Oscilloscope
You can interpret and explain sound waves shown on an oscilloscope.
Oscilloscope
You can interpret and explain sound waves shown on an oscilloscope.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- An oscilloscope is a displacement-time graph of a wave
- Connected to a microphone, an oscilloscope shows a displacement-time graph of a sound wave
- The distance between two wave crests on an oscilloscope’s graph is equal to the period of the wave
- The time period is measured most accurately by measuring the time for, say, 10 waves and dividing time by 10
- The bigger the amplitude of a sound wave, the louder the sound
Common misconception
The distance between two crests of an oscilloscope graph is equal to one wavelength.
Emphasise the need to read scales of graphs first and that the horizontal scale of an oscilloscope graph is time.
Keywords
Oscilloscope - an oscilloscope is a piece of equipment that can display a representation of a sound wave.
Displacement-time graph - a displacement-time graph shows how the displacement of one part of a wave changes as the wave moves forward.
Period - the period of a wave is the time for one complete oscillation.
Frequency - the frequency of a wave is the number of complete oscillations in one second.
Loudness - the loudness of a sound wave is a measure of how loud it is.
Licence
This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).
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