Measure the distance between several melted hot spots

Question

Procedure

1. Use a microwave that has a labeled frequency. Most microwaves have a frequency of 2450 MHz.
   Note: Most microwave frequencies can be found on a sticker inside or on the back of the microwave.
2. If the microwave has a turntable, either turn the turntable off or remove it for the experiment.
3. Place a straight line of six marshmallows on the paper plate so that they are touching end to end.
4. Place the plate with marshmallows in the microwave.

Allow the marshmallows to cook until you see some of them start inflating or melting. As soon as they start inflating or melting, stop cooking the marshmallows.

1. Measure the distance between several melted hot spots and find the average.  Record your work in Post-Lab Question 1.

Post-Lab Questions

1. What is the distance in centimeters of a melted marshmallow hot spot? In meters? Microwaves frequency= 2450 MHz The average distance between the 6 marshmallows in centimeters was 3.167. In meters this would be 0.03167.
2. Based on your measurement of the hot spots, what is the wavelength of a microwave?
3. Calculate the wave speed of microwaves from the labeled frequency and your measured distance.
4. Compute the percent error between the calculated speed with the speed of light (3.0 x 10⁸ m/s).  Is this speed close to the speed of light (c = 3.00 x 10⁸ m/s)? Explain why or why not.
5. Why was it important to remove the turntable function? How might the results vary if the turntable was functional during the experiment?