What is the phase difference between two waves that interfere destructively?
Practice Questions
1 question
Q1
What is the phase difference between two waves that interfere destructively?
0 radians
π/2 radians
π radians
3π/2 radians
Destructive interference occurs when the phase difference is π radians (or an odd multiple of π).
Questions & Step-by-step Solutions
1 item
Q
Q: What is the phase difference between two waves that interfere destructively?
Solution: Destructive interference occurs when the phase difference is π radians (or an odd multiple of π).
Steps: 7
Step 1: Understand what waves are. Waves can be thought of as repeating patterns that move through space.
Step 2: Learn about interference. When two waves meet, they can combine in different ways. This is called interference.
Step 3: Know the two types of interference. There are two main types: constructive interference (waves add together) and destructive interference (waves cancel each other out).
Step 4: Focus on destructive interference. This happens when the peaks of one wave align with the troughs of another wave.
Step 5: Understand phase difference. The phase difference tells us how much one wave is ahead or behind another wave.
Step 6: Learn the specific phase difference for destructive interference. For two waves to interfere destructively, the phase difference must be π radians (or 180 degrees).
Step 7: Recognize that odd multiples of π also cause destructive interference. This means that 3π, 5π, etc., will also result in destructive interference.