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Waves Behave in Predictable Ways.: How Do Ripples Reflect?
Waves Behave in Predictable Ways.: How Do Ripples Reflect?
KEY CONCEPT
Waves behave in
predictable ways.
BEFORE, you learned NOW, you will learn
• Waves transfer energy • How waves change as they
• Amplitude, wavelength, and encounter a barrier
frequency can be measured • What happens when waves
enter a new medium
• How waves interact with
other waves
Reflection
What happens to water waves at the end of a swimming
pool? The waves cannot travel through the wall of the
pool. Instead, the waves bounce off the pool wall.
The bouncing back of a wave after it strikes a barrier
is called reflection.
Remember what you have learned about forces.
A water wave, like all waves, transfers energy. When the
water wave meets the wall of the pool, it pushes against
the wall. The wall applies an equal and opposite force on
the water, sending the wave back in another direction. In the illustration Reflection Water waves
on the right, you can see water waves reflecting off a barrier. move in predictable ways.
Here waves are shown
Sound and light waves reflect too. Sound waves reflecting off the from above as they reflect
off a barrier.
walls of a canyon produce an echo. Light waves reflecting off smooth
metal behind glass let you see an image of yourself in the mirror.
The light waves bounce off the metal just as the water waves bounce
off the pool wall. You will learn more about how sound and light
waves reflect in the next chapters.
check your reading How would you define reflection in your own words?
Refraction
Sometimes, a wave does not bounce back when it encounters
a new medium. Instead, the wave continues moving forward.
When a wave enters a new medium at an angle, it bends, or
refracts. Refraction is the bending of a wave as it
enters a new medium at an angle other than 90
degrees. Refraction occurs because waves travel
at different speeds in different mediums.
Because the wave enters the new medium at an
angle, one side of the wave enters the new
medium before the rest of the wave. When one
side of a wave speeds up or slows down before
the other side, it causes the wave to bend.
You have probably noticed the refraction of
light waves in water. Objects half-in and half-out
of water look broken or split. Look at the photo-
graph of the straw in the glass. What your eyes
suggest—that the straw is split—is not real, is it?
You are seeing the refraction of light waves caused Refraction Light waves
refract as they pass from
by the change of medium from air to water. air to water, making this
You will learn more about the refraction of light straw look split.
waves in Chapter 18.
Diffraction
You have seen how waves reflect off a barrier. For example, water waves
bounce off the side of a pool. But what if the side of the pool had an
opening in it? Sometimes, waves interact with a partial barrier, such as
a wall with an opening. As the waves pass through the opening, they
spread out, or diffract. Diffraction is the
spreading out of waves through an open- Diffraction through an opening
ing or around the edge of an obstacle.
Diffraction occurs with all types of waves.
Look at the photograph on the right. It
shows water waves diffracting as they pass
through a small gap in a barrier. In the
real world, ocean waves diffract through
openings in cliffs or rock formations.
Similarly, sound waves diffract as they
pass through an open doorway. Turn on
a TV or stereo, and walk into another
room. Listen to the sound with the door
closed and then open. Then try moving around the room. You can
hear the sound wherever you stand because the waves spread out, or
diffract, through the doorway and reflect from the walls.
Diffraction
SKILL FOCUS
How can you make a wave diffract? Predicting
PROCEDURE
MATERIALS
1 Put a few drops of food coloring into the container of water. • wide pan of
2 Experiment with quick motions of the ruler to set off waves in water
• food coloring
the container. • ruler
3 Place the block on its side in the center of the container. Set the bag of sand • wooden block
• bag of sand
on the block to hold it down. Predict how the waves will interact with the
barrier you have added. TIME
20 minutes
4 Make another set of waves, and observe how they interact with
the barrier.
CHALLENGE How could you change the experiment to make the effect
of the diffraction more obvious?
Diffraction also occurs as waves pass the edge of an Diffraction around an obstacle
obstacle. The photograph at the right shows water waves
diffracting as they pass an obstacle. Ocean waves also
diffract in this way as they pass large rocks in the water.
Light waves diffract around the edge of an obstacle
too. The edges of a shadow appear fuzzy because of
diffraction. The light waves spread out, or diffract,
around the object that is making the shadow.