Skip to main content
Ch 17: Superposition
Chapter 17, Problem 17

CALC You have two small, identical boxes that generate 440 Hz notes. While holding one, you drop the other from a 20-m-high balcony. How many beats will you hear before the falling box hits the ground? You can ignore air resistance.

Verified step by step guidance
1
Calculate the time it takes for the box to hit the ground using the formula for free fall: t = \sqrt{\frac{2h}{g}}, where h is the height (20 m) and g is the acceleration due to gravity (approximately 9.8 m/s^2).
Determine the frequency of the sound heard from the falling box using the Doppler Effect formula for a source moving away from a stationary observer: f' = f \left(\frac{v_s + v_o}{v_s + v} \right), where f is the original frequency (440 Hz), v_s is the speed of sound in air (approximately 340 m/s), v_o is the observer's speed (0 m/s, as the observer is stationary), and v is the speed of the falling box (v = gt).
Calculate the speed of the falling box at any time t before it hits the ground using v = gt.
Substitute the value of v from step 3 into the Doppler Effect formula in step 2 to find the frequency of the sound from the falling box as a function of time.
Calculate the beat frequency as the absolute difference between the frequency of the stationary box (440 Hz) and the frequency of the falling box from step 4. Integrate this beat frequency over the time calculated in step 1 to find the total number of beats heard before the box hits the ground.

Verified Solution

Video duration:
13m
This video solution was recommended by our tutors as helpful for the problem above.
Was this helpful?

Key Concepts

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

Frequency and Beats

Frequency refers to the number of cycles of a wave that occur in a unit of time, measured in Hertz (Hz). When two sound waves of slightly different frequencies interact, they produce a phenomenon known as beats, which is the periodic variation in amplitude resulting from the interference of the two waves. The beat frequency is equal to the absolute difference between the two frequencies.
Recommended video:

Free Fall and Acceleration

Free fall describes the motion of an object under the influence of gravity alone, with an acceleration of approximately 9.81 m/s² near the Earth's surface. In this scenario, the box dropped from the balcony will accelerate downward until it hits the ground, and the time it takes to fall can be calculated using the kinematic equations of motion.
Recommended video:
Guided course
08:36
Vertical Motion & Free Fall

Time of Flight Calculation

The time of flight for an object in free fall can be determined using the equation t = √(2h/g), where h is the height from which it is dropped and g is the acceleration due to gravity. This calculation allows us to find out how long the box takes to reach the ground, which is essential for determining how many beats will be heard during that time.
Recommended video:
Guided course
04:43
Calculating Displacement from Velocity-Time Graphs