifferencevalues.Guidetheactivity,allowingstudents
topickdifferentpointsandtomakedifferentmeasurements;thentakethetimetosummarizethe
datainthelastcolumnforeachtable.
Studentshavedifficultywiththeconceptofpathdifference.Emphasizethatthepatternsoccur
becausewavesfromtwodifferentsourcestraveladifferentdistancealongadifferentpathtothe
samepointontheantinodal(ornodal)lines.Whenthedifferenceindistancetraveledbythewaves
alongthetwodifferentpathsisequaltomwheremisawholenumberthenconstructive
interferenceoccurs.
Differenttextbooksusedifferentnumberingsystemsforthenodalandantinodallines.Thesystem
describedaboveresultsinasingleequationwhichcanbeusedforthepathdifference,irregardless
ofwhetherthepointisonanodalorantinodalline.Othernumberingsystemsrequireadifferent
equationforthedifferentlines.
AuxiliaryMaterials:
ThefollowingpageisprovidedtothestudentforcompletionandinclusionintheDatasectionoftheir
labnotebook.
Anti-Nodal
Line
Point
(labeled)
ThePhysicsClassroom,2009
Distance from S1
to Point in
Distance from S2
to Point in
PD
in
TheLaboratory
Central
1st
2nd
Nodal
Line
1st
0.5
2nd
1.5
3rd
2.5
Point
(labeled)
Distance from S1
to Point in
Distance from S2
to Point in
PD
in
ScoringRubric:
L1.
RippleTankLab
Included,labeledandorganizedallpartsofthelabreport.
Datasectionincludestheprovideddiagram;nodalandantinodallineswere
tracedandlabeledwithanmnumber.Specificnodalandantinodalpoints
wereselectedandlabeledwithaletter;measurementsfromthesepointsto
thetwosources(intermsof)arerecordedintheprovideddatatable.
Pathdifferencevaluesarerecorded(intermsof)aswell.
Conclusionstatestheequationsrelatingthepathdifferencetothe
wavelengthfornodalandantinodalpoints.Symbolsusedwithinthe
equationaredefined.Equationsareaccurateandclear.
DiscussionofResultsdescribestheevidenceleadingtoeachofthe
equationsintheConclusionsection.Specifictrialsarereferencedand
discussedtoprovideevidencefortheequation.
Score
_____/_____
ConnectionstoThePhysicsClassroomTutorial:
Thefollowingreadingsareasuitableaccompanimenttothislab:
http://www.physicsclassroom.com/Class/light/u12l1b.cfm
http://www.physicsclassroom.com/Class/light/u12l3a.cfm
http://www.physicsclassroom.com/Class/light/u12l3b.cfm
ConnectionstoMindsonPhysicsInternetModules:
TherearenosublevelsofMindsonPhysicswhichpertaintothetopicoftwopointsourceinterference.
ThePhysicsClassroom,2009