Try it on paper first. A hint, the key idea and the worked solution are here when you need them.
People in a stadium make a wave. Seats in a row are apart. Each person stands up after the person next to them. Find the speed of the wave. How long does it take to go once round a stadium whose rows are round? Does any person move round the stadium?
A wave carries energy and a pattern; each particle of the medium only moves about its own place. In a transverse wave the particles move across the direction of travel; in a longitudinal wave they move along it. The speed is .
Have you tried it?
Work it out on paper first. It is fine to get stuck or make a mistake: that is how we learn. When you are ready, go through the solution one step at a time, and check each step against your own.
Step 1. Speed. The wave moves in . So .
Step 2. One round. .
Step 3. The people. Nobody moves round the stadium. Each person stands up and sits down in the same seat. Only the pattern travels. The motion of each person is up and down, across the direction of travel, so this is a transverse wave.
Log in to join the discussion.
Loading…