Instruction Manual and

Experiment Guide for the PASCO scientific

Model WA-9401

LONGITUDINAL

WAVE SPRING

012-04475B

2/94

Copyright © November 1990 $1.00

012-04475B Longitudinal Wave Spring

Table of Contents

Introduction ..................................................................................................... 1

Additional Equipment Required ...................................................................... 1

Setup Procedure ............................................................................................... 1

Technical Support ................................................................ Inside Back Cover i

Longitudinal Wave Spring

Copyright, Warranty and Equipment Return

012-04475B

Please—Feel free to duplicate this manual subject to the copyright restrictions below.

Copyright Notice

The PASCO scientific Model WA-9401 Longitudinal

Wave Spring manual is copyrighted and all rights reserved. However, permission is granted to nonprofit educational institutions for reproduction of any part of this manual providing the reproductions are used only for their laboratories and are not sold for profit. Reproduction under any other circumstances, without the written consent of PASCO scientific, is prohibited.

Limited Warranty

PASCO scientific warrants this product to be free from defects in materials and workmanship for a period of one year from the date of shipment to the customer.

PASCO will repair or replace, at its option, any part of the product which is deemed to be defective in material or workmanship. This warranty does not cover damage to the product caused by abuse or improper use. Determination of whether a product failure is the result of a manufacturing defect or improper use by the customer shall be made solely by PASCO scientific.

Responsibility for the return of equipment for warranty repair belongs to the customer. Equipment must be properly packed to prevent damage and shipped postage or freight prepaid. (Damage caused by improper packing of the equipment for return shipment will not be covered by the warranty.) Shipping costs for returning the equipment, after repair, will be paid by PASCO scientific.

Equipment Return

Should the product have to be returned to PASCO scientific for any reason, notify PASCO scientific by letter, phone, or fax BEFORE returning the product.

Upon notification, the return authorization and shipping instructions will be promptly issued.

ä NOTE: NO EQUIPMENT WILL BE

ACCEPTED FOR RETURN WITHOUT AN

AUTHORIZATION FROM PASCO.

When returning equipment for repair, the units must be packed properly. Carriers will not accept responsibility for damage caused by improper packing. To be certain the unit will not be damaged in shipment, observe the following rules:

➀ The packing carton must be strong enough for the item shipped.

➁ Make certain there are at least two inches of packing material between any point on the apparatus and the inside walls of the carton.

➂ Make certain that the packing material cannot shift in the box or become compressed, allowing the instrument come in contact with the packing carton.

Credits

This manual authored by: Paul Stokstad

This manual edited by: Dave Griffith

Address: PASCO scientific

10101 Foothills Blvd.

Roseville, CA 95747-7100

Phone:

FAX: email: web:

(916) 786-3800

(916) 786-3292 [email protected]

www.pasco.com

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012-04475B Longitudinal Wave Spring

Introduction

The PASCO Longitudinal Wave Spring is designed to demonstrate longitudinal waves. Although it may be used in several different configurations, we suggest the following for ease of set up and clear, well defined waves.

Additional Equipment Required:

• Mechanical Driver, PASCO Model SF-9324 or

WA-9753

• Function Generator with Amplifier, PASCO

Model PI-9587A or PI-9598

• Support for the non-driven end of the spring.

Setup Procedure

➀ Hook one end of the spring through the hole in the banana plug assembly.

➁ Insert the banana plug on one end of the spring into the drive shaft of the Mechanical Driver.

➂ Suspend the other end of the spring from a ring stand or other support such that the length of the spring is between 30 and 60 cm.

(It may be desirable to tape the loop on the end of the spring to the support so that it does not move once resonance is attained.)

➃ Connect the Mechanical Driver to a function generator capable of driving a speaker. (The PASCO

PI-9587B Digital Function Generator/Amplifier is excellent for this purpose.)

➄ Start driving the Mechanical Driver at about 10 Hz with approximately 1 mm of amplitude and slowly increase the frequency. At various frequencies it will be noted that certain parts of the spring seem to stand still (nodes) while others oscillate rapidly

(anti-nodes). As the frequency is increased the number of nodes and anti-nodes will increase and the distance between them become shorter. It may be necessary to decrease the driving amplitude when resonant points are attained.

30 - 60 cm

Tape

Equipment Setup

➅ Graph the relation between the number of nodes and the driving frequency. Change the length (thus the tension) of the spring and see if different frequencies are required for the same number of nodes.

➤ NOTE: A light background is best for viewing the nodes and anti-nodes.

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Longitudinal Wave Spring

Notes

012-04475B

2

012-04475B Longitudinal Wave Spring

Technical Support

Feed-Back

If you have any comments about this product or this manual please let us know. If you have any suggestions on alternate experiments or find a problem in the manual please tell us. PASCO appreciates any customer feed-back. Your input helps us evaluate and improve our product.

To Reach PASCO

For Technical Support call us at 1-800-772-8700 (tollfree within the U.S.) or (916) 786-3800.

Contacting Technical Support

Before you call the PASCO Technical Support staff it would be helpful to prepare the following information:

• If your problem is with the PASCO apparatus, note:

Title and Model number (usually listed on the label).

Approximate age of apparatus.

A detailed description of the problem/sequence of events. (In case you can't call PASCO right away, you won't lose valuable data.)

If possible, have the apparatus within reach when calling. This makes descriptions of individual parts much easier.

• If your problem relates to the instruction manual, note:

Part number and Revision (listed by month and year on the front cover).

Have the manual at hand to discuss your questions.

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