Sapling #24

[Shreya Patel- 2D]

Hi everyone! I am unsure as to why some of the wave patterns are not compatible. For example, if the wave pattern looks normal with not weird fluctuations why is it not? I'm super confused.
The question is the one that starts like this:
"In 1913, Niels Bohr proposed....allowed Bohr orbits of the hydrogen atom."

Thank you!

[Nicole Attiq 3D]

If the wave begins above the line and ends beneath it, it is compatible. This is because this is the only form in which the wave will be able to form a smooth circle where the ends meet up perfectly.

[Gina Spagarino 3G]

Thinking about the 2 diagrams from the lecture helped me with this problem. If the wave appears normal but the lines both end high or both end low, then it would not be normal once connected into a circle.

[Chris_Butler_1A]

I had a bit of an issue with this problem as well. I tried to imagine wrapping each of the examples in a circle to see if they would match up (those that ended at the same side of the line or completely disconnected would not work) as well as eliminating any waves that were not consistent all the way through. A little unorthodox but I hope that helps!

[Sandy Lin 1L]

Just make sure the ending and the beginning of the wave would connect when you wrap it around in a circular shape. This is because an electron is described as having a circular standing wave around the nucleus.

[Gwendolyn Hill 2F]

Like everyone else said, the wave has to connect to itself. If you start with a curve "above" the "x axis", you have to end with a curve coming up from "below" the "x axis". I think about it like that; how it connects to being a sin wave. :)

[Jonathan Banh 1G]

For this problem, you need to recognize that the ends of the waves must be on opposing sides of each other, meaning if the left side of the wave finishes above the line, then the right side must finish below and vice versa. The reason behind this is so that electron orbit will be comprised of only whole wavelengths. Thus, when both sides of the wave are fused together, it forms a smooth circle of the electron orbit without any hiccups along the way.

[Alan Huang 1E]

Yes, as others have said, the wave needs to look like one continuous function so there must be no breaks and stops in between the different graphs.

[Maddie Turk Disc 2J]

Wait so the wave needs to be able to connect to itself at the end? Do you want identical starts/finishes basically? I'm still a bit confused.

[Sabrina Galvan 3J]

Wait so the wave needs to be able to connect to itself at the end? Do you want identical starts/finishes basically? I'm still a bit confused.

Not exactly identical starts and finishes. For a wave to be compatible, and for how the images are displayed for this question, the waves have to go through a complete cycle, meaning the final portion of the wave must end where the wave originally began. You can think of this as a normal sin function on a graph. The function (or analogous wave) begins where y & x = 0, it completes an entire cycle after the function touches y=0 for the third time, or after there is a maximum and a minimum.
Therefore, a complete cycle is a wave beginning at a y=0 axis, it increases to its first amplitude and first maximum, then decreases, crosses the x axis, create its second amplitude and second minimum, and then ends after it increases and touches the y = 0 axis for the third time.

[Keshav Patel 14B 2B]

Wave lengths can have no discrepancies. They have to have a consistent amplitude and wavelength, if these differ then it will not be correct. Also it must start from the top and end at the bottom for it to count as a wavelength.

[Caelin Brenninkmeijer 1G]

It helps me to envision wrapping the wave into the circle. The wave should be continuous so if you were to connect the two ends, they'd flow seamlessly. One end of the wave would be above the line or x-axis and the other end of the wave should come up underneath the line or y-axis.

[Brian Nguyen 2I]

I initially had trouble with this question too. Some of the waves look continuous, but you need to check to make sure that the ends of each wave will meet perfectly. That's how you can differentiate between which waves are according to the model and which are not.

[Dane_Beasley_1E]

You have to make sure that the wave ends in the same position where it begins. For example, if the wave ends at the midway point going up then the beginning of the wave would have to start at the midway point going up. It would have to be continuous if connected.

[Katie Nye 2F]

I imagined how they would look when wrapped around in a circle. If they end in places that don't match up when wrapped and are not continuous, then the waves are not regular.

[Megan Lu 3D]

Hi! I believe that for the wave patterns to be compatible, they must be continuous and consistent in amplitude/wavelength. Personally, I imagined copy-pasting the graph side by side; if this would create a continuous and consistent function resembling a sin function, it would be compatible.

[Daniel Hernandez 1G]

The wave must complete an entire period and must be continuous in order for it to be considered an orbital. An easy way to do this is to find the endpoint where the wave ends and visualize whether or not the wave would form a complete circle.