Final answer:
To determine the speed of waves in a pool, use the pool tiles as a distance measure, drop a stone to create waves, use a stopwatch to time how quickly the wave travels a known distance, and then calculate the average speed.
Step-by-step explanation:
To calculate the travelling speed of waves in water, you can perform a simple experiment using the tiles on the pool floor as a reference for distance. You'll need a stopwatch and a method to create waves consistently, like dropping stones into the water from a fixed height. Here's a step-by-step guide:
- Ensure the pool water is calm without any initial ripples or waves.
- Choose a starting tile at the edge of the pool as your wave origin point.
- From a fixed height, drop a stone at the edge of the pool to create a wave.
- Start the stopwatch as soon as the stone hits the water.
- Observe how long it takes for the wave to reach a known number of tiles away, for example, 10 tiles.
- Stop the stopwatch once the wave reaches the 10th tile.
- Calculate the wave speed by dividing the distance traveled (based on the 1-foot length of each tile) by the time recorded on the stopwatch.
For accuracy, repeat the experiment several times and calculate an average speed. Make sure to use the same method for creating waves each time to maintain consistency.