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Propagation of wave
1. A sinusoidal wave travels rightward along a string. The below figure shows the wave at time
= 0 s. Given the frequency of the wave is 5 Hz and the maximum vertical displacement
is 0.2 m, plot the vertical displacement against time (from 𝑡 = 0 s to 𝑡 = 1 s) of the string
particle at (a) point A, (b) point B and (c) point C.
2. A wave pulse moving along the string is described by
sin(𝑥 + 𝑐𝑡) for 0 < 𝑥 + 𝑐𝑡 < 𝜋
𝑦(𝑥, 𝑡) = {
0 otherwise
where 𝑦 (mm) is the vertical displacement of the string particle at coordinate 𝑥 (𝑚) and 𝑡 (s) is
time.
Wave speed
3. The wavefunction of a travelling wave on a string is
𝜋
𝑦(𝑥, 𝑡) = 0.3 sin(6𝜋𝑡 − 2𝜋𝑥 + )
4
where 𝑥 and 𝑦 are in meters and 𝑡 is in seconds.
(a) Find the speed and direction of travel of the wave.
(b) Find the wavelength and frequency of the wave.
4. A sinusoidal wave in a rope is described by the wave function
𝑦 = 0.2 sin(0.75𝜋𝑥 + 18𝜋𝑡),
where 𝑥 and 𝑦 are in meters and 𝑡 is in seconds. The rope has a linear mass density of 0.25
kg/m. Find the tension of the rope.
5. A wave travels along a uniform string under tension of 500 N, and it is described by the
equation
𝑦(𝑥, 𝑡) = [0.01 cos(2𝑥 + 30𝑡)] m
What are the (a) wave speed and (b) the linear density of string?
Standing Wave
6. A standing wave is made as shown below with the source of frequency 10 Hz and the wave
speed is 100 m/s. Find the distance between two of the nodes.
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7. A string has a mass per unit length of 9.00 × 10−3 kg/m and a length of 40 cm. Find the
tension of the string such that it vibrates at a fundamental frequency of 440 Hz.
8. The waveform of the second resonance mode in a pipe opened at one end is shown below.
Find the frequency of the mode if the pipe is 1.75 m long, given that the speed of sound is 343
ms-1.
Node
9. A nylon guitar string has a linear density of 7.20 g/m and is under a tension of 150 N. The
fixed supports are distance 𝐿 = 90.0 cm apart. The system can support standing wave of
certain frequency.
(a) Find the lowest frequency can be supported by this system.
(b) The whole guitar string is set into vibration. Find the lowest frequency that can be supported
by this system so that point A (see the figure) is a node.
(c) If the tension is reduced to 75 N, what are the answers to (a) and (b)?
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10. Two sinusoidal waves with the same amplitude 𝐴 (m) and the same wavelength travel
together along a string that is stretched along an x-axis. One of the waves is described by
𝑦1 (𝑥, 𝑡) = 𝐴 sin(𝑘𝑥 − 𝜔𝑡)
where 𝑦 is the vertical displacement of the string particle at coordinate 𝑥, 𝑡 (s) is time, 𝑘 is
the wave number and 𝜔 is the frequency.
(a) Find the wave speed 𝑣 in terms of 𝑘 and 𝜔.
(b) If the frequency is modified as 𝜔 → 𝜔 + 𝛿𝜔, then the wave number is also modified as
𝑘 → 𝑘 + 𝛿𝑘. Find the relation between 𝛿𝜔 and 𝛿𝑘 in terms of 𝑘 and 𝜔.
(c) If the resultant wave has the same amplitude of a single wave, find the phase difference 𝜙
between two waves.
𝐴+𝐵 𝐴−𝐵
Hint: apply the formula sin 𝐴 + sin 𝐵 = 2 sin cos .
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(d) If the frequency of one wave is modified as 𝜔 → 5𝜔 and two waves have the same
displacement at 𝑡 = 0 and 𝑥 = 0, write down and simplified the mathematical description of
the resultant wave.
(e) Sketch the vertical displacement of resultant wave in (d) against (𝑥 − 𝑣𝑡) with 𝑘 = 𝜋 and
𝐴 = 1 for 0 ≤ (𝑥 − 𝑣𝑡) ≤ 2.
