Question

Maddy, Carole, and Maria are enjoying a day at the beach. They are body surfing and playing on their boards. Imagine that wave A catches up with wave B. Describe the change, if any, in wave amplitude. A) There will be no change in either wave. B) Wave A will cancel out wave B and amplitude will be 0. C) A new wave with larger amplitude than A or B will be the result. D) A new wave with smaller amplitude than A or B will be the result.

Answer 1

Step-by-step explanation:

Whenever two waves meet each other, interference occurs. There can be two condition for interference :

• Constructive interference : In this type of interference, the amplitude of the wave gets doubled if both wave are in phase and are moving in same direction.

• Destructive interference : In this type of interference, the amplitude of the wave gets cancel out each other if both waves are out of phase.

In this case, Maddy, Carole, and Maria are body surfing and playing on their boards. Wave A catches up with wave B. There can be any possibility either constructive or destructive interference.

Answer 2

Choice C: A new wave with a larger amplitude than A or B will be the result

Step-by-step explanation:

When two waves meet with their crests ( the highest points of waves) lined up or "in phase" with each other, they will meet and their amplitudes will add. This is called constructive interference of waves, and it results in a wave whose amplitude is the sum of the amplitudes of the interfering waves.

In our case, when waves A and B meet with their crests lined up, they will interfere constructively, and the wave that results will have an amplitude that is greater than either A or B.

Therefore on the beach, when two water waves A and B meet, their amplitudes will add up and the result will be a new wave whose amplitude will be larger than either A or B.