Scientists use wave tanks to show the behaviour of waves - Edexcel - GCSE Physics - Question 1 - 2016 - Paper 1
Question 1
Scientists use wave tanks to show the behaviour of waves.
The diagram shows a wave tank from the side.
The length of the tank = 36m
(i) Calculate the wavelength of... show full transcript
Worked Solution & Example Answer:Scientists use wave tanks to show the behaviour of waves - Edexcel - GCSE Physics - Question 1 - 2016 - Paper 1
Step 1
Calculate the wavelength of the waves.
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Answer
To find the wavelength, we can use the formula for wavelength:
wavelength=number of waveslength of tank
Given that the length of the tank is 36 meters and there are 8 waves, we substitute into the formula:
wavelength=836 m=4.5 m
Thus, the wavelength is 4.5 m.
Step 2
Calculate the speed of the wave.
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Answer
To calculate the speed of the wave, we can use the formula:
speed=timedistance
The distance of the wave corresponds to the length of the tank (36 meters), and the time taken is 20 seconds: