SM Sains Muzaffar Syah

6.5
State the Principle of
superposition of Waves

The principle of superposition states that when two waves overlap, the
resultant displacement is equal to the sum of the displacements of the
individual wave.

(a) Superposition of
two crests
__________
Interference

(b) Superposition of
two troughs

__________
Interference

__________
(c) Superposition of a
crest and a trough

Interference

What is Interference of
Waves?

Interference is the superposition of two waves originating from two

What is coherent
sources?

The waves from coherent sources have the same frequency (f),

How does interference

occur?

Wave interference occurs when two waves meet while propagating

coherent sources.

same wavelength and same phase difference.

along the same medium.

When the two waves are superposed, interference will occur either
constructive interference or destructive interference.
Constructive
Interference

Occurs when the crests or troughs of both waves coincide to

Destructive
interference

Occurs when crest of one wave coincide with the trough of the

produce a wave with crests and troughs of maximum amplitude.

other wave, thus canceling each other with the result that the
resultant amplitude is zero.

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The occurrence of
constructive
interference
and

destructive
interference

Antinode

A point where constructive interference occurs

Node

A point where destructive interference occurs.

Keys:
Maximum crest
wave (2 crests
meet)
Zero amplitude
(trough meets
crest)
Maximum
trough wave (2
troughs meet)

Youngs formula

The relationship
between , a, x and D

ax
D

a = distance between
two coherent
sources
= wavelength
x = distance between
two consecutive
node (or antinode)
lines
D = distance from the
two sources to the
point of
measurement of x

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Factors affecting the

interference pattern

The interference pattern depend on the value of x

When x changes, the interference pattern also changes

1.

1
x
a

D
a

The distance between 2 consecutive lines, x is inversely proportional

to the distance between 2 sources, a

As a becomes larger, x becomes

_____________

2.

where a & D are

constant

3.

xD

x directly proportional
to D

As a becomes smaller, x
becomes ___________

The distance between two consecutive node lines or antinode lines , x

increases is ___________ proportional to the wavelength of the wave ,

Low frequency (large )

High frequency (small )

As increases, x _____________

As decreases, x also
_______________

The distance between two consecutive node

lines or antinode lines, x is _____________
proportional to the distance from the two
sources to the point of measurement of x, D

where a & are

constant

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Interference of Water Waves

At the points of constructive interference, the water moves up and down with a large amplitude.
At the points of destructive interference, the water is actually still.
The points of constructive and destructive interference are known as antinodes and nodes
respectively.
To produce the interference pattern of the water waves in a ripple tank we can use:
(a) Two dippers operated from the same
motor,

(b) A plane water waves passing through two slits.

Complete the interference patterns for both diagram above. Draw lines to show antinodes line and
nodes line.
Exercise 1
(1) Complete the table below.
Before superposition

During
superposition

After superposition

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B
C
A

(2) Figure above shows the interference pattern of water by two coherent sources of water
waves.
(i) At point A, two crest meet resulting in _______________ interference.
(ii) At point B, two through meet resulting in _____________interference.
(iii) At point C, a crest meet a trough resulting in ____________interference.
3. Two dot vibrators which has a separation of 5.0 cm are placed on a water surface in
a ripple tank. The distance between two adjacent antinodes on a screen is 3.0 cm. If
the perpendicular distance between the dot vibrators and the screen is 10.0 cm, what
is the wavelength of the water waves?
Answer:

Interference of lights

Occurs when an incident light wave passes through a double

slit.
An interference pattern is produced as a result of the
superposition of two emerging light waves from the double slit.

Youngs double-slit experiment

Use monochromatic light (light which has one colour and

one wavelength)

The double slit must be very narrow (about 0.5 mm) to

ax
D

produce a clear interference pattern because the wavelength

of light is very small.
When light from monochromatic source passes through a
double slit, two sources of coherent light are produced.
The interference pattern consists of alternate bright and
dark fringes that can be seen on a distant screen.
Bright fringes: constructive interference
Dark fringes: destructive interference.
a = Distance between the two slits on the double slit plate
D = Distance between the double-slit plate and the screen
= The wavelength of light depends on its color.
x = Distance between two consecutive bright fringes or dark
fringes.

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Interference of Sound Waves

a= the distance between the two

loudspeakers
D = Distance between the
loudspeakers and the path along
which interference can be
detected
= The wavelength of sound
waves is influenced by the
frequency of the audio signal
generator.
x = Distance between two
consecutive positions where
loud sound is heard

ax
D

Occurs when two coherent sound waves interact on the basis of

the principle of superposition to produce a pattern of
Interferences

The two loud speakers are the sources of the two coherent sound
waves as they are connected to the same audio signal generator.
A student is requested to walk in a straight path at a distance of
D from the loudspeakers.
The student hears alternating loud and soft sounds as he walks
along the straight path.
The alternating loud and soft sounds is caused by interference of
the sound waves.
The loud sound: constructive interference
The soft sound : destructive interference.

Comparison between water wave, sound wave and light wave

Water wave
Sound wave
Light wave

The wavelength of water waves

is influenced by the frequency
of the ______________

Distance between the spherical

dippers and the position
marked x is measured

Distance between the two

spherical dippers

The wavelength of sound

waves is influenced by the
frequency of the
________________________
Distance between the
loudspeakers and the path
along which interference can
be detected
Distance between the two
loudspeakers

The wavelength of light

depends on its __________.

Distance between the doubleslit plate and the screen

Distance between the two

slits on the double slit plate

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Water wave
Distance between two
consecutive antinode lines or
two consecutive node lines
High amplitude of water
Calm water

Sound wave
Distance between two
consecutive positions where
loud sound is heard
Loud sound
Soft sound

Exercise 2
(1) In an experiment on the interference of
waves, two loudspeakers are placed at a
distance of 1.5 m from each other. They
are connected to an audio signal
generator to produce coherent sound
waves at a frequency of 0.5 kHz. Calculate
(a) the wavelength of the sound wave if
-1
the speed of sound is 300 ms
(b) the distance between two
consecutive soft sounds at a
perpendicular distance of 5 m from
the source of the sound.

Light wave
Distance between two
consecutive bright fringes or
dark fringes.
Bright fringes
Dark fringes

(2) In a Youngs double slit experiment, the

distance between the double slit and the
screen is 4.0 m and the separation of the two
slits is 0.5 mm. calculate the distance
between two consecutive bright fringes for
(a) violet light with a wavelength of 4.0 x
-7
10 m
(b) red light with a wavelength of
7.0 x
-7
10 m.

(3) The wavelength of light can be determined

with a double-slit plate. The diagram
shows the pattern of interference fringes
obtained in a Youngs double-slit
experiment. The separation of distance of
the two slits is 0.25 mm and the distance
between the screen and the double slit
plate is 3.0 m. Calculate the wavelength of
light used in the experiment.

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COBJECTIVE QUESTIONS
1

The diagram shown represents the

phenomena of interference of water waves.

Which of the following shows the wave

pattern at the points P, Q, R, S and T at a
particular time?

What is the wavelength of the water waves?

A. 0.8 cm
B. 1.2 cm
C. 3.2 cm
D. 5.0 cm
E. 20.0 cm
2

The diagram shows the continuous lines

represent crests while the doted lines
represent troughs of water waves produced
by two coherent sources of water waves S1
and S2.
At which point does constructive
interference occur?

The diagram shows the interference pattern

of water waves in a ripple tank.

Which of the following is a condition for the

occurrence of constructive interference
between two waves?
A. The two waves must meet in antiphase.
B. The two waves must meet in-phase
C. The two waves must have the same
amplitude
D. The two waves must have maximum
displacement when they meet.

The diagrams shows two circular water

waves from two sources S1 and S2
overlapping as they travel to the right. The
circular lines indicate the crest lines of the
water waves.

The point X is
A. a node with maximum amplitude
B. a node with zero amplitude
C. an anti-node with maximum
amplitude
D. anti-node with zero amplitude

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The diagrams shows an arrangement in

Youngs double slit experiment to show the
interference of light.
Which diagram shows the shape of the
wave after the two wave pulses meet at
point O?

The wavelength of laser light used is 600

nm and the separation of the two slits is
0.48 mm. What is the separation of the
fringes of the interference pattern?
A. 1.0 mm
B. 1.2 mm
C. 1.5 mm
D. 2.0 mm
8

13

The diagram show two wave pulses are

moving towards each others along a piece
of rope.

The diagram shows the fringes obtained

from a double slit experiment using a
monochromatic light of wavelength 550 nm.
Which of the following diagram is correct
after the two pulses meet at point P?

If the distance between the double slit and

the screen is 1.5 m, what is the separation
of the double slit?
A. 0.10 mm
B. 0.17 mm
C. 0.28 mm
D. 0.35 mm
11

In a Youngs double slit experiment, blue

light and red light are used to produce
interference fringes. The blue fringes are
narrower than the red fringes because blue
light
A. moves faster than red light
B. refracts more than red light
C. has shorter wavelength than red
light
D. has lower frequency than red light.

12

The diagram shows two wave pulses M and

N move towards each other.

14

The diagrams shows an interference pattern

of two coherent water wave sources, P and
Q

On which of the positions A, B, C and D

shows the amplitude of the wave is zero?

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15

What are the effects on the water waves

after it travels through the two gaps?

Structured Questions
Question 1
Figure 1 show the interference pattern from
two coherent sources formed by two
spherical dippers S1 and S2 in a ripple tank.
Each of the circular line represents a crestline or the wavefront.

A.
B.
C.
D.
16

refraction and reflection

reflection and diffraction
refraction and interference
Diffraction and interference

The diagram shows an interference of water

waves in a ripple tank.

Which following point are antinodes?

A. W and X
B. X and Z
C. Y and Z
D. W and Y
17

An audio signal generator is connected to

two loudspeakers. A student hears
alternating loud, K and soft , L sounds as
she walks along the straight path.

Figure 1
(a) Describe the type of interference and the
state of motion at
(i)
P : _______________________
(ii)

Q: _______________________

(iii)

R: _______________________

(b) If three corks are floating on point P, Q,

R, state the movement of the corks:
(i)
P: ________________________

The distance between two consecutive loud

sound will increase when .
A. Diameter of the loudspeakers
increases.
B. Frequency of the audio signal
increases
C. Distance between the two
loudspeakers increases
D. Distance between the two
loudspeakers and line XY increases.

(ii)

Q: _______________________

(iii)

R: ________________________

(c) What is the name given to point:

(i)
P: ________________________
(ii)

Q: _______________________

(iii)

R: ________________________

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Question 2 SPM 1985

Figure below shows the arrangement of
Youngs double slit apparatus experiment to
determine the wavelength of red light. A red
filter is used to produce a monochromatic
light. The distance between the screen and
the double slit is 4 m. A series of alternating
bright and dark fringes can be seen on the
screen.

(d) What will happen to the pattern of the

fringes if:
(i)
the distance between the double
slit and screen is increased.
________________________________
(ii)

The separation between the two

slits is increased.

________________________________

(e) A red filter is replaced by using blue

filter. Figures below are the patterns of
interference which are not arranged in
order. Write down the correct colour
filter for the respective patterns of
interference.

(a) State two light phenomenons which form

those the pattern of the fringes.
1. _____________________________

______________

2. _____________________________
(b) Sketch the interferences pattern seen on
the screen.
_______________
(f) The double slit is replaced by a single
slit. Draw the fringes patterns that can
now be observed on the screen.
(c) In the experiment, the distance between
the two slits, a, is 0.4 mm. It is found that
the distance between two consecutive
bright fringes is 2.6 cm. By using the
formula

ax
calculate the
D

wavelength of the red light.

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Question 4 (SPM 1988)

Question No. 5: Spm 2004

Figure 22.1 shows the arrangement of
apparatus in Youngs double slit experiment.
A white light source is passed through a
coloured filter to produce a monochromatic
light.
Figure 22.2 shows the pattern of the fringe
formed on the screen when a red filter is
used.

Figure 4
Figure 4 shows two loudspeaker A and B
are connected to a audio signal
generator at a spacious area.
Each
loudspeaker produce a sound wave of
frequency 2 200 Hz. In the experiment, a
student walks along the straight line MZ.
He hears alternate loud and soft sound.
At point P, R and T the students heard
the louder sound , whereas at point Q
and S the softer sound was heard.

Figure 22.1

a) State the phenomenon which causes

the changes in loudness of sound.
_____________________________
b) What happened to the sound waves
from the two loud speakers which
met at
(i)
point P ___________________
(ii)

point Q ___________________

c) Why this experiment has to be

carried out in an spacious area

Figure 22.2
(a) What s meant by a monochromatic light?
[1]

_____________________________
d) If the wave length of the sound
generated was 0.15 m, what is the
distance between point P and R ?

___________________________________
(b)

Using the pattern of the fringes in the

figure above , state two observations
about the distances between
consecutive fringes for the red light and
the blue light.
___________________________________
___________________________________

e) The distance between two loud

speakers increases to 1.5 m, state the
changes to the distance between two
consecutive softer sounds.
________________________________

___________________________________
(c)

Compare the wavelengths of red light

to blue light.
__________________________________

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(d)

Relate the wavelengths of red light to

blue light with the distances between
consecutive fringes in(b).

(e)

_________________________________

Name the wave phenomenon which

forms the pattern of the fringes in the
figure above.
__________________________________
[1]

_________________________________
[1]

Question 6 (SPM 2000)

Figure 2
Figure 2 shows an interference pattern
for two coherent sources.
(a) On Figure 2,
(ii)
Draw and label the node line
to show where destructive
interferences occurs.
(iii)

Draw and label the antinode

line to show where
constructive interferences
occurs.

(iv)

Sketch a diagram to explain

the formation of constructive
interferences.

(b) Figure 2 is drawn with an actual size

for a water wave interferences
pattern which is observed in a ripple
tank.
(i)
Measure a, x and D
(ii)

Calculate the wavelength ,

by using equation

ax
D

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