COLLEGE PHYSICS LAB

(PHY 031L)

EXPERIMENT 5
STANDING WAVES ON A STRING
PHYSICS 031 LABORATORY MANUAL

LABORATORY EXPERIMENT 5
STANDING WAVES ON A STRING
BACKGROUND
The general appearance of waves can be shown by means of standing waves in a string. This
type of wave is very important because most of the vibrations of extended bodies, such as the prongs of
a tuning fork or the strings of a piano, are standing waves. The purpose of this experiment is to examine
how the tension required to produce a standing wave in a vibrating string of fixed length and mass
density is affected by the wavelength and the frequency of the wave. This is a hands-on experiment
where the student gets to feel the force required to increase the number of vibrating segments.

THEORY
Standing waves (stationary waves) are produced by the addition of two traveling waves, both of
which have the same wavelength and speed, but travel in opposite directions through the same
medium. Figure 1 shows such a system, where a mechanical vibrator produces a wave on a string, which
moves to the right, and reflection from a fixed end produces a left moving wave.

Where the two waves are always 180 0 out of phase, very little motion occurs (none if the
amplitudes are the same). Such places are called nodes (see Figure 1). Where the two waves are in

phase,
the motion is maximum. These positions are call anti-nodes. Figure 2 shows a representation of a standing
wave.

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This representation shows the two extreme positions of the string.

This matches well what the eye or camera sees since the string speed is minimum at the extremes.
However, do not forget that the string goes through all of the positions in between the extremes as
shown by the blur in Figure 1. Note that as shown in Figure 2, the node-to-node distance is one-half of
the wavelength. The necessary conditions for the production of standing waves on a stretched string
fixed at both ends is the length of the string be equal to an integer number of half wavelengths so that
there can be a node at each fixed end. For this experiment, one fixed end is where the string attaches to
the force sensor and the other is where the string attaches to the mechanical vibrator. The end attached
to the force sensor is a true node, but the end attached to the metal wand on the vibrator is not exactly
a node since the wand vibrates up a down a little. Close examination (see Figure 3) shows that the true
node would be a little to the left of the knot so the effective string length will be a bit longer than we
measure. However, the difference does not appear to be more than a few millimeters, so is only a
fraction of a percent.

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A stretched string has many natural modes of vibration (three examples are shown in Figure 4 above). If
the string is fixed at both ends then there must be a node at each end. It may vibrate as a single
segment, in which case the length (L) of the string is equal to 1/2 the wavelength (λ) of the wave. It may
also vibrate in two segments with a node at each end and one node in the middle; then the wavelength
is equal to the length of the string. It may also vibrate with a larger integer number of segments. In
every case, the length of the string equals some integer number of half wavelengths. If you drive a
stretched string at an arbitrary frequency, you will probably not see any particular mode; many modes
will be mixed together. However, if the tension and the string's length are correctly adjusted to the
frequency of the driving vibrator, one vibrational mode will occur at a much greater amplitude than the
other modes. For any wave with wavelength λ and frequency f, the speed, v, is

v = λf (1)

The speed of a wave on a string is also related to the tension in the string, F, and the linear density
(=mass/length), μ, by v2 = F/μ = λ2f2 (2) L is the length of the string and n is the number of
segments. (Note that n is not the number of nodes). Since a segment is 1/2 wavelength then

λ = 2L/n where n = 1, 2, 3, … (3)

Solving Equation 2 for the tension yields:

F = μλ2f2 (4)

In the first part of the experiment, we will hold λ constant by always choosing a two segment pattern so
that λ = L since n = 2 and vary the frequency while measuring the tension at which a two segment
standing wave appears. By plotting F versus f2, we should see a straight line with a slope of μλ2. In the
second part, we hold the frequency constant and vary the tension (Figure 4) to get standing waves with
different numbers of segments, so different values of λ. Plotting F versus λ2 should give a straight line
with slope μf2.

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LABORATORY EXPERIMENT 5
STANDING WAVES ON A STRING
1. Determine
LEARNING the vibration frequency, mass density, and the tension required to attain the first
OBJECTIVE
harmonic, second harmonic and third harmonic.
2. Calculate the velocity of the first harmonic, second harmonic and third harmonic.
3. Calculate the percent difference of the computed velocities of the vibrating string.
SIMULATION URL
https://ophysics.com/w8.html

1. For every trial, adjust the sliders of vibration frequency, linear density and tension to attain the
PROCEDURES
first harmonic or fundamental frequency, second harmonic or first overtone, and third harmonic
or second overtone.
𝑇
2. Calculate the velocities of the first harmonic using v = 2Lf and v = √ ; velocities of the second
𝜇
𝑇
harmonic or first overtone using v = Lf and v = √ ; and
𝜇
𝑇
Third harmonic or second overtone using v = 2Lf/3 and v = √ .
𝜇
Note: use the magnitude of the tension and linear density registered in the simulation for the
𝑇
equation of v = √ .
𝜇

3. Calculate the % difference of the two velocities in the first, second, and third harmonics using
the equation
𝑇
(𝐿𝑓)− √
𝜇
Ex. First Harmonic: % diff = 𝑇 x 100
(𝑙𝑓+ √ )/2
𝜇

DATA AND RESULTS

No. of Trial First Harmonic Second Third Harmonic

or Fundamental Harmonic or or Second
Frequency First Overtone Overtone
Vibration 1 50 Hz 64 Hz 82 Hz
Frequency (Hz) 2 55 Hz 81 Hz 71 Hz
3 70 Hz 47 Hz 72 Hz
Mass Density 1 0.32x10-3 kg/m 0.58x10-3 kg/m 2.35x10-3 kg/m
(kg/m) 2 0.24x10-3 kg/m 0.83x10-3 kg/m 1x10-3 kg/m
3 0.16x10-3 kg/m 1.32x10-3 kg/m 1.1x10-3 kg/m
Tension (N) 1 45 N 37 N 100 N
2 40 N 85 N 34 N
3 48 N 45 N 38 N

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SOLUTIONS

FIRST HARMONIC:

v=2 L f
v=
T
μ√
% diff =
√
( 2 Lf ) − T
μ
× 10 0
( √)
2 Lf +
T
μ
2
TRIAL 1

v=2 L f
v=2 ( 4 )( 50 ) =400 ms

v=
√ T
μ
v=
√ 45
0.32 x 10
−3
=375 ms

% diff =
√
( 2 Lf ) − T
μ
× 10 0
( √)
2 Lf +
T
μ
2
( 400 ms )−(375 ms)
% diff = ×10 0=6.4516 %
( 400 ms+375 ms)
2

TRIAL 2

v=2 L f
v=2 ( 4 )( 55 ) =440 ms

v=
√ T
μ
v=
√ 40
0.24 x 10−3
=408.2483ms

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% diff =
√
( 2 Lf ) − T
μ
× 10 0
( √)
2 Lf +
T
μ
2
( 440 ms )−(408.2483ms)
% diff = × 100=7.4864 %
( 440 ms+408.2483 ms)
2

TRIAL 3

v=2 L f
v=2 ( 4 )( 70 ) =560 ms

v=
√ T
μ
v=
√ 48
0.16 x 10−3
=547.7226 ms

% diff =
√
( Lf )− T
μ
×10 0
( √)
Lf +
T
μ
2
( 560 ms )−(547.7226 ms )
% diff = ×10 0=2.2167 %
( 560ms+ 547.7226 ms)
2

SECOND HARMONIC:

v=L f
v=
T
μ√
% diff =
√
( Lf )− T
μ
×10 0
( √)
Lf +
T
μ
2
TRIAL 1

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v=L f
v=( 4 ) ( 64 )=256 ms

v=
√ T
μ
v=
√ 37
0.58 x 10
−3
=252.5730 ms

% diff =
√
( Lf )− T
μ
×10 0
( √)
Lf +
T
μ
2
( 256 )−(252.5730)
% diff = ×10 0
(256 +252.5730) = 1.3477%
2

TRIAL 2

v=L f
v=( 4 ) ( 81 )=324 ms

v=
√ T
μ
v=
√ 85
0. 83 x 10
−3
=320.0151ms

% diff =
√
( Lf )− T
μ
×10 0
( √)
Lf +
T
μ
2

( 324 )−(320.0151)
% diff = ×10 0=1.2375%
(324 +320.0151)
2

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TRIAL 3

v=L f
v=( 4 ) ( 47 ) =188 ms

v=
√ T
μ
v=
√ 45
1.32 x 10−3
=184.6372 ms

% diff =
√
( Lf )− T
μ
×10 0
( √)
Lf +
T
μ
2

( 188 )−(184.6371)
% diff = × 10 0=1.8049 %
(188+184.6372)
2

THIRD HARMONIC:

2 Lf
v=
3
v=
T
√
μ

% diff =
( 2 Lf
3 )−
√ μ ×10 0
T

( 23Lf + √ Tμ )
2

TRIAL 1

2 Lf
v=
3
2(4)(82)
v= =218.6667 ms
3

v=
√ T
μ

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v=
√ 100
2.35 x 10
−3
=206.2842ms

% diff =
( 2 Lf
3 )−
√ μ ×10 0
T

( 23Lf + √ Tμ )
2
( 218.6667 )−(206.2842)
% diff = × 10 0=5.8277 %
(218.6667+ 206.2842)
2

TRIAL 2

2 Lf
v=
3
2(4)(71)
v= =189.3333 ms
3

v=
√ T
μ
v=
√ 34
1 x 10
−3
=184.3909 ms

% diff =
( 2 Lf
3 )−
√ μ ×10 0
T

( 23Lf + √ Tμ )
2
( 189.3333 )−(184.3909)
% diff = × 10 0=2.6449 %
(189.3333+184.3909)
2

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TRIAL 3

2 Lf
v=
3
2(4)(72)
v= =192 ms
3

v=
√ T
μ
v=
√ 38
1.1 x 10
−3
=1 85 . 8641 ms

( 3 ) √μ
2 Lf T
−
% diff = ×10 0
( 23Lf + √ Tμ )
2
( 192 )−(18 5.8641)
% diff = ×10 0=3.2477 %
(192+185.8641)
2

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PHYSICS 031 LABORATORY MANUAL

GUIDE QUESTIONS
1. As you navigate the sliders of vibration frequency, linear density, and tension in the
simulation, what relationships of these variables exist?

2. Are these relationships (referring to no. 1) true in all harmonics? Why?

_

CONCLUSIONS

Based on the data gathered, what conclusions can you give?

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