Siyapath
Sign up

Lesson: Chapter 4 — Waves and their applications

4.1.1. Transverse waves 1 of 3

Particles move across the wave

Tie small pieces of ribbon to a few coils of the slinky and repeat Activity 4.1. The ribbons show what each part of the slinky is really doing.

Activity 4.2

You will need: a slinky, a few pieces of ribbon

  • Tie small pieces of ribbon to a few coils of the slinky.
  • Move the slinky from side to side as in Activity 4.1.
  • Watch how each ribbon moves.

Figure to be added

Figure 4.5 — a slinky with ribbons tied to it, a wave travelling along it; the ribbons move from side to side while the wave moves along the table.

The observation

The wave travels from the end held in the hand towards the other end. The ribbons move from side to side, across that direction — they do not travel along with the wave.

Transverse wave

A wave that travels at right angles to the direction in which the particles of the medium move is called a transverse wave.

Figure to be added

Figure 4.6 — vertical double-headed arrows showing particles moving up and down, and a horizontal arrow showing the wave travelling to the right.