17.1 Mechanical Waves
17.2 properties of Mechanical Waves
17.3 Behavior of Waves
17.4 sound and hearing
How Does a Disturbance produce Waves?
Procedure
Fill a clear plastic container and a dropper pipet with water.
Observe the surface of the water by looking down at an angle into the container. Use the dropper pipet to release a drop of water from a height of about 3 cm above the surface of the water.
Repeat Step 2 with a drop released from each of these heights: 10, 20, 50, and 70 cm.
Think About It
Observing Which drop produced the highest waves?
Making Generalizations In general, how would you expect the distance a drop falls to affect the wave it produces? Explain your answer.
Formulating hypotheses Why does the distance a drop falls affect the height of the waves it produces? Explain your answer.