Question

Two pulses are moving along a string. one pulse is moving to the right and the second is moving to the left. both pulses reach point x at the same instant. an illustration of a triangular trough traveling right and the same size and shape crest traveling left both toward point x. they are equidistant from x. will there be an instance in which the wave interference is at the same level as point x? no, the interfering waves will always be above x. no, the interfering waves will always fall below x. yes, the overlap will occur during the slope of the waves. yes, the overlap will occur when the first wave hits point x.

Answer 1

Two identical pulses, one a crest and the other a trough, will experience destructive interference when they meet, resulting in a momentary flat line at the level of point X.

Step-by-step explanation:

When two pulses moving along a string, one to the right and the other to the left, reach point X at the same time, interference occurs. If they are identical in size and shape, with one being a crest and the other a trough, they can interfere in two ways: constructive interference or destructive interference. Constructive interference occurs when the crests or troughs of two waves align, increasing the wave's amplitude. In contrast, destructive interference happens when a crest and a trough of equal amplitude meet, cancelling each other out and producing a momentary flat line at the level of point X. Therefore, if two identical waves meet exactly out of phase (crest meets trough) at point X, there would be an instance in which the wave interference is at the same level as point X, which would be an example of destructive interference resulting in zero amplitude at that instant.