Sound coming out of slide whistle

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around the physics of sound produced by a slide whistle, specifically how the length of the whistle affects the pitch of the note played. The original poster presents a problem involving a slide whistle with a specified length and seeks to determine the length required to play a note one octave higher.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Assumption checking, Problem interpretation

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants explore the relationship between the length of the whistle and the frequency of the sound produced, questioning the calculations and assumptions regarding wavelength and pitch. There is discussion about converting units from centimeters to meters and the implications of these conversions on the final answer.

Discussion Status

The discussion is ongoing, with participants providing feedback on each other's reasoning and calculations. Some guidance has been offered regarding the correct interpretation of the whistle's length and its effect on sound frequency, but there is no explicit consensus on the final answer yet.

Contextual Notes

There is a noted confusion regarding the units of measurement, as the original length of the whistle is given in centimeters, which has led to some miscalculations. Participants are encouraged to be mindful of this detail as they continue the discussion.

jai6638
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A slide whistle has a length of 27 cm. if you want ot play a note one octave higher the whistle should be how long?


Ans : 1/2 lambda = L

there Lambda = 2L
= (2)(27)
= 54 m

is that correct?
 
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That's a rather long whistle.
And the higher the frequency, the shorter the wavelength, so the whistle should be shorter if it's to produce a higher note.
 
so it would be 27/2 = 13.5 m?

thanks
 
13.5 m is also a tad long for a whistle. It'll look more like a digderidoo.
The length of the slide whistle was given in cm, not in meters.
I assume the whistle acts like a half open tube where waves have a node on the closed end and have a maximum at the open end, then the whistle should be half as long.
 
jai6638 said:
so it would be 27/2 = 13.5 m?

thanks

What, exactly, was the original length of the whistle? (Be Careful!)
 
my bad.. so the answer is (.27)(2) = .54m?
 
Except that you are going the wrong way again: a longer wave length gives a lower frequency.

Since the original length was given as "27 cm.", I would be inclined to give the answer as 13.5 cm.
 

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