Wave Motion - Mission WM5 Detailed Help

A wave is traveling through a rope and approaching the boundary with a more dense rope. The transmitted pulse will have ____ the incident pulse. List all that apply ... .


 
Wave Speed and Boundary Behavior:
When a wave or pulse traveling through a rope reaches a boundary with another rope, part of the incident pulse is reflected off the boundary and part of the incident pulse is transmitted across the boundary. The transmitted pulse is moving through a different rope than the incident pulse. Since the speed of a wave depends upon the properties of the rope, the speed of the transmitted pulse will be different than that of the incident pulse. The general rule for wave speed is that waves travel faster in the least dense rope (assuming all other variables are held constant).


 
Wavelength, Frequency and Boundary Behavior:
The speed of a wave is not the only wave property that changes as a wave passes across the boundary between two media. The length of the wave changes as well. Like wave speed, the wavelength is always greatest in the least dense rope (assuming all other variables are held constant). While wavelength and wave speed change, the frequency of the wave in one rope is equal to the frequency in the other rope.


 
Definition of Incident, Transmitted and Reflected Pulse:
When a wave or pulse traveling through a medium reaches a boundary with another medium, part of the incident pulse is reflected off the boundary and part of the incident pulse is transmitted across the boundary. The incident pulse is the pulse which is approaching the boundary within the original medium. The reflected pulse is the part of the pulse which has bounced off the boundary and is traveling through the original medium. The transmitted pulse is the part of the pulse which has crossed over the boundary and entered into the new medium.