Experiment 3: Relationship between Frequency and Wavelength

PURPOSE:

The purpose of this experiment was to determine and verify the relationship between frequency and wavelength by using the wavelength as a function of frequency.

The following equations were used to help verify the experiment:

PROCEDURE:

Brief Procedure

The following shows a demonstration of the procedure. The time it took for the spring to produce 10 cycles was calculated three times and averaged for different wavelengths. 

The wavelength of the spring was measured by the distance  between the two people

A sinusoidal wave is produced and cycles 10 times

After 10 cycles were made by the spring, the time was recorded

DATA:



Using the relationship of f=1/T, the following values were calculated for each specific wavelength.

wavelength (m)	time of 10 cycles (s)
	Trial 1	Trial 2	Trial 3	Average	Frequency (Hz)
2	3.3	3.5	3.3	3.4	2.941176
3	3.9	3.9	4	3.9	2.564103
3.5	4.3	4.4	4.4	4.4	2.272727
4	4.9	4.9	4.6	4.8	2.083333
5	5.4	5.5	5.5	5.5	1.818182

Using this table of values, the inverse relationship between the wavelength and frequency was graphed.

The inverse function gives the constant, A, of the line.

 Conclusion: Based on the graph, the wavelength and frequency share an inverse relationship with each other. This interpretation of the graph explains that if the wavelength is high then there is a low frequency and vice-versa. The speed of the springs wave was also calculated in the graph as the constant A. Going back to the equation where f=v/lamda, the equation of the line can also be written as f(lamda)=A/lamda, where A is a constant which represents the velocity of the graph. Based on these results the relationship between wavelength and frequency is verified.