Traditional Indonesian music uses an ensemble called a gamelan that is based on tuned percussion instruments somewhat like gongs. In Bali, the gongs are often grouped in pairs that are slightly out of tune with each other. When both are played at once, the beat frequency lends a distinctive vibrating quality to the music. Suppose a pair of gongs are tuned to produce notes at 151 Hz and 155 Hz. How many beats are heard if the gongs are struck together and both ring for 2.5 s?

Short Answer

Expert verified

There would be 10 beats in 2.5 seconds

Step by step solution

01

Write the given information 

The frequencies at which the pair of gongs produces notes

f1= 151 Hz

f2= 155Hz

Both the gongs ring for the time t = 2.5 sec

02

To determine the number of beats in 2.5 s 

The frequency of the beats produced by the pair of gongs is given by

fb=|f1-f2|fb=|155-151|Hzfb=4Hz

Thus, the frequency of the beat is 4Hz

Now, the number of beats in time t =2.5 s

n=fbxtn=4x2.5n=10

Thus, there would be 10 beats in 2.5 seconds

Unlock Step-by-Step Solutions & Ace Your Exams!

  • Full Textbook Solutions

    Get detailed explanations and key concepts

  • Unlimited Al creation

    Al flashcards, explanations, exams and more...

  • Ads-free access

    To over 500 millions flashcards

  • Money-back guarantee

    We refund you if you fail your exam.

Over 30 million students worldwide already upgrade their learning with Vaia!

One App. One Place for Learning.

All the tools & learning materials you need for study success - in one app.

Get started for free

Most popular questions from this chapter

A very thin oil film n=1.25floats on watern=1.33.

What is the thinnest film that produces a strong reflection for

green light with a wavelength of 500 nm?

The 40-cm-long tube of FIGURE P17.54 has a 40-cm-long insert

that can be pulled in and out. A vibrating tuning fork is held next to the

tube. As the insert is slowly pulled out, the sound from the tuning fork

creates standing waves in the tube when the total length L is 42.5 cm, 56.7 cm, and 70.9 cm. What is the frequency of the tuning fork? Assume vsound = 343 m/s.

Deep-sea divers often breathe a mixture of helium and oxygen to avoid getting the “bends” from breathing high-pressure nitrogen. The helium has the side effect of making the divers’ voices sound odd. Although your vocal tract can be roughly described as an open-closed tube, the way you hold your mouth and position your lips greatly affects the standing-wave frequencies of the vocal tract. This is what allows different vowels to sound different. The “ee” sound is made by shaping your vocal tract to have standing- wave frequencies at, normally, 270 Hz and 2300 Hz. What will these frequencies be for a helium-oxygen mixture in which the speed of sound at body temperature is 750 m/s? The speed of sound in air at body temperature is 350 m/s.

An old mining tunnel disappears into a hillside. You would like to know how long the tunnel is, but it’s too dangerous to go inside. Recalling your recent physics class, you decide to try setting up standing-wave resonances inside the tunnel. Using your subsonic amplifier and loudspeaker, you find resonances at 4.5 Hz and 6.3 Hz, and at no frequencies between these. It’s rather chilly inside the tunnel, so you estimate the sound speed to be 335 m/s. Based on your measurements, how far is it to the end of the tunnel?

FIGURE EX17.7 shows a standing wave on a string that is oscillating at 100 Hz. a. How many antinodes will there be if the frequency is increased to 200 Hz? b. If the tension is increased by a factor of 4, at what frequency will the string continue to oscillate as a standing wave that looks like the one in the figure?

See all solutions

Recommended explanations on Physics Textbooks

View all explanations

What do you think about this solution?

We value your feedback to improve our textbook solutions.

Study anywhere. Anytime. Across all devices.

Sign-up for free