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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.

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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.
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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.
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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.
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