Activities

1. Different colors are associated with different wavelengths, which is why the patterns change when you change to a light source of a different color. Rank the colors red, green, and blue in terms of their wavelengths, from largest to smallest.
2. With the single-slit pattern, what happens to the pattern when the width of the slit is increased? What happens to the pattern when the wavelength of the waves incident on the slit is increased?
3. With the double-source or double-slit patterns, what happens to the pattern when the distance between the sources or slits is increased? What happens to the pattern when the wavelength is increased?
4. For any of the patterns, what happens to the pattern observed on the screen when the distance to the screen is increased? Why?
5. With the double-slit pattern, do you observe any missing orders? If the ratio of d/a (slit separation to slit width) is 4, for instance, do you observe missing orders for all bright lines corresponding to m = 4, 8, 12, etc.?