Book 3B

Unit 4.1
Wave motion
Book 3B Unit 4.1 Wave motion

Let’s begin
Communication between elephants

Waves and vibrations

Waves, energy and matter

Transverse and longitudinal waves

Checkpoint 1

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 Book 3B Unit 4.1 Wave motion

Let’s begin Communication between elephants

Elephants can communicate in different ways such
as by sound, by vision –– and by vibration as well.

How is this done? Answer

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Book 3B Unit 4.1 Wave motion

Waves and vibrations

Examples of waves:
 Waves produced on water when a raindrop falls
into a pond
 Sound and microwaves

Waves are produced by oscillations or vibrations.

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 Book 3B Unit 4.1 Wave motion

Waves, energy and matter

 Place a ping-pong ball on the surface of still
water and produce a water wave.
 The wave would travel towards the ball.
 Travelling wave

 The wave transmits energy from the source of

disturbance (hand) to the ball.
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Book 3B Unit 4.1 Wave motion

Waves, energy and matter

 The ball does not move outwards as the wave
passes.
 It just moves up and down about its original
position.
 Water itself does
not move outwards.

Travelling waves transmit energy without

transferring matter.
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Book 3B Unit 4.1 Wave motion

Waves, energy and matter

 Different ways of transmitting energy:
 By a wave

The spring stays where it was after the wave has

passed.
Energy is transmitted from the source (student) to
the target (pin) without the transfer of matter.
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Book 3B Unit 4.1 Wave motion

Waves, energy and matter

 Different ways of transmitting energy:
 By a bowling ball

Energy is transmitted from the source (player) to

the target (pin) with the transfer of matter (ball).

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 Book 3B Unit 4.1 Wave motion

Experiment 4a Transverse pulses and waves

1 Tie a piece of ribbon on a slinky spring.

2 Stretch the spring. Fix one end and flick the other
end sideways once to produce a pulse. Observe
how the pulse and the ribbon move.
3 Produce a wave. Observe how the wave and the
ribbon move.

Video 4.1 Expt 4a - Transverse pulses and waves

Simulation 4.1 Transverse wave
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Book 3B Unit 4.1 Wave motion

Transverse and longitudinal waves

 Ribbon: a particle on spring
 Here shows a series of
snapshots of the wave produced.
 Particle vibration  the direction
of travel of the wave
 Transverse wave

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Book 3B Unit 4.1 Wave motion

Transverse and longitudinal waves

The waveform of a transverse wave consists of a
series of crests and troughs.

(the highest point)

(the lowest point)

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 Book 3B Unit 4.1 Wave motion

Experiment 4b Longitudinal pulses and waves

1 Tie a piece of ribbon on a slinky spring.
2 Stretch the spring. Fix one end and give the other
end a sharp and sudden push along the spring.
Observe how the pulse and the ribbon move.
Repeat with a pull.
3 Produce a wave. Observe how the wave and the
ribbon move.

Video 4.2 Expt 4b - Longitudinal pulses and waves

Simulation 4.2 Longitudinal wave
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Book 3B Unit 4.1 Wave motion

Transverse and longitudinal waves

 A series of snapshots of the wave
produced is shown.
 Particle vibrations are along the
direction of travel of the wave.
 Longitudinal wave

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Book 3B Unit 4.1 Wave motion

Transverse and longitudinal waves

The waveform of longitudinal wave consists of a
series of compressions and rarefactions.
(less dense region)

(denser region)

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Book 3B Unit 4.1 Wave motion

Transverse and longitudinal waves

All waves can be classified as transverse or
longitudinal according to how the particles vibrate:

A transverse wave is one in which the

particle vibrations are perpendicular to
the direction of travel of the wave.
A longitudinal wave is one in which the
particle vibrations are along the direction
of travel of the wave.

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Book 3B Unit 4.1 Wave motion

Communication between elephants

Refer to Let’s begin .
Elephant rumbles
 The ground vibrates
 Wave travelling
through the ground
 Other elephants pick up the ‘signals’ (wave
passing beneath) using their feet and trunk.

Elephants can communicate at much further

distances than they do through the air.

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 Book 3B Unit 4.1 Wave motion

Checkpoint 1
1 The following shows the particles on a longitudinal
wave and a transverse wave.
(a) The direction of vibration of the particles on a
longitudinal wave is (perpendicular to / along)
the travelling direction of the wave.
The direction of vibration of the particles on a
transverse wave is (perpendicular to / along)
the travelling direction of the wave.

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 Book 3B Unit 4.1 Wave motion

Checkpoint 1
1 The following shows the particles on a longitudinal
wave and a transverse wave.
(b) Label the figures with the following terms:
crest, trough, compression, rarefaction

- The End -
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