WAVES AND SOUND

1. Extreme waves along ocean waters, sometimes referred to as freak waves or rogue waves, are a focus of much research
and study among scientists. Several merchant ships reports rogue waves which are estimated to be 25 meters high and
26 meters long. Assuming that these waves travel at speeds of 6.5 m/s, determine the frequency and the period of
these waves. (0,25Hz, 4s)

2. Tsunamis are much different than rogue waves. While rogue waves and other waves are generated by winds, tsunamis
originate from geological events such as movements of tectonic plates. Tsunamis tend to travel very fast. A tsunami
generated off the coast of Chile in 1990 is estimated to have traveled approximately 6200 miles to Hawaii in 15 hours.
Determine the speed in mi/hr and m/s. Given: 1.0 m/s = 2.24 mi/hr . (410 mi/hr or 180 m/s)

3. A geological disturbance in California produces seismic waves which are detected in Phoenix, approximately 990 km
from the epicenter. If the waves travel 6.3 km/s, determine the time delay between the disturbance and the detection.
(157 s)

4. Microbats use echolocation to navigate and hunt. They emit pulses of high frequency sound waves which reflect off
obstacles and objects in their surroundings. By detecting the time delay between the emitted pulse and the return of
the reflected pulse, a bat can determine the location of the object. Determine the time delay between the sending of a
pulse and the return of its reflection from an object located 12.5 m away. Approximate the speed of the sound waves as
345 m/s. (72,5 ms)

5. Sachi is rock'n to her favorite radio station - 102.3 FM. The station broadcasts radio signals with a frequency of 1.023 x
108 Hz. The radio wave signal travel through the air at a speed of 2.997 x 10 8 m/s. Determine the wavelength of these
radio waves. (2.930 m)

6. A transverse wave is observed to be moving along a lengthy rope. Adjacent crests are positioned 2.4 m apart. Exactly six
crests are observed to move past a given point along the medium in 9.1 seconds. Determine the wavelength, frequency
and speed of these waves. (2.4 m, 1.6 m/s, 0.66 Hz)

7. Two boats are anchored 4 meters apart. They bob up and down, returning to
the same up position every 3 seconds. When one is up the other is down.
There are never any wave crests between the boats. Calculate the speed of the
waves. (2,67 m/s)

8. The speed of the transverse wave on a 25 meters rope is 50 m/s. The tension force of the rope is 200 N. Determine the
mass of rope. (2 kg)

9. Out in the ocean, a wave crest 3.2 m high meets a wave trough from another direction which is 2.6 m deep. How high is
the resulting wave? (0,6m up)

10.A physics student sitting on the beach notices that a wave hits the beach every 5.0 seconds, and the waves seem to be
about 15 m apart. What is the speed of these waves? (3 m/s)

11.Sally and her lab partner held the ends of their spring 6.00 meters apart. There were 6 nodes in the standing wave
produced. Sally moved her hand from the rest position back and forth along the floor 16 times in 4.00 s. Sketch the
situation and determine the following:
a) the wavelength of the wave Sally sent (2,4 m)
b) the frequency of the wave produced (4 Hz)
c) the speed of the wave (9,6 m/s)
12.A wave is traveling in a rope. The diagram below represents a snapshot of the rope at a particular instant in time.
Determine the number of wavelengths which is equal to the horizontal distance between points :

a. … C and E on the rope.

b. … C and K on the rope.
c. … A and J on the rope.
d. … B and F on the rope.
e. … D and H on the rope.
f. … E and I on the rope.

13.A rope is held tightly and shook until the standing wave pattern shown in the
diagram at the right is established within the rope. The distance A in the diagram
is 3.27 meters. The speed at which waves move along the rope is 2.62 m/s.

a. Determine the frequency of the waves creating the standing wave pattern.
b. Determine the number of vibrational cycles which would be measured in 20.0
seconds. (1.20 Hz,24.0 vibrations)

14.Anna ties a rope to a tree, stands 7.2 m away, and vibrates the rope up and
down with 28 complete cycles in 5.0 seconds. The resulting standing wave
pattern is shown in the diagram at the right. Use this information and the
diagram to determine the amplitude, wavelength, frequency and speed. ( 0.3
m, 4.8 m, 5.6 Hz, 27 m/s)

15.A transverse wave on a string travels at 30 m/s. The vertical position
of a certain point on the string over time is shown on graph. What is
the wavelength of the wave along the string? (90 m)

16. A transverse wave on a string is modeled with the wave function :

y = 0,2 m sin (6,28 m-1 x – 1,57 s-1 t).

Find the amplitude, wavelenght, period and speed of the wave.

17. The equation of a wave is:

y ( x , t )=0. 05 sin
[ π
2 ]
( 10 x −40 t ) m

Find: (a) the wavelength, the frequency, and the wave velocity;

(b) the particle velocity and acceleration at x=0.5 m and

t=0.05s
DOPPLER EFFECT

1. When an automobile moves towards a listener, the sound of its horn seems relatively
a. low pitched b. high pitched c. normal

2. When the automobile moves away from the listener, its horn seems
a. low pitched b. high pitched c. normal

3. The changed pitch of the Doppler effect is due to changes in

a. wave speed b. wave frequency

4. Circle the letter of each statement about the Doppler Effect that is true.
a. It occurs when a wave source moves towards an observer.
b. It occurs when an observer moves towards a wave source.
c. It occurs when a wave source moves away from an observer.
d. It occurs when an observer moves away from a wave source.

5. True / False: A moving wave source does not affect the frequency of the wave encountered by the observer.

6. True / False: A higher frequency results when a wave source moves towards an observer.

7. Two fire trucks with sirens on speed towards and away from an observer as shown below.

a) Which truck produces a higher than normal siren frequency?

b) Which truck produces a lower than normal siren frequency?

8. What is the frequency heard by a person driving at 15 m/s toward a blowing factory whistle (800. Hz) if the speed of
sound is 340.6 m/s?
9. From the previous problem, what frequency would he hear after passing the factory if he continues at the same speed?

10. A car approaching a stationary observer emits 450 Hz from its horn. If the observer detects a frequency of 470. Hz, how
fast is the car moving? The speed of sound is 343 m/s.

11. While standing near a railroad crossing, a person hears a distant train horn. According to the train's engineer, the
frequency emitted by the horn is 440 Hz. The train is traveling at 20.0 m/s and the speed of sound is 346 m/s.

a) What would be the frequency of the train's horn if the train were at rest?

b) What is the adjusted frequency that reaches the bystander as the train approaches the crossing?

c) What is the adjusted frequency that reaches the bystander once the train has passed the crossing?

12. Determine the speed of sound at 45.0 ºC.

13.A burglar alarm is wailing with a frequency of 1200. hertz. What frequency does a cop hear who is driving towards the
alarm at a speed of 40.0 m/s? The air temperature is 35.0 ºC.

14.With reference to the previous problem, what frequency would the burglar hear, if he was running away from the alarm
at a speed of 10 m/s?
15. A cop car’s siren has a frequency of 700. Hz. If you are standing on the sidewalk as the cop car approaches you at a
speed of 15.0 m/s, what frequency would you hear? The speed of sound is 343 m/s.

16.In the previous problem, what frequency would you hear if the cop were driving away from you at a speed of 25 m/s?

17.An alarm clock is dropped off the edge of a tall building. You, standing directly under it, hear a tone of 1350. Hz coming
from the clock at the instant it hits the ground. Since you know the building is 25.0 m tall, you can find out what the
frequency of the alarm would be if you had just held it in your hands. What would that frequency be? The speed of
sound is 343 m/s.

18.Two identical cars are driving toward one another and sounding their horns. You’re the driver of one of the cars. You
measure your car’s horn to be sounding at 512 Hz, but you measure the horn of the other car to be sounding at 600. Hz.
The speed of sound is 345 m/s. If you are traveling at 26.8 m/s (60 mph), how fast is the other car traveling?
ANSWERS

1) B 2) A 3) B 4) A, B, C, D 5) false

6) true 7a) left truck 7b) right truck 8) 835 Hz 9) 765 Hz

10) 15 m/s 11a) 440 Hz 11b) 467 Hz 11c) 416 Hz 12) 358 m/s

13) 1336 Hz 14) 1166 Hz 15) 732 Hz 16) 652 Hz 17) 1263 Hz

18) 27.7 m/s