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Chapter 5: Problem 50

What happens to the pitch of the sound when the length of the vibrating column is increased?

Short Answer

Expert verified
Answer: As the length of the vibrating column increases, the pitch of the sound decreases. This is due to the increased wavelength, which causes a decrease in frequency, and thus, results in a lower pitch.

Step by step solution

01

Understanding the terms

Pitch refers to the perception of the frequency of a sound wave, while the length of the vibrating column is the length of the medium (such as air, string, or other material) that allows the sound wave to propagate.
02

Understanding the relationship between frequency, wavelength, and speed of sound

The speed of sound is given by the equation: v = fλ, where v is the speed of sound, f is the frequency, and λ is the wavelength of the sound wave.
03

Formulating the relationship between pitch and the length of the vibrating column

When the length of the vibrating column (L) is increased, the wavelength (λ) of the sound wave must also increase in order to fit the longer column. Since the speed of sound (v) remains constant in a specific medium (e.g., air), the frequency (f) must decrease in order to maintain the equation v = fλ.
04

Concluding the effect of an increased vibrating column length on pitch

As we found in Step 3, when the length of the vibrating column (L) increases, the frequency (f) decreases. Since the pitch of a sound corresponds to its frequency, when the length of the vibrating column increases, the pitch of the sound decreases.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

(a) What are the higher units of frequency? (b) How is noise pollution determined at a given place? (c) Name some sound absorbing materials.

The maximum possible displacement of a vibrating body from its mean position during its motion is equal to (1) its amplitude (2) half its amplitude (3) twice its amplitude (4) its frequency

State some sources of noise pollution.

State any three uses of ultrasonic sound.

A thunder is heard 2 s after a flash of lightning is seen. If the velocity of sound in air is \(330 \mathrm{~m} \mathrm{~s}^{-1}\), how far away from you, has lightning occurred?
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