Name: Saad Alkhaldi

Lab Report
PhET Interactive Simulations
University of Colorado
http://phet.colorado.edu (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site..

Directions

1. On the water simulation, what does the crest (peak) of the wave look like in the top view?
What does the trough look like?

Answer:

Crest- light blue

Trough- dark color

2. When you add two drips, what changes about the waves patterns?

Answer:

We observe wave inference pattern.

3. What does the wave look like in the area that the two waves constructively interfere?
Describe both the top view and what the side view would look like.
o TOP:
o SIDE:

Answer:

TOP: in the area two waves constructively interfere, there will be light blue color, with
increased wave amplitude.
SIDE: the wave appears similarly to the graph shown below. crest is the increased water
level over undisturbed surface.

Fig:3
4. What does the wave look like in the area that the two waves destructively interfere? Describe
both the top view and what the side view would look like.
o TOP:
o SIDE:

Answer:
TOP: with reference to picture in 3) the position when destructive interference occurs is
shown as dark blue color.
SIDE: with reference to picture in 3) trough is marked and is water level below
undisturbed surface

5. Switch to the sound simulation.

o What do you think will happen when you put two speakers next to each other?
o Why do you think this will happen?
o Try it (putting two speakers together) and tell me what happened.

Answer:

a. What do you think will happen when you put two speakers next to each other?
When two speakers are put next to each other, there would be constructive and
destructive interference patter

b. Why do you think this will happen?

Interference occurs because sound travels in the form of waves and at any given point in
space the effect due to both speakers is sum of effect due to each speaker in the absence of
other.
c. Try it (putting two speakers together) and tell me what happened.
Interference pattern as mentioned above is observed

6. Now switch to the light simulation.

o What do you think will happen when you put two light sources next to each other?
o Why do you think this will happen?
o Try it (putting two light sources together) and tell me what happened.
o What happens when you use one light source and two slits?

Answer:

Light even travels as waves and so as the above two water and sound waves, when
two light sources are placed next to each other, interference pattern is observed.
Interference pattern is observed because light has wave properties. Wave
interference is a phenomenon that occurs when two waves meet while traveling
along the same medium. The interference of waves causes the medium to take on a
shape that results from the net effect of the two individual waves upon the particles
of the medium
Interference pattern is observed.
 When we use one light source and two slits, the two slits act as two independent light
sources, and hence produce interference pattern as in case of two light sources
placed next to each other.

7. What is similar about all three of these simulations (i.e. water, sound & light)?

Answer:

All three simulations provided same results of interference, because all obey wave
properties.

8. How do I know that these things are waves and not particles? (Think about what would
happen in the two slit experiment if they were particles).

Answer:

We can say that all the above things are waves because only wave motion can explain
interference but not individual particle motion.