Problem 17.6

Please wait for the animation to completely load.

The animation shows how two waves can add together to produce a standing wave on a string (position is given in centimeters and time is given in seconds). The third panel represents the string. The waves in the first two panels have been superimposed to produce the wave in the third panel. Restart.

Which of the following, if any, statement(s) is(are) true?

  1. Waves never pass through the point x = 0 cm on the string since this point never moves.

  2. The string is perfectly straight when the maxima in the first two panels overlap.

  3. There is an instant in time when the string does not move.

  4. The string is moving fastest when the maxima in the first two panels overlap.



Problem by Wolfgang Christian and Mario Belloni.
HTML updated for JavaScript by Aidan Edmondson.
Physlets were developed at Davidson College and converted from Java to JavaScript using the SwingJS system developed at St. Olaf College.