Date: 21/06/13

Name: 包翊成
Estimate the standing wave of a wave and the density of the cord with electric
toothbrush

1.Purpose
According to the video, the wire density is measured by adjusting the length of the wire or the
weight of the weight to create a standing wave using an electric toothbrush, a wire and a home
weight (an object that can be estimated or obtained)
2. Theory
We can use a scale to weigh the hanging weight, and then we can know the tension of
the rope, which leads to the wave speed and the density of the rope.

3. Materials and Equipment

Electric toothbrush, string, mass
4. Procedure
Step 1: Cut a string with specific length
Step 2: Tie one end of the string to the vibrating motor of the electric toothbrush.
Step 3: Join another side of the string to the mass, also record the weight of the mass.
Step 4: Start the electric toothbrush to make it vibrate and adjust the length of the
string until standing wave is observed
Step 5: Record the number of loops and the length of the string when standing wave is
produced.
Step 6: Change to another mass and adjust the length of the string to form the standing
wave，multi-test average to reduce the error
 5. Data
String length(m) Loops Mass(kg) Frequency(Hz)
1 0.496 4 0.344 500
2 0.375 3 0.207 500
5 Calculation

6. Analysis and Conclusions

According to the data, at the same frequency, the loops and wavelengths change due to the
different masses. Since the material of the rope does not change throughout the experiment, we
can calculate the density of the rope. We encountered some problems in the experiment, that is, the
toothbrush vibration formed by the standing wave is very inconspicuous, we kept adjusting the
length, guessing in addition to the density.