GENERAL PHYSICAL SCIENCE LAB DIRECTIONS - WAVES Purpose: The purpose of this assignment is to provide you with practice analyzing multiple types of waves and to apply the scientific method in a lab setting. As a result of completing this assignment, you will be able to: 1. analyze the frequencies of sound waves and beats. (CLO4) 2. calculate the velocity of waves. (CLO2) 3. distinguish between longitudinal and transverse waves. (CLO3) 4. analyze the relationship between wave frequency and pitch. (CLO4) Grading Criteria: This lab is an individual assignment, so all results should be in your own words. The grade on this assignment will reflect how completely and accurately you answer the questions. The point values are listed with each section. Required Supplies: Internet access, Slinky, meter stick, stopwatch, 4 empty plastic pop bottles (20 fl oz), water Procedure #1: Sound Beats & Sine Waves Step 1: Go to http://www.explorelearning.com and login using the username and password you created in Lab 1. Step 2: Once you are in the class you will find several activities. You need to click on Launch Gizmo under the Sound Beats and Sine Waves. Paupers Step 3: Complete the lab assignment below. Gimme the Beat In this activity, you will listen to two sounds of similar frequency, and then listen to the combination of the two sounds. (Be sure you have your headphones plugged in or your speakers are turned on.) In the Gizmo TM, be sure the Frequency (Hz) sliders are set to 440 for both Sound A and Sound B. (To quickly set a slider to a certain number, type the number to the right of the slider and hit Enter.) Next to the Sound A slider, click Play, which looks like an audio speaker, and listen. Under Visual, turn on the Sound A checkbox. Observe the graph displayed. This is a sine wave and can be used to represent the vibrations of a sound wave. A sine wave has a number of features. The crest of a wave is the highest point the wave reaches during its vibrations, while a trough is the lowest point it reaches. The amplitude of a wave is the distance from the crest to the rest position on the horizontal axis. The greater the amplitude, the louder the sound. 1 |Page