Question 7(iii)
(a) A man standing between two cliffs produces a sound and hears two successive echoes at intervals of 2 s and 5 s respectively. Calculate the distance between the two cliffs. The speed of sounding in the air is 330 ms-1.
(b) Explain, why strings of different thicknesses are provided on a stringed instrument.
(a) As we know,
Total distance travelled by the sound in going and then coming back = 2d
Given,
t1 = 2 s
t2 = 5 s
V = 330 ms-1 and
First echo will be heard from the nearer cliff and the second echo from the farther cliff.
Hence, Distance between cliffs = d1 + d2
Therefore, substituting the values in the formula above, we get,
For t1
For t2
Distance between cliffs = d1 + d2
= 330 + 825
= 1155 m
Hence, distance between cliffs = 1155 m
(b) As we know,
frequency (f) =
So, we can say that the natural frequency of vibration of a stretched string is inversely proportional to the radius of the string.
Hence, in order to produce sound waves of different frequencies, strings of different thickness are provided on a stringed instrument.