Tutorial

Chapter 16

3. A woman is standing in the ocean, and she notices that after a wave crest passes by,
five more crests pass in a time of 40.0 s. The distance between two successive crests
is 30.0 m. What is the wave's (a) period, (b) frequency, (c) wavelength, and (d) speed?

3. REASONING

a. The period is the time required for one complete cycle of the wave to pass. The
period is also the time for two successive crests to pass the person.

b. The frequency is the reciprocal of the period, according to Equation 10.5.

c. The wavelength is the horizontal length of one cycle of the wave, or the horizontal
distance between two successive crests.

d. The speed of the wave is equal to its frequency times its wavelength (see Equation
16.1).

e. The amplitude A of a wave is the maximum excursion of a water particle from the
particle’s undisturbed position.

SOLUTION

a. After the initial crest passes, 5 additional crests pass in a time of 40.0 s. The period T
of the wave is

40.0 s
T  8.00 s
5

b. Since the frequency f and period T are related by f = 1/T (Equation 10.5), we have

1 1
f    0.125 Hz
T 8.00 s

c. The horizontal distance between two successive crests is given as 30 m. This is also
the wavelength  of the wave, so

AP10001 Introduction to Physics 1 Dr. S.H. Choy

   30 m

d. According to Equation 16.1, the speed v of the wave is

v  f    0.125 Hz   30 m   3.8 m/s

=============================================================

7. Using the data in the graphs that accompany this problem, determine the speed of
the wave.

7. REASONING The speed v of a wave is equal to its frequency f times its wavelength 
(Equation 16.1). The wavelength is the horizontal length of one cycle of the wave. From
the left graph in the text it can be seen that this distance is 0.040 m. The frequency is
the reciprocal of the period, according to Equation 10.5, and the period is the time
required for one complete cycle of the wave to pass. From the right graph in the text, it
can be seen that the period is 0.020 s, so the frequency is 1/(0.020 s).

SOLUTION Since the wavelength is  = 0.040 m and the period is T = 0.020 s, the speed
of the wave is

1  1 
v   f      (0.040 m)    0.20 m/s
T   0.20 s 

=============================================================

17. The drawing shows two transverse waves traveling on two strings. The linear
density of each string is 0.065 kg/m, and the tension is provided by a 26.0-N block
that is hanging from the string. Determine the speed of the wave in part (a) and part (b)
of the drawing.

AP10001 Introduction to Physics 2 Dr. S.H. Choy

17. REASONING The speed v of a transverse wave on a string is given by v  F /  m /L 
(Equation 16.2), where F is the tension and m/L is the mass per unit length (or linear
density) of the string. The strings are identical, so they have the same mass per unit
length. However, the tensions are different. In part (a) of the text drawing, the string
supports the entire weight of the 26-N block, so the tension in the string is 26 N. In part
(b), the block is supported by the part of the string on the left side of the middle pulley
and the part of the string on the right side. Each part supports one-half of the block’s
weight, or 13 N. Thus, the tension in the string is 13 N.

SOLUTION

a. The speed of the transverse wave in part (a) of the text drawing is

F 26 N
v   2.0 101 m/s
m /L 0.065 kg/m

b. The speed of the transverse wave in part (b) of the drawing is

F 13 N
v   1.4 101 m/s
m /L 0.065 kg/m

=============================================================

21. The drawing shows a frictionless incline and pulley. The two blocks are connected
by a wire (mass per unit length = 0.0250 kg/m) and remain stationary. A transverse
wave on the wire has a speed of 75.0 m/s. Neglecting the weight of the wire relative to
the tension in the wire, find the masses (a) m1 and (b) m2 of the blocks.

AP10001 Introduction to Physics 3 Dr. S.H. Choy

21. REASONING Using the procedures developed in Chapter 4 for using Newton's second
law to analyze the motion of bodies and neglecting the weight of the wire relative to the
tension in the wire lead to the following equations of motion for the two blocks:

 Fx  F  m1g (sin 30.0) = 0 (1)

 Fy  F  m2 g = 0 (2)

where F is the tension in the wire. In Equation (1) we have taken the direction of the
+x axis for block 1 to be parallel to and up the incline. In Equation (2) we have taken the
direction of the +y axis to be upward for block 2. This set of equations consists of two
equations in three unknowns, m1, m2, and F. Thus, a third equation is needed in order to
solve for any of the unknowns. A useful third equation can be obtained by solving Equation
16.2 for F:

F   m / L  v2 (3)

Combining Equation (3) with Equations (1) and (2) leads to

(m / L)v2  m1g sin 30.0 = 0 (4)

(m / L)v2  m2 g = 0 (5)

Equations (4) and (5) can be solved directly for the masses m1 and m2.

SOLUTION Substituting values into Equation (4), we obtain

AP10001 Introduction to Physics 4 Dr. S.H. Choy

 (m / L)v 2 (0.0250 kg/m)(75.0 m/s)2
m1   = 28.7 kg
g sin 30.0 (9.80 m/s 2 ) sin 30.0

Similarly, substituting values into Equation (5), we obtain

(m / L)v 2 (0.0250 kg/m)(75.0 m/s) 2

m2   = 14.3 kg
g (9.80 m/s 2 )

=============================================================

31. For research purposes a sonic buoy is tethered to the ocean floor and emits an
infrasonic pulse of sound. The period of this sound is 86 ms. Determine the
wavelength of the sound, if temperature the seawater is 20°C. (speed of sound in
seawater = 1522 m/s )

31. REASONING The speed v, frequency f, and wavelength λ of the sound are related
according to v = f λ (Equation 16.1). This expression can be solved for the wavelength in
terms of the speed and the frequency. The speed of sound in seawater is 1522 m/s, as given
in Table 16.1. While the frequency is not given directly, the period T is known and is related
to the frequency according to f = 1/T (Equation 10.5).

SOLUTION Substituting the frequency from Equation 10.5 into Equation 16.1 gives

1
v  f    
T 

Solving this result for the wavelength yields

 
  vT  1522 m/s  86  103 s  131 m

=============================================================

AP10001 Introduction to Physics 5 Dr. S.H. Choy

47. When an earthquake occurs, two types of sound waves are generated and travel
through the earth. The primary, or P, wave has a speed of about 8.0 km/s and the
secondary, or S, wave has a speed of about 4.5 km/s. A seismograph, located some
distance away, records the arrival of the P wave and then, 78.0 s later, records the
arrival of the S wave. Assuming that the waves travel in a straight line, how far (in
terms of m) is the seismograph from the earthquake?

47. REASONING Let vP represent the speed of the primary wave and vS the speed of the
secondary wave. The travel times for the primary and secondary waves are tP and tS,
respectively. If x is the distance from the earthquake to the seismograph, then tP = x/ vP and
tS = x/ vS. The difference in the arrival times is

x x 1 1 
tS  tP    x  
vS vP v 
 S vP 

We can use this equation to find the distance from the earthquake to the
seismograph.

SOLUTION Solving the equation above for x gives

tS  tP 78 s
x   8.0  105 m
1 1 1 1
 
vS vP 4.5  103 m/s 8.0  103 m/s

AP10001 Introduction to Physics 6 Dr. S.H. Choy