TUTORIAL 2

SUPERPOSITION AND REFLECTION

OF PULSES
Instructor: Kazumi Tolich
 Reminder
2

¨ Tutorials are conceptual exercises that should be worked on in groups.

¨ You should be writing your answers on your copy of the slides, and
discussing them with students around you (it should be noisy).
¨ You should work through all the questions on a slide first, before
answering the clicker question.
 I. Pulses on a spring
3

¨ In the following videos, you will see various pulses on a stretched spring. A
piece of yarn has been tied to the middle of the spring to show you how a
piece of the spring moves.
¨ As you watch the videos, see if any of the features of the pulse change
significantly as the pulse moves along the spring:
¤ The amplitude? The width? The shape? The speed?
¨ In videos 2-5, a single change was made to the original experiment:
¤ (2) the tension increased (3) the amplitude increased
¤ (4) the width increased (5) a different pulse shape was used
 I. Pulses on a spring: videos
4

¨ Based on the videos above, does the speed of the pulse depend on the shape or size of
the pulse, on the properties of the medium through which it moves, or both?
 Quiz: T2-1 answer
5

¨ The speed of the pulse only depends on the medium.

¨ The pulse moves down the spring because each piece of the spring pulls on the next
piece. Changing the tension affects the magnitude of this force, and so affects how
quickly the pulse moves.
¨ Changing the pulse shape doesn’t affect the force that each piece of the spring exerts
on the next piece.
 II. Superposition
6

¨ The snapshots at right show two pulses approaching each other on a

1
spring, at equal time intervals.
1. When the pulses meet, does each pulse continue to move in the same 2

direction it was going, or does each reverse direction?

2. When the pulses completely overlap (snapshot 5) how does the shape 3

of the spring compare to the shapes of the two individual pulses?

4
3. Describe how you could use the principle of superposition to determine
the shape of the spring at any time while the pulses overlap.
5
4. Two pulses approach each other. Pulse 1 is shown dashed at a later
time. Sketch the shape of the spring at this later instant in time. 6

1 2

Spring 7

8
 Quiz: T2-2 answer
7

¨ At the initial time, the pulses are as shown. 1 2

¨ Pulse 1 has moved 5 units right.

Spring

¨ Pulse 2 is moving at the same speed (it’s on the Spring

same spring) so has moved 5 units left.

¨ Superposing and adding, we get: Spring

both individual pulses at a time
between the instants shown in
snapshots 4 and 5. 3

instant shown.II. Superposition

Sketch the shape of the spring at the

4
8

Q
¨ The snapshots at right show two pulses approaching
5 each other on opposite sides 1

of a spring, at equal time intervals.

Let point Q be the point on the spring 2
midway between5. Is theasbehavior
the pulses, shown.of the spring consistent with the6principle of superposition? If so,
what quantity is “added” in this case?
Describe the motion of point Q during 3
6. A simplified representation at a time
the time interval shown.
7
between 4 and 5 is shown. Sketch the 4
Which, if any, of the following
changes would affect shape ofofthe spring at this instant.
the motion
point Q? Explain. 8
7. Point Q is midway between the two pulses, as shown. Describe the motion of 5
• doubling the amplitude of both
pulses point Q over the time interval shown.
Which
• doubling the8.amplitude of justof
onethe following could affect the motion9of Q: 6
pulse
Doubling
¤ of just
• doubling the width one pulse the amplitude of both pulses, just one pulse, or doubling the width of one pulse?
7
9. For Q not to move, what shape does a 2nd pulse have to have?
Consider an asymmetric pulse as shown.
8
What shape would a second pulse need to Q
have in order that point Q not move as the
two pulses pass each other? 9

On the diagram, indicate the shape,

 Quiz: T2-3 answer
9

¨ At any given time, the amplitude of the 2nd pulse must be exactly equal and opposite
that of the 1st pulse.
¨ The 2nd pulse must be on the opposite side, must be reflected horizontally, and must be
an equal distance from point Q.

Q
Pulse 1
Pulse 21
Pulse
 III. Reflection
10

¨ The snapshots at right show a pulse being reflected from the end
of a spring that is held fixed in place.
10. Describe the similarities and differences between the incident

pulse (the pulse moving toward the fixed end) and the reflected
pulse.
¨ Consider the second situation in part II, where two pulses on

opposite sides of a spring meet. Use a piece of paper to cover

the right half of those photographs, so only portion to the left of
point Q is uncovered.
11. How does the behavior of the uncovered portion of two

opposite pulses passing each other compare to the behavior

of the fixed-end at right?
 Quiz: T2-4 answer
11

¨ They are the same.

¨ This suggests a way to model how pulses reflect from fixed ends:
¤ Imagine the spring extends past the fixed end, and we can send a pulse along this imaginary
portion, back towards the fixed end.
¤ Choose the shape, orientation, and location of the imaginary pulse such that as it passes the
incident pulse, the displacement of the end of the spring remains zero.
¤ The reflected pulse has the same shape and orientation as this imaginary pulse.
 III. Reflection from a fixed end: practice
12

¨ A pulse with speed 1.0 m/s is incident on the fixed end of a t = 0.0 s
spring as shown (the pulse moves 1 box every 0.1 s).
12. How does the shape of the reflected pulse compare to that of Fixed
(1 square = 10 cm) end
the incident pulse?
13. Determine the shape of the spring at each indicated time.

t = 0.2 s t = 0.4 s t = 0.6 s

 III. Reflection from a free end: video
13