Ripple Tank and Wavefront Lab for GCSE and A Level Physics

Build ripple-tank experiments, add apparatus and measure wavefronts while investigating wave speed, reflection, refraction, diffraction and interference.

Learning guide and suggested activities

What this tool shows

How frequency, period, wavelength and wave speed are measured and linked by v = fλ
Reflection from movable barriers and the normal at a boundary
Refraction as speed and wavelength change in shallow water while frequency stays constant
How diffraction depends on the ratio of gap width to wavelength
Superposition and interference from two coherent point sources
How experimental choices such as measuring several wavelengths reduce uncertainty

OCR A relevance

OCR GCSE wave quantities, wave behaviour and ripple-tank observations
OCR A H556 Module 4.4: waves
Reflection, refraction, diffraction, superposition and two-source interference

AQA relevance

AQA GCSE Physics 8463 and Combined Science 8464 waves
Ripple-tank measurement required practical and v = fλ
AQA A Level Physics 7408 progressive waves, diffraction and interference

Try these tasks

Freeze the pattern, measure across several wavefront gaps and calculate wavelength and wave speed.
Rotate a reflecting barrier and compare the incident and reflected directions with the normal.
Change the relative depth of a shallow region and explain what happens to v, f and λ.
Adjust a gap from below one wavelength to several wavelengths and describe the spreading.
Change the second coherent source by 180° and explain how the interference pattern moves.
Build your own scene by combining barriers, posts, shallow regions, absorbers and sources.