Onward with Waves

Physical Science took their introductory wave exam today and results were mixed. Some kickin' scores and some that will require further study on the part of the test-takers. Overall, the class average was good, so I'll give it a thumbs-up. Daily objective answers were better, on average, than past submissions, but some folks are still trying to do them all at once at the 11th hour. The purpose of the daily objectives is to give you some focused questions to use to review the day's lesson. They should be completed the day of the lesson or soon thereafter. They should not be put off until I am nice enough to give you warning that I will be collecting them. Tomorrow, you will get a chance to use the concept of resonance (introduced in the Mythbusters episode we watched in class) to assess the speed of sound in air and in carbon dioxide. Read over the lab sheet tonight to prepare for tomorrow's activity.

Honors Physics completed their pendulum lab and Physics completed their mass-spring lab. This has given each class the chance to explore the two classic SHM systems. We will debrief tomorrow and then continue on with our discussion about the basic properties of waves. Here's a nice video about SHM: