Online Lab: Vibrating Strings

Name: Juan Camilo Aguirre, Manuela Castro, Esteban Escalante Date: 2/11/2021

Instructor: Henry Riascos

Objective:
The purpose of this experiment is to observe the relationships between frequency, wavelength, speed of
the wave and look at how they change with varying Tension.

General Theory:
Standing waves (stationary waves) are produced by the addition of two traveling waves, both of
which have the same wavelength and speed, but travel in opposite directions through the same
medium. Figure 1 shows a wave on a string which moves to the right and reflection from a fixed end
produces a left moving wave. Where the two waves are always 180◦ out of phase, very little motion
occurs (none if the amplitudes are the same). Such places are called nodes (see Figure 1). Where the
two waves are in phase, the motion is maximum. These positions are call anti-nodes.

Figure 1: Stationary Wave on a String

Theory: Standing Waves in Strings

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A stretched string has many natural modes of vibration (three examples are shown in Figure 2). If
the string is fixed at both ends then there must be a node at each end. It may vibrate as a single
segment, in which case the length (L) of the string is equal to 1/2 the wavelength (λ) of the wave
(See Figure 1). It may also vibrate in two segments with a node at each end and one node in the
middle; then the wavelength is equal to the length of the string. It may also vibrate with a larger
integer number of segments. In every case, the length of the string equals some integer number of
half wavelengths. If you drive a stretched string at an arbitrary frequency, you will probably not see
any particular mode; many modes will be mixed together. But, if the tension and the string’s length
are correctly adjusted to the frequency of the driving vibrator, one vibrational mode will occur at a
much greater amplitude than the other modes.

Figure 2: Modes of Vibration

For any wave with wavelength λ and frequency f, the speed, v, is

v = λf (1)

For a string of Length L, and both ends are fixed

, (2)

Where n = 1,2,3, ...

Then with equations (1) and (2) we find that the number of allowed frequencies are:

(3)

For n = 1, 2, 3, …
Online Vibrating Strings Experiment Instructions.
1. Go to the following website: https://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulation/wave-on-a-string

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2. Press the Play Button on the “Wave on a String“simulation to open the simulator.

3. Figure 3 shows an example of what you should see on your screen.

4. Play with the simulator for a few minutes to get comfortable with it.

5. Fill in the Blank. Choose from the given words below the correct word that matches the definition
for each of the Standing Wave property below.

Each word is only used ONCE.

Wave Frequency Wave Speed Amplitude Wavelength

(a) The amplitude the maximum distance of the object from its equilibrium position.

(b) The wave frequency is the number of complete cycles or vibrating per unit of time.

(c) The wave speed is the speed at which a particular part of the wave moves through the
medium.

(d) The wavelength is the distance between two successive points that behave identically.

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Figure 3: Initial Configuration after opening the Wave on a String Simulator

Figure 4: Example: After setting up and running the Wave on a String Simulator

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Relationship between Frequency and Wavelength.
1. Setup the Simulator with the following settings. (see Figure 4)

(a) Set the Wave to Oscillate (green box in upper-left corner).

(b) Set the String to No End (green box in upper-right corner).

(c) Set the Amplitude to 1.0 cm (bottom Control Panel, See Figure 5).
(d) Set the Damping to None (bottom Control Panel, See Figure 5).
(e) Set the Tension to Medium and Set the Motion to Slow Motion .
(f) TURN ON the Rulers and the Timer (bottom Control Panel, See Figure 5).

Figure 5: Wave on a String Simulator Control Panel

2. Using the setting above, determine the relationship between Frequency and
Wavelength. Record your measurement of Wavelength in Table 1 below to
the nearest tenth of a centimeter. For a very long wavelength, measure half a
wave and multiply by two.

Table 1: Frequency vs Wavelength

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Frequency Wavelength
(Hz) (cm)
3.0 Hz 1.23

2.0 Hz 1.81

1.5 Hz 2.5

1.0 Hz 3.75

0.5 Hz 7.4

Tension and Wave speed.

1. Setup the Simulator with the following settings.

(a) Set the Wave to Pulse (green box in upper-left corner).

(b) Set the String to Fixed End (green box in upper-right corner).
(c) Set the Amplitude to 1.0 cm (bottom Control Panel, See Figure 5).
(d) Set the Damping to None (bottom Control Panel, See Figure 5).
(e) Set the Tension to Low (bottom Control Panel, See Figure 5).
(f) Set the Motion to Slow Motion (above the Control Panel).
(g) TURN ON the Rulers and the Timer (bottom Control Panel, See Figure 5).

2. Measure and Record length of string here. L = 7.6 cm

3. The length of one round trip is 2 × L. Record this value in the (L1) column of Table 2.

4. Click the Pulse Generator Button to send a pulse through the string.
5. Measure the time it takes for the pulse to travel one round trip. Record this value in the (t1)
column of Table 2.

6. Measure the time it takes for the pulse to travel three round trips. Record this value in the (t3)
column of Table 2.

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 7. Calculate vwave = L1 / t1. Record this value in Table 2.

8. Repeat Steps 5-7 for Medium and High Tension.

Table 2: Tension and Wave speed

Tension L1 t1 t3 vwave
(cm) (s) (s) (cm/s)
Low 15.2 6.10 19.06 2.49
Medium 15.2 1.99 6.19 7.64
High 15.2 1.16 3.57 13.10

9. How does the Tension affect the speed of a wave?

R/ To a higher tension a higher speed of a wave

Standing Wave: Modes of Vibration.

1. Setup the Simulator with the following settings.

(a) Set the Wave to Oscillate and Set the String to Fixed End.

(b) Set the Damping to None and Set the Motion to Slow Motion.

(c) Set the Amplitude to 0.2 cm (bottom Control Panel, See Figure 5).

(d) Set the Tension to Medium (bottom Control Panel, See Figure 5).

(e) TURN ON the Rulers and the Timer (bottom Control Panel, See Figure 5).

2. Measure and Record length of string here. L = 7.6

3. Use your results from Table 2 for vwave for Medium Tension for this Analysis.

Analysis: Second Harmonic Standing Wave

1. Determine the wavelength, λ.

λ=2.5 cm

2. Calculate the Frequency, f. Use vwave = λ * f.

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 Vwave=2.5cm*1.5hz=3.75cm/s

Analysis: Third Harmonic Standing Wave

1. Determine the wavelength, λ.

λ=2/3 * 3.8= 2.53cm

2. Calculate the Frequency, f. Use vwave = λ * f

Vwave=2.53cm*1.5Hz=3,79cm/s

Relationship between Frequency & Wavelength at Varying Tension.

1. Setup the Simulator with the following settings.

(a) Set the Wave to Oscillate and Set the String to No End.

(b) Set the Damping to None and Set the Motion to Slow Motion.

(c) Set the Tension to Low.

(d) Set the Amplitude to 0.75 cm.

(e) TURN ON the Rulers and the Timer.

2. Measure and Record length of string here. L = 7.6cm

3. Set the Frequency to 1 Hz.

4. Measure the time it takes for a wave to travel the length of the string t1. Record your result in Table 3
below.

5. Measure the length of a single wave length, λ. Record your result in Table 3 below.

6. Repeat Steps 3-5 for Frequency 2 Hz and 3 Hz.

7. Repeat Steps 3-6 for Medium and High Tension.

8. Calculate vwave column using vwave = L / t1.

9. Calculate each row in the f × λ column.

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Table 3: Frequency and Wavelength with Varying Tension

Tension f t1 λ vwave
(Hz) (s) (cm) (cm/s) f×λ
Low 1 6.04 1.2 1.26 1.2
Low 2 6.02 0.6 1.26 1.2
Low 3 5.97 0.42 1.27 1.26
Medium 1 2.32 3.65 3.27 3.65
Medium 2 2.21 1.85 3.43 3.7
Medium 3 2.08 1.2 3.65 3.6
High 1 1.46 6.2 5.2 6.2
High 2 1.38 3.1 5.5 6.2
High 3 1.28 2.1 5.9 6.3

Conclusions:
1. If the tension remains constant and the frequency increases, what happens to the wavelength?
R/ By the formula:
n T
f n=
√
2L μ

Then there is a direct relationship between the number of segments and the frequency of
vibration of the string. If the frequency increases the number of segments will also increase if the
voltage remains constant.

2. Is there any pattern in the last two columns of the table (vwave and f × λ)?
R/ Yes, they both tend to the same value

3. What is the relationship between frequency f, wavelength λ and speed of a wave vwave?
R/ The higher the frequency, the shorter the wavelength and the lower the frequency, the longer
the wavelength. The speed of propagation of a wave can be measured as the time that elapses
from when it is emitted until it is received.