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OscillationsandWaves

OscillationsandWavesProblems
1. Oscillation:Youhavebeenaskedtoevaluatethedesignforasimpledevicetomeasurethe
massofsmallrocksontheMoon.Therockisattachedtothefreeendofalightweightspring
whichhorizontal.Thesurfaceonwhichtherockslidesisalmostfrictionless.Youareworried
thatthekineticenergyoftherockmaymakethisdevicedangerousinsomesituations.The
devicespecificationsstatethata150gramrockwillexecuteharmonicmotion,withafrequency
of0.32Hz,describedbyx(t)=Asin(bt35)whentherockhasaninitialspeedof1.2cm/s.
2. Oscillations:Youandsomefriendsarewaitinginlinefor"TheMixer",anewcarnivalride.
Theridebeginswiththecarandrider(150kgcombined)atthetopofacurvedtrack.Atthe
bottomofthetrackisa50kgblockofcushionedmaterialwhichisattachedtoahorizontal
springwhoseotherendisfixedinconcrete.Thecarslidesdownthetrackendingupmoving
horizontallywhenitcrashesintothecushionedblock,stickstoit,andoscillatesat3repetitions
inabout10seconds.Yourfriendsestimatethatthecarstartsfromaheightofaround10feet.
Youdecidetouseyourphysicsknowledgetoseeiftheyareright.Afterthecollision,you
noticethatthespringcompressesabout15ftfromequilibrium.
3. TravelingWaves:You'vebeenhiredasatechnicalconsultanttotheMinneapolispolice
departmenttodesignaradardetectorproofdevicethatmeasuresthespeedofvehicles.(i.e.one
thatdoesnotrelyonsendingoutaradarsignalthatthecarcandetect.)Youdecidetoemploy
thefactthatamovingcaremitsavarietyofcharacteristicsounds.Yourideaistomakeavery
smallandlowdevicetobeplacedinthecenteroftheroadthatwillpickoutaspecific
frequencyemittedbythecarasitapproachesandthenmeasurethechangeinthatfrequencyas
thecarmovesoffintheotherdirection.Thedevicewillthensendtheinitialandfinal
frequenciestoitsmicroprocessor,andthenusethisdatatocomputethespeedofthevehicle.
Youarecurrentlyintheprocessofwritingaprogramforthechipinyournewdevice.To
completetheprogram,youneedaformulathatdeterminesthespeedofthecarusingthedata
receivedbythemicroprocessor.Youmayalsoincludeinyourformulaanyphysicalconstants
thatyoumightneed.Becauseyourreputationasadesignerisontheline,yourealizethatyou'll
needfindwaystocheckthevalidityofyourformula,eventhoughitcontainsnonumbers.
4. TravelingWaves:Youhavetheperfectsummerjobwithateamofmarinebiologistsstudying
dolphincommunicationoffthecoastofHawaii.Massivebouldersontheoceanfloorcan
interruptthereceptionofunderwatersoundwavesfromthedolphins.Toreducethese
disruptions,yourteamhasdecidedtoputseveral"transceivers"(adevicethatreceivesasignal,
amplifiesthesignal,andthentransmitsit)atstrategiclocationsontheoceanfloor.A
transceiverwillreceivesoundwavesfromadolphinandthenretransmitthemtotheresearchers
ontheship.Theship'sreceiverisonalongcablesothatitisatapproximatelythesamedepth
asthedolphins.Becauseofyourphysicsbackground,youworrythatthefrequencyreceivedat
themovingshipwillbedifferentthanthatemittedbythedolphin.Todeterminethesizeofthis
effect,youassumethattheshipismovingat35km/hawayfromthestationarytransceiver.
Meanwhile,thedolphinismovingat60km/htowardsthetransceiverandatanangleof63to
theship'spathwhenitemitsasoundfrequencyof660Hz.
5. WaveEquation:Afriendofyours,aguitarist,knowsyouaretakingphysicsthissemesterand
asksforassistanceinsolvingaproblem.Yourfriendexplainsthathekeepsbreakingrepeatedly
thelowEstring(640Hz)onhisGibson"LesPaul"whenhetunesupbeforeagig.Thecostof
buyingnewstringsisgettingoutofhand,soyourfriendisdesperatetoresolvehisDelia.Your
friendtellsyouthattheEstringheisnowusingismadeofcopperandhasadiameterof0.063
inches.Youdosomequickcalculationsand,giventhelengthoftheneckofyourfriendsguitar,
estimatethatthewavespeedontheEstringis1900ft/s.Whilereadingaboutstringed
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OscillationsandWaves

instrumentsinthelibrary,youdiscoverthatmostmusicalinstrumentstringswillbreakifthey
aresubjectedtoastraingreaterthanabout2%.Howdoyousuggestyourfriendsolvehis
problem?
6. StandingWaves:Yourfriend,anartist,hasbeenthinkingaboutaninterestingwaytodisplaya
newwindsculptureshehasjustcreated.Inordertocreateanauralaswellasvisualeffect,she
wouldliketousethewiresneededtohangthesculptureasasortofastringinstrument.She
decidesthatwiththreewiresandsomeluck,thestringswillsoundaCmajordyad(C262Hz,
G392Hz)whenthewindblows(note:Adyadispartofachord.).Herbasicdesigninvolves
attachingapieceofwirefromtwoeyehooksontheceilingthatareapproximatelyafootanda
halfapartandthenhangingthe50poundsculpturefromanotherwireattachedtothefirstwire
forminga"yshaped"arrangement.Yourfriendtellsyouthatshehasbeensuccessfulin
hangingthesculpturebutnotin"tuning"thesound.Desperateforsuccess,sheknowsyouare
takingphysicsandasksforyourhelp.Beforeyoutackletheanalysis,youuseyourknowledge
ofwavestogathersomemoreinformation.Youtakeasampleofthewirebacktoyourlaband
measureitslinearmassdensitytobe5.0g/m.Youalsodeterminethatwireissomesortofiron
orsteelfromitscolor.Whatisyouradvice?
7. StandingWaves:Youhaveasummerjobinabiomedicalengineeringlaboratorystudyingthe
technologytoenhancehearing.Youhavelearnedthatthehumanearcanalisessentiallyanair
filledtubeapproximately2.7cmlongwhichisopenononeendandclosedontheother.You
wonderifthereisaconnectionbetweenhearingsensitivityandstandingwavessoyoucalculate
thelowestthreefrequenciesofthestandingwavesthatcanexistintheearcanal.Fromyour
trustyPhysicstextbook,youfindthatthespeedofsoundinairis343m/s.
8. StandingWaves:YouhavejoinedateamdesigninganewskywaythatistolinkthePhysics
BuildingtotheMechanicalEngineeringBuilding.Tomakesureitwillbestableingustsof
wind,youneedtofindthelowestfrequencythatsetsupastandingwaveintheskyway
structure.Yourgrouphasdecidedtomakeascalemodeloftheskywayandputitintoawind
tunneltodeterminethefrequency.Unfortunatelythewindtunnelcannotbepulsedataverylow
frequency.Whilethemodelisinthewindtunnelyoupulsethewinduntilyoufindafrequency
whichsetsupastandingwaveinthemodel.Youthenslowlyincreasethefrequencyuntilyou
getthenextstandingwavepattern.Usingthetwofrequenciesyouhavemeasuredtogetherwith
thelengthoftheskywaymodelyouthencalculatethelowestfrequencywhichwillsetupa
standingwave.
9. Energy,Frequency:Youhaveanexcitingsummerjobworkingonanoiltankerinthewatersof
Alaska.YourCaptainknowsthattheshipisnearanunderwateroutcroppingoflandandwishes
toavoidrunningintoit.Heestimatesthatitisabout6kmstraightaheadoftheshipandasks
youtousethesonartocheckhowfasttheshipisapproachingit.Theship'sinstrumentstellyou
theshipismovingthroughstillwaterataspeedof31km/hrbutthecaptaincannottakeany
chances.Asonarsignalissentoutwithafrequencyof980Hz,bouncesofftheunderwater
obstacle,andisdetectedontheship.Iftheship'sspeedindicatoriscorrect,whatfrequency
shouldyoudetect?YouuseyourtrustyPhysicstexttofindthespeedofsoundinseawateris
1522m/s.
10. Rotations:Youarehelpingafriendbuildanexperimenttotestbehaviormodification
techniquesonrats.Sheneedstobuildanobstaclethatswingsacrossapathevery1.0second.
Tokeeptheexperimentasinexpensiveaspossible,shewantstouseameterstickasthe
swingingobstacle.Sheasksyoutodeterminewheretodrillaholeinthemetersticksothat,
whenitishungbyanailthroughthathole,itwilldothejobforsmallswings.
11. Rotations:Yourfriendistryingtoconstructaclockforacraftshowandasksyouforsome
advice.Shehasdecidedtoconstructtheclockwithapendulum.Thependulumwillbeavery
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thin,verylightwoodenbarwithathin,butheavy,brassringfastenedtooneend.Thelengthof
therodis80cmandthediameteroftheringis10cm.Sheisplanningtodrillaholeinthebar
toplacetheaxisofrotation15cmfromoneend.Shewantsyoutotellhertheperiodofthis
pendulum.
12. Rotations:Thechildofafriendhasaskedyoutohelpwithaschoolproject.Shewantstobuild
aclockfromcommonmaterials.Shehasfoundameterstickwhichhasamassof300gandasks
youtodeterminewheretodrillaholeinitsothatwhenitishungbyanailthroughthatholeit
willbeapendulumwithaperiodof2.0secondsforsmalloscillations.Aquickcalculationtells
youthatthemomentofinertiaofthemeterstickaboutitscenterofmassis1/12ofitsmass
timesthesquareofitslength.
13. Rotations:Youhaveaparttimejobatasoftwarecompanythatiscurrentlyundercontractto
produceaprogramsimulatingaccidentsinthemoderncommuterrailroadstationbeingplanned
fordowntown.Yourtaskistodeterminetheresponseofasafetysystemtopreventarailroad
carfromcrashingintothestation.Inthesimulation,acouplingfailscausingapassengercarto
breakawayfromatrainandrollintothestation.Furthermore,thebrakesonthepassengercar
havefailed.Itcannotstoponitsownsoitkeepsonrolling.Thesafetysystemattheendofthe
trackisalargehorizontalspringwithahookthatwillgrabontothecarwhenithitspreventing
thecarfromcrashingintothestationplatform.Afterthecarhitsthespring,yourprogrammust
calculatethefrequencyandamplitudeofthecar'soscillationbasedonthespecificationsofthe
passengercar,thespecificationsofthespring,andthespeedofthepassengercar.Inyour
simulation,thewheelsofthecararediskswithasignificantmassandamomentofinertiahalf
thatofaringofthesamemassandradius.Atthisstageofyoursimulation,youignoreany
energydissipationinthecar'saxleorintheflexingofthespring,andthemassofthespring.
14. Rotations:Youhavebeenaskedtohelpdesignanautomatedsystemforapplyingaresistive
painttoplasticsheetinginordertomassproducecontainerstoprotectsensitiveelectronic
componentsfromstaticelectriccharges.Theobjectusedtoapplythepaintisasolidcylindrical
roller.Therollerispushedbackandforthovertheplasticsheetingbyahorizontalspring
attachedtoayoke,whichinturnisattachedtoanaxlethroughthecenteroftheroller.The
otherendofthespringisattachedtoafixedpost.Toapplythepaintevenly,therollermustroll
withoutslippingoverthesurfaceoftheplastic.Themachinesimultaneouslypaintstwonarrow
stripsofplasticthatlaysidebysideparalleltotheaxleoftheroller.Whiletherollerisin
contactwithonestrip,afeedmechanismpullstheotherstripforwardtoexposeunpainted
surface.Inordertodeterminehowfasttheprocesscanproceed,youhavebeenassignedto
calculatehowtheoscillationfrequencyoftherollerdependsonitsmass,radiusandthestiffness
ofthespring.Youknowthatthemomentofinertiaofasolidcylinderwithrespecttoanaxis
throughitscenteris1/2thatofaring.

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