BTEC Waves circus

Station 1: Water waves in a ripple tank

 Draw the waves in the box:

 Add an arrow to show the direction

the waves are travelling.

 Look closely at one ripple – is the disturbance travelling up and down,

or in the same direction as the wave travels overall?

 What type of wave are water waves?

Station 2: Reflection of water waves

 Draw what happens to the waves in

the box:

 Add an arrow to show the new

direction the waves are travelling.

 What characteristic of a water wave does this show?

 Describe what happens to the waves as they reach the barrier.

Ref: Task 2, Q2a

 Does reflection affect the wave’s wavelength, frequency or velocity?

Ref: Task 2, Q3a

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Station 3: Refraction of water waves

 Draw the waves in the box:

 Add an arrow to show the direction

the waves are travelling.

 What characteristic of a wave is this showing?

 Describe what happens to the waves as they pass from the deep end to
the shallow part.

Ref: Task 2, Q2b

 Does reflection affect the wave’s wavelength, frequency or velocity?

Ref: Task 2, Q3a

Station 4: Diffraction of water waves

 Draw what happens to the waves in

the box:

 Add an arrow to show the new

direction the waves are travelling.

 What characteristic of a wave is this showing?

 Describe what happens to the waves as they pass through the gap.
 BTEC Waves circus

Station 5: Waves in a slinky

 Draw the waves in the box:

 Add an arrow to show the direction

the waves are travelling.

 Describe what you see. Are the coils moving up and down like in a
water wave, or in the same direction the wave travels overall?

 What type of wave is this – transverse or longitudinal?

Station 6: Reflection of light

 Draw what happens to the light ray in

the box:

 Add an arrow to show the new

direction the light ray is travelling.

 Describe what happens to the light ray as it hits the mirror’s surface.
 BTEC Waves circus
 Compare this with the reflection of water waves. How do we know
light is a wave?
 BTEC Waves circus
Station 7: Refraction of light

 Draw where the light ray goes once it

enters the prism:

 Add an arrow to show the direction

the waves are travelling.

 Describe what happens to the light as it passes into the glass block.

 What characteristic of a wave is this showing?

Station 8: Diffraction of light

 Draw what you see through the

diffraction grating in the box:
Use colours!

 Describe what happens to the white light when it passes through small
gaps.

 What characteristic of a wave is this showing?

BTEC Waves circus