Phy 131 Classical Physics I

Homework 14
Instructor: MacKenzie Lenz
Due 12/08/21 @ 11:59 pm

1. Problem 1: Transmission and Reflection

Two strings are tied together and a wave is sent down string 1. String 1 has a linear mass density
three times smaller than string 2. When the wave reaches the point where the strings are tied together
and moves through string 2, you observe the wavelength. Is the wavelength in string 2 greater than,
less than, or equal to the wavelength in string 1? Explain how you know with words, pictures, and/or
equations. Solution:
To link the frequency and the wavelength, we need the relationship v = f , which is always true for
any wave. We also need to know the wave q speed for a string, which is a property of the tension (T )
T
and linear mass density µ of the string v = µ.
One thing we can note here is that the tensions in the two strings are equal (this e↵ectively comes
from Newton’s 2nd Law). This allows us to claim that the wave speed in string 1 will be larger than
p
the wave speed in string 2 because the linear mass density is in the denominator (by a factor of 3).
We also know that frequency is the same from one string to another, which then tells us via the wave
speed equation that the
p wavelength on string 1 must also be larger than the wavelength of string 2
(again, by a factor of 3).
Therefore, the wavelength in string 2 is less than the wavelength in string 1.
2. Problem 2: Doppler
A student, Ann, runs down the hallway of the school at a speed of vA = 5.00m/s, carrying a ringing
tuning fork (f = 1024Hz) toward a concrete wall where another student, Ben, stands at rest. Recall
that the speed of sound in air is vair = 343m/s
(a) Draw a diagram of the set up labeling the students, the frequencies, and their speeds.
Solution:

(b) What is the frequency heard by Ben?

Solution:
I will use the Doppler shift equation for finding the frequency:
vs + vl
fl = fe
vs ve
343m/s + 0m/s
= 1024Hz
343m/s 5m/s
= 1039.15Hz

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 Ann realizes shes going to run into Ben and suddenly turns around to run the other way at a speed of
vA = 4m/s.
(c) Draw a diagram of the new set up labeling the students, the frequencies, and their speeds.
Solution:

(d) What is the frequency heard by Ben now?

Solution:
I will use the Doppler shift equation for finding the frequency:
vs + vl
fl = fe
vs ve
343m/s + 0m/s
= 1024Hz
343m/s + 4m/s
= 1012Hz

(e) Sensemaking: Compare the two frequencies that Ben hears, do they make sense?
Solution:
When Ann is running at Ben the frequency is higher than when Ann is running away from Ben.
This makes sense because when I think of real life experiences of cars or ambulances driving past
me they sound like a higher pitch when coming towards me and a lower pitch when driving away
from me, just like in this example.

3. Problem 3: Loudness
You see a flash of lightning strike a clock tower during a thunderstorm. You count 2.5s between when
the lightning flashes and when you hear thunder with a sound level of 70db. What is the sound level
of the thunder for someone standing only 20mfrom the clock tower?
(a) What are our known’s and unknown’s for this problem? Are there any assumptions we need to
make in solving this problem?
Solution:
In this problem, we are looking for the sound level close to the base of the clock tower, 2 . We
will need to find how far away we are from the tower along the way. We will assume that the
sound wave is a spherical wave and that the speed of sound is constant.

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 I am given the following as known and unknown values:

t = 2.5s
1 = 70dB
2 =?
vair = 343m/s
d1 =?
d2 = 20m

(b) Represent the problem physically with a sketch of what is going on. Include any relevant infor-
mation in your sketch.
Solution:

(c) What laws or concepts will you use to solve this problem? Represent them mathematically.
Solution:
We can find our distance from the clock tower using the relationship between speed and distance,
vair = d1t . We also need the dependence of intensity on distance, I = P
A , and the expression for
calculating loudness, = 10dB ⇥ log10 II0 .
(d) Solve for the sound level of the thunder for someone standing only 20mfrom the clock tower. Solve
symbolically first and then numerically.
Solution:
Starting with finding the distance we are from the tower:

d1 = vair t

We can then find how much greater the intensity is close to the base of the tower (by treating the
power of the wave as constant):

d22 (vair t)2

I1 = I2 = I 2
d21 d21
Finally, we can find the di↵erence in loudness as:

(vair t)2
= 10dB ⇥ log10
d21
and plug in the values we have solved for or know to get our symbolic expression:

I2 I1 (vair t)2
2 = 1 10dB ⇥ log10 = 1 + 10dB ⇥ log10 = 1 + 10dB ⇥ log10
I1 I2 d21
And then we just plug in our numbers and calculate:

(vair t)2 (343m/s ⇥ 2.5s)2

2 = 1 + 10dB ⇥ log10 = 70dB + 10dB ⇥ log 10 = 103dB
d21 (20m)2

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 (e) Sensemaking: Check your units of your symbolic answer, are they correct? How do you know?
Solution:
The units of the final answer should be in db, which they are as long as the argument of the
logarithm is unitless. Since the logarithm has m2 in both the numerator and denominator, this
works out!
(f) Sensemaking: If you were to stand closer to the clock tower what would you expect to happen to
the loudness? Does your intuition match with your symbolic equation?
Solution:
If we were to stand even closer to the clock tower than 20m (say, 1m), we would expect the sound
to get even louder. This agrees with our symbolic answer, which has d1 in the denominator of the
logarithm, so decreasing it increases the argument and thus the value of the log.

4. Problem 4: Ideal Gas Law

In a common demonstration, a bottle is heated and stoppered with a hard-boiled egg that’s a little
bigger than the bottle’s neck. When the bottle is cooled, the pressure di↵erence between inside and
outside forces the egg into the bottle. Suppose the bottle has a volume of 0.5L and the temperature
inside it is raised to 80.0 C while the pressure remains constant at 1atm because the bottle is open.
(a) How many moles of air are inside?
Solution:
First we should convert the temperature to Kelvin:

T = (80 + 273.15)K = 353.15K

I can use the ideal gas law to find the number of moles:

pV = nRT ! ! ! ! n =
pV
RT

I can just substitute in our number values given in the problem now to find how many moles are
inside the bottle.
⇣ 5
⌘ ⇣ ⌘
10 3m3
(1atm) 1.01⇥10
1atm
Pa
(0.5L) 1L
n= J
= 0.017mol
8.31 molK (353K)
(b) Now the egg is put in place, sealing the bottle. What is the gauge pressure inside after the air
cools back to room temperature of 25 C but before the egg is forced into the bottle?
Solution:
First we should convert the temperature:

T = (25 + 273.15)K = 298.15K

Since the number of molecules doesn’t change I can relate the ideal gas laws before and after the
change to find the pressure:
pf V f pi V i
=
Tf Ti
Vi T f
p f = pi since the volumes are the same though...
Vf T i
Tf
p f = pi
Ti

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 Now we can just substitute in everything we were given and have already found to find the absolute
pressure:
Tf 289K
pf = p i = (1atm) = 0.84atm
Ti 353K
Finally, we should find the gauge pressure:

pgauge = pabs patm = 0.84atm 1atm = 0.16atm

5. Problem 5: Work and the 1st Law

For the diagram to the right, find the fol-

lowing along these four paths: (i) AB, (ii)
ADB, (iii) ACB, (iv)ADCB.
(a) Calculate the work done by the gas in
a quasi-static process along paths (i)
through (iv).

(b) If the heat absorbed by the gas along

path (i) is 400J, determine the quan-
tities of heat absorbed along paths (ii)
through (iv).
Solution:

(a) Calculate the work done by the gas in a quasi-static process along paths (i) through (iv).
To find the work done along each path I will find the area’s under the curves:
AB This path is just a straight line so I need to find the area in the box.

W =P V
101.325J
= 1atm(3L 1L) = 2Latm ⇥ = 202.65J
1Latm
ADB This path is the same area as before pulse the area of the triangle since the work along A to
D is zero we only care about the work from D to B.
1
W = P V + 202.65J
2
1 101.325J
= 2atm ⇥ 2L ⇥ + 202.65J
2 1Latm
= 202.65J + 202.65J = 405.3J

ACB This path is exactly the same as before since its a the same size triangle just rotated. The
work along A to C is what we care about since the work from C to B is zero.
1
W = P V + 202.65J
2
1 101.325J
= 2atm ⇥ 2L ⇥ + 202.65J
2 1Latm
= 202.65J + 202.65J = 405.3J

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ADCB This path is just the area under the straight line from D to C because the work from A to D
and from C to B is zero.

W =P V
101.325J
= 3atm(3L 1L) = 6Latm ⇥ = 607.95J
1Latm
(b) If the heat absorbed by the gas along path (i) is 400J, determine the quantities of heat absorbed
along paths (ii) through (iv).

To find the heat I will use the first law of thermodynamics:

Eint = Q W

We are told that the heat along path AB is 400J, we found from part (a) of this problem that
the work along this path is about 200J. This means we can find the change in internal energy
along path AB.
EAB = 400J 200J = 200J
With this we can then find the heats for the other paths because we know that the changes in
internal energy along each of the paths is the same since we start at the same spot and end at
the same spot for each path.
ADB I know that the internal energy is 200J and the work along this path is about 400J from the
previous problem and/or above statement. So, I use the first law to find the heat:

QADB = EAB + WADB

= 200J + 400J = 600J

ACB I can use the same method to find the heat along the path ACB, since the work and change
in internal energy along this path are the same as path ADB I know the heat must also be
the same:
QACB = EAB + WACB = 600J
ADCB Again I use the same method, the only change is the work along this path is about 600J so
the heat is:

QADCB = EAB + WADCB

= 200J + 600J = 800J

These all make sense, the paths with greater work also have greater heat exchange such that the
internal energy stays the same no matter the path.