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Ch 16: Traveling Waves
Chapter 16, Problem 16

What is the speed of sound in air (a) on a cold winter day in Minnesota when the temperature is -25°F, and (b) on a hot summer day in Death Valley when the temperature is 125°F?

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Key Concepts

Here are the essential concepts you must grasp in order to answer the question correctly.

Speed of Sound

The speed of sound is the distance traveled per unit time by a sound wave as it propagates through a medium. In air, this speed is influenced by factors such as temperature, humidity, and pressure. Generally, sound travels faster in warmer air because the molecules are more energetic and can transmit the sound waves more quickly.
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Effect of Temperature on Sound Speed

Temperature significantly affects the speed of sound in air. As temperature increases, the speed of sound also increases due to the greater kinetic energy of air molecules, which facilitates faster wave propagation. Conversely, at lower temperatures, the speed of sound decreases, as the molecules move more slowly and transmit sound waves less efficiently.
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Conversion of Temperature Units

To accurately calculate the speed of sound at different temperatures, it is often necessary to convert temperatures from Fahrenheit to Celsius or Kelvin. The formula for conversion is °C = (°F - 32) × 5/9. Understanding this conversion is crucial for applying the correct temperature values in the equations that determine the speed of sound.
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Related Practice
Textbook Question
A sound wave is described by D (y,t) = (0.0200 mm) ✕ sin [(8.96 rad/m)y + (3140 rad/s)t + π/4 rad], where y is in m and t is in s. b. Along which axis is the air oscillating?
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Textbook Question
One cue your hearing system uses to localize a sound (i.e., to tell where a sound is coming from) is the slight difference in the arrival times of the sound at your ears. Your ears are spaced approximately 20 cm apart. Consider a sound source 5.0 m from the center of your head along a line 45° to your right. What is the difference in arrival times? Give your answer in microseconds. Hint: You are looking for the difference between two numbers that are nearly the same. What does this near equality imply about the necessary precision during intermediate stages of the calculation?

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Textbook Question
An avant-garde composer wants to use the Doppler effect in his new opera. As the soprano sings, he wants a large bat to fly toward her from the back of the stage. The bat will be outfitted with a microphone to pick up the singer's voice and a loudspeaker to rebroadcast the sound toward the audience. The composer wants the sound the audience hears from the bat to be, in musical terms, one half-step higher in frequency than the note they are hearing from the singer. Two notes a half-step apart have a frequency ratio of 2¹/² = 1.059. With what speed must the bat fly toward the singer?
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Textbook Question
Show that the displacement D(x,t) = ln(ax + bt), where a and b are constants, is a solution to the wave equation. Then find an expression in terms of a and b for the wave speed.
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Textbook Question
Piano tuners tune pianos by listening to the beats between the harmonics of two different strings. When properly tuned, the note A should have a frequency of 440 Hz and the note E should be at 659 Hz. a.What is the frequency difference between the third harmonic of the A and the second harmonic of the E?
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Textbook Question
A violinist places her finger so that the vibrating section of a 1.0 g/m string has a length of 30 cm, then she draws her bow across it. A listener nearby in a 20°C room hears a note with a wavelength of 40 cm. What is the tension in the string?
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