All waves possess the properties of reflection, refraction, diffraction and interference. These phenomena’s were observed with the use of a ripple tank.
A ripple tank consists of a large rectangular tray with a transparent bottom. Water is placed in this tan to a depth of approximately one centimeter. A light source is then placed above the tray of water. When the water is disturbed it can be seen on a white surface positioned under the tray.
The first phenomenon observed was reflection. It was found that water waves also follow the law of reflection.
As straight waves strike a hard straight surface they are reflected at an angle equal to the angle of incidence. After reflection the wave has the same speed, frequency and wavelength as it did prior to the collision. This is similar to the reflection of circular waves off a straight barrier. The reflected waves are also circular, however they have a centre point that is position behind the barrier. This point is known as the “image” of the source.
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Peer Reviews
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Quality of writing
This essay is reasonably well written, the candidate seems to understand the principles of wave properties and they have accurately used scientific terms throughout there work. There are also no grammatical or spelling errors.
Level of analysis
The candidate is discussing topics that are not necessarily easy to understand, therefore it would be appropriate to provide relevant images, so that you can can refer back to them in you essay and this can help the reader understand what your talking about, it can also make your essay more interesting to read. Following this on, the candidate does mention an image in one of their final paragraphs yet they have not included this in their work, so be careful to make sure you attach any image you discuss. In addition to this, if you use images from the internet you need to make sure that you write up a bibliography and include links to these images as it is important to reference any resources you use. That said, you should also make sure that your essay has an appropriate conclusion, otherwise your work comes to an abrupt end and this does not leave the reader with a good impression. When writing your conclusion, you should try to summarise all of your key points and state why this are important and then you should write a personal response, for example you could discuss what you have learnt form writing your essay.
Response to question
The candidate gives an in depth response of the properties of water waves and the way in which these are observed. They have used accurate scientific terminology and they have demonstrated a clear understating of the physics involved. However there is room improvement, for example, their introduction is too brief. You should take the time to think carefully about how you want to introduce your essay as this is your chance to to get the reader interested in what you have to say. You can make your introduction interesting by including a relevant fact, quote or even some background information, you should then go on to give a brief description of your topic, in this case, what is a wave? How are water waves created? You should then state exactly what you plan to discuss so that the purpose of your essay is immediately clear.
Quality of writing
Spelling mistakes in some places which are see due to lack of proof-reading. Grammar, punctuation and spelling otherwise to a good standard and the format of the essay is done with clear, easy to read paragraphs.
Level of analysis
The different phenomenons outlined in the essay show good scientific depth and detail to how they work and their discovery. The essay provides good scientific depth and rounding about the physics of waves overall.
Response to question
The essay does not start with an introduction which is a shame as this would have introduced well what they were going to talk about in the essay and provide some sort of structure to the writing, although they do provide some sort of outline for what they are going to talk about next, but the introduction needs some work. Lack of a conclusion means that the essay lacks structure in places, but the scientific detail included is very well done.
