A train is approaching a signal tower at a speed of 40 m/s. The train engineer sounds the 1000 Hz whistle, and a switchman in the tower responds by sounding the 1200 Hz siren. The air is still, and the speed of sound is 340 m/s. a. What is the frequency of the train whistle tone, heard by the switchman, in SI units? b. What is the frequency of the tower siren tone, heard by the engineer, in SI units?
Properties of sound
A sound wave is a mechanical wave (or mechanical vibration) that transit through media such as gas (air), liquid (water), and solid (wood).
Quality Of Sound
A sound or a sound wave is defined as the energy produced due to the vibrations of particles in a medium. When any medium produces a disturbance or vibrations, it causes a movement in the air particles which produces sound waves. Molecules in the air vibrate about a certain average position and create compressions and rarefactions. This is called pitch which is defined as the frequency of sound. The frequency is defined as the number of oscillations in pressure per second.
Categories of Sound Wave
People perceive sound in different ways, like a medico student takes sound as vibration produced by objects reaching the human eardrum. A physicist perceives sound as vibration produced by an object, which produces disturbances in nearby air molecules that travel further. Both of them describe it as vibration generated by an object, the difference is one talks about how it is received and other deals with how it travels and propagates across various mediums.
A train is approaching a signal tower at a speed of 40 m/s. The train engineer sounds the 1000 Hz whistle, and a switchman in the tower responds by sounding the 1200 Hz siren. The air is still, and the speed of sound is 340 m/s.
a. What is the frequency of the train whistle tone, heard by the switchman, in SI units?
b. What is the frequency of the tower siren tone, heard by the engineer, in SI units?
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