What is the principle of superposition in wave motion?
Practice Questions
1 question
Q1
What is the principle of superposition in wave motion?
Waves can only travel in one direction
Waves can interfere with each other
Waves cannot pass through each other
Waves always lose energy
The principle of superposition states that when two or more waves overlap, the resultant displacement is the sum of the individual displacements.
Questions & Step-by-step Solutions
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Q
Q: What is the principle of superposition in wave motion?
Solution: The principle of superposition states that when two or more waves overlap, the resultant displacement is the sum of the individual displacements.
Steps: 6
Step 1: Understand that waves can be thought of as disturbances that move through a medium (like water or air).
Step 2: Recognize that when two or more waves meet in the same place at the same time, they can interact with each other.
Step 3: The principle of superposition tells us how to find the new position of the medium where the waves overlap.
Step 4: To find this new position, you simply add together the heights (displacements) of each wave at that point.
Step 5: If one wave is going up and another is going down, you add their heights together to get the resultant height.
Step 6: This means that the resulting wave can be higher, lower, or the same as the individual waves, depending on their positions.
