PHYS 1312: In Class Problems Solutions

Chapter 23, set 2

Problem 1. A loudspeaker at the origin emits a 120 Hz tone on a day when the speed
of sound in air is 340 m/s. The phase difference between two points on the x-axis is 5.5 rad.
What is the distance between the two points?

Solution. For the sound wave, f = 120 Hz, v = 340 m/s, and ∆ϕ = 5.5 rad. For a wave
traveling in the positive x-direction, the wave magnitude is given by

y(x, t) = A sin(kx − ωt + φ0 ) = A sin ϕ. (1)

or
2π f
∆ϕ = ∆x = 2π ∆x. (3)
λ v
Solving for ∆x gives
∆ϕ v 5.5 rad 340 m/s
  
∆x = = = 2.48 m. (4)
2π f 2π rad 120 Hz

Problem 2. A bat locates insects by emitting ultrasonic “chirps” and then listening for
echoes from the bugs. Suppose a bat chirp has a frequency of 25 kHz. How fast would the
bat have to fly, and in what direction, for you to just barely be able to hear the chirp at 20
kHz?

Solution. This is a Doppler shift problem with the observer at rest (vo = 0) and the
observed sound shifted to lower frequency fo = 20 kHz. So, we start with the general
Doppler shift equation
1 ± vo /v
 
fo = fs (5)
1 ∓ vs /v
with fs = 25 kHz and taking v = 343 m/s. The bat must be flying away from you giving
1
 
fo = fs < fs . (6)
1 + vs /v
Now solve for vs , the speed of the bat, to give
fs
 
vs = v − 1 = 343(25/20 − 1) = 85.8 m/s. (7)
fo
As a check, 1 m/s = 2.25 mph. So, the bat would have to fly at 193 mph. Is that likely?
1
 Problem 3. A violin string is 30 cm long. It sounds the musical note A (440 Hz) when
played without fingering. How far from the end of the string should you place your finger to
play the note C (523 Hz)?

Solution. This is a standing wave problem for which the frequencies of all harmonics are
given by
v
 
fn = n , (8)
2L
where v is the speed of the wave on the string of length L = 0.30 m. We are concerned here
with the fundamental, so n = 1. So, we can find the speed of the wave for the first note (A)
and use that to find the new length for the second note (C). We find

v = 2LA fA = 2LC fC = 2(0.30 m)(440 Hz) = 264 m/s. (9)

Problem 4. The Doppler effect for a light (electromagnetic) wave is not the same as for
sound. It is instead given by
1 ∓ vs /c 1/2
 
λ± = λs (11)
1 ± vs /c
where λ− (λ+ ) is the wavelength emitted by the object moving away from (toward) the
observer. However, vs is the speed of the source relative to the observer and either can be
moving. Why is this different from the Doppler effect for sound? Hubble (and others) first
noticed that distant galaxies were moving away from us using this version of the Doppler
effect. Contemplate on the possibility of those galaxies moving away from us with vs > c.

Solution. Light does not need to travel in a medium and the equation above is for the
propagation of light in vacuum. Therefore, the various velocities are not measured with
respect to a static medium or a fixed inertial frame. It is in fact derived from special
relativity. However, it is valid only for static space. On cosmological time- and distant-
scales, the Universe is expanding and the galaxies are roughly at rest compared to their
position in the fabric of space. Hubble observed a “cosmological” redshift for the light from
the distant galaxies which can be interpreted not that the galaxies have a relative velocity
away from the Milky Way, but that the points in space at the galaxies’ and the Milky Way’s
positions are moving apart, the so-called Hubble flow. It was thought until recently that
the expansion of the Universe occurred at a constant rate (after the inflation era), but we
now know the expansion is accelerating. Therefore, it has been predicted that some time in
the far, far distant future, the expansion velocity will exceed c and that it will appear that
the relative galaxy velocities will exceed c, but actually their velocities with respect to their
local position in space will not violate special relativity.