Creative Commons License Copyright © Michael Richmond. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

Analyze results of wave speed experiment

How does the tension in the spring depend on its length?

How does the mass density of the spring depend on its length?

Write an equation which gives the REAL wave speed as a function of the total length L.

Now ... pretend that the rest length of the spring Lo is so small -- compared to the total length -- that it can be ignored.

  1. Using this approximation, write an equation for wave speed V as a function of length
  2. Using this approximation, write an equation for round-trip-travel-time P as a function of length
  3. Check:
    1. What was your spring constant?
    2. What was your spring's mass?
    3. Using the above assumption, what SHOULD the round-trip-travel-time be?
    4. How does it compare to the ACTUAL round-trip-travel-time?

Creative Commons License Copyright © Michael Richmond. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.