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Chapter 15: Problem 9

You and a friend are holding the two ends of a Slinky stretched out between you. How would you move your end of the Slinky to create (a) transverse waves or (b) longitudinal waves?

Short Answer

Expert verified
Answer: To create a transverse wave with a Slinky, move your end up and down perpendicular to the direction of the stretched Slinky, causing a horizontal wave to travel through it. For a longitudinal wave, move your end back and forth parallel to the stretched Slinky, causing it to compress and expand as the wave moves through it.

Step by step solution

01

Creating Transverse Waves

To create transverse waves in a Slinky, you will need to move your end of the Slinky up and down (perpendicular to the direction of the stretched Slinky). This motion will cause parts of the Slinky to move up and down as well, creating a wave that moves through the Slinky horizontally. The key motion here is to move your hand in an up and down motion without moving it horizontally.
02

Creating Longitudinal Waves

To create longitudinal waves in a Slinky, you will need to move your end of the Slinky back and forth (parallel to the direction of the stretched Slinky). This motion will cause parts of the Slinky to compress and expand as the wave moves through it. The key motion here is to move your hand in a back and forth motion along the same line as the stretched Slinky, without moving it up and down.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

Students in a lab produce standing waves on stretched strings connected to vibration generators. One such wave is described by the wave function \(y(x, t)=(2.00 \mathrm{~cm}) \sin \left[\left(20.0 \mathrm{~m}^{-1}\right) x\right] \cos \left[\left(150 . \mathrm{s}^{-1}\right) t\right],\) where \(y\) is the transverse displacement of the string, \(x\) is the position along the string, and \(t\) is time. Rewrite this wave function in the form for a right- moving and a left-moving wave: \(y(x, t)=\) \(f(x-v t)+g(x+v t)\); that is, find the functions \(f\) and \(g\) and the speed, \(v\)

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