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Essential Physics Chapter 21 (Waves and Sound) Solutions To Sample Problems

Two waves are traveling to the right at 4.0 m/s along identical strings. Wave A has a wavelength of 0.5 m, amplitude of 2.0 cm, and frequency of 8.0 Hz. Wave B has a wavelength of 1.0 m, amplitude of 4.0 cm, and frequency of 4.0 Hz. The strings will look the same after 0.25 seconds as both have the same maximum transverse speed. A standing wave on a guitar string has a wavelength of 60 cm and frequency of 600 Hz. The fundamental frequency is lower by a factor of 3. Increasing string tension increases the fundamental frequency.

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68 views3 pages

Essential Physics Chapter 21 (Waves and Sound) Solutions To Sample Problems

Two waves are traveling to the right at 4.0 m/s along identical strings. Wave A has a wavelength of 0.5 m, amplitude of 2.0 cm, and frequency of 8.0 Hz. Wave B has a wavelength of 1.0 m, amplitude of 4.0 cm, and frequency of 4.0 Hz. The strings will look the same after 0.25 seconds as both have the same maximum transverse speed. A standing wave on a guitar string has a wavelength of 60 cm and frequency of 600 Hz. The fundamental frequency is lower by a factor of 3. Increasing string tension increases the fundamental frequency.

Uploaded by

Yen Aduana
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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PROBLEM 1 – 10 points

The drawing shows two


waves, both traveling to
the right at the same
speed of 4.0 m/s along
identical strings.

(a) [2 points] Determine the wavelength of each wave.

A: 0.5 m
B: 1.0 m

(b) [2 points] Determine the amplitude of each wave.

A: 2.0 cm
B: 4.0 cm

(c) [2 points] Determine the frequency of each wave.

f = v / λ , so,
A: f = 4.0 m/s / 0.5 m = 8.0 Hz
B: f = 4.0 m/s / 1.0 m = 4.0 Hz

(d) [2 points] How much time passes before the two strings look exactly the same as the
picture above?

A goes through exactly two cycles in the time it takes B to go exactly one cycle, so we
just have to wait for one cycle of B for the strings to look the same as shown above. The
time for one cycle of B is the inverse of B’s period, which is 0.25 s.

(e) [2 points] For which wave is the maximum transverse speed of a particle on the string
larger?

[ ] wave A [ ] wave B [ X ] neither, they’re equal

Explain: The maximum transverse speed is given by the product of the amplitude and
the angular frequency. A has half the amplitude of B, but twice the angular frequency,
so the maximum transverse speed is the same for both.

Essential Physics Chapter 21 (Waves and Sound) Solutions to Sample Problems


PROBLEM 2 – 10 points

The graphs show the frequency spectra


of four different sounds – match the
sound to its description.

[2 points] (a) A sound with a beat


frequency of 10 Hz.

[ ] Sound A [ X ] Sound B

[ ] Sound C [ ] Sound D

Sound B shows tones of 300 Hz and


310 Hz, which would give a 10 Hz
beat frequency.

[3 points] (b) A pure tone (single


frequency).

[ ] Sound A [ ] Sound B

[ ] Sound C [ X ] Sound D

State the value of that single frequency:

_____300 Hz_______

[2 points] (c) The sound from a tube that is open at one end, and closed at the other.

[ X ] Sound A [ ] Sound B [ ] Sound C [ ] Sound D

For a tube open at one end and closed at the other, we expect the harmonic to be odd-
integer multiples of the fundamental frequency. Spectrum A shows a fundamental
frequency of 150 Hz, with harmonics 3 times and 5 times larger.

[3 points] (d) The sound coming from strumming a single string on a guitar.

[ ] Sound A [ ] Sound B [ X ] Sound C [ ] Sound D

State the value of that string’s fundamental frequency: ____150 Hz______

In general, for a guitar string, strumming the string will result in exciting the fundamental and the even and odd
harmonics. That is what is shown in spectrum C, with a fundamental of 150 Hz, and odd and even multiples of
150 Hz.

Essential Physics Chapter 21 (Waves and Sound) Solutions to Sample Problems


PROBLEM 3 – 10 points

The picture shows a particular


standing wave on a guitar string at
one particular instant in time. At the
anti-nodes, the oscillations have an
amplitude of 4.0 mm. The wave speed
on the string is 360 m/s, and the string
has a length of 90 cm.

[2 points] (a) Determine the 90 cm


wavelength of this wave.

60 cm. All we need to do is to look at the picture. One wavelength is two-thirds of the
length of the string. Two-thirds of 90 cm is 60 cm.

[2 points] (b) Calculate the frequency of this standing wave.

v 360 m/s
Here, we can apply the equation: f = = = 600 Hz
λ 0.60 m

[2 points] (c) This standing wave is formed by a superposition of two identical traveling
waves, one moving left and one moving right. The amplitude of each of these traveling
waves is
[ ] 1.0 mm [ X ] 2.0 mm [ ] 4.0 mm [ ] 8.0 mm

We are given that the amplitude of the oscillations at the anti-nodes is 4.0 mm. At the
anti-nodes, maximum amplitude is reached when two peaks (or two troughs) from the
left-going and right-going waves line up. If they add together to give 4.0 mm, they must
each have an amplitude of half of this, or 2.0 mm.

[2 points] (d) Compared to the frequency of the standing wave shown above, the fundamental
frequency for this particular string is ….
[ ] larger by a factor of 3 [ X ] smaller by a factor of 3
[ ] equal to the frequency of the wave shown

The standing wave shown above is the third harmonic, so it has three times the
frequency of the fundamental. Thus, the fundamental frequency is one-third of the
frequency of the wave shown above.

[2 points] (e) If the tension of the string is increased, this string’s fundamental frequency …
[ X ] increases [ ] decreases [ ] remains the same
Increasing the tension increases the wave speed, but the wavelength remains the same,
because that is set by the length of the string, which is unchanged. Thus, the
fundamental frequency increases because, with wavelength unchanged, frequency is
proportional to wave speed.

Essential Physics Chapter 21 (Waves and Sound) Solutions to Sample Problems

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