Question

Which experiment would be BEST to investigate the effects of wavelength on diffraction patterns?
Responses
A Send pulses down a slinky at a variety of wavelengths and measure the reflected amplitudes.Send pulses down a slinky at a variety of wavelengths and measure the reflected amplitudes.
B Strike tuning forks of various frequencies and observe the beat frequencies that are created.Strike tuning forks of various frequencies and observe the beat frequencies that are created.
C Shine lasers of various colors at a narrow slit in an index card and measure the distance between the bright spots.Shine lasers of various colors at a narrow slit in an index card and measure the distance between the bright spots.
D Emit sound waves from a car moving at a variety of speeds and listen to the pitch of the sound as it moves towards and past.

Answer 1

The best experiment to investigate the effects of wavelength on diffraction patterns would be:

**C**: Shine lasers of various colors at a narrow slit in an index card and measure the distance between the bright spots.

This experiment directly focuses on the phenomenon of diffraction, which is influenced by the wavelength of light. By using lasers of different colors (which correspond to different wavelengths) and observing the resulting diffraction pattern, you can measure how the distance between the bright spots changes with wavelength. This aligns perfectly with the goal of the experiment.