Doppler Effect Police Car Question

AI Thread Summary
The discussion focuses on calculating the frequency a suspect hears from a police car siren using the Doppler Effect. The police car emits a siren at 400 Hz while moving towards the suspect, who is running away. The correct application of the Doppler Effect equation involves using a negative value for the observer's speed and a positive value for the source's speed. The initial calculation yielded 419.361 Hz, but after reevaluating the signs in the equation, the final frequency heard by the suspect is determined to be 404.531 Hz. The importance of correctly applying the Doppler Effect principles is emphasized in reaching the accurate frequency.
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A police car emitting a siren wail (400 Hz) is driving towards a fleeing suspect at v/35, where v is the speed of sound. The suspect is running away at v/55. What frequency does the suspect hear?

For this problem, I used the Doppler Effect equation, and got 419.361 as my answer. I used + on the top and - on the bottom. Do I need to switch the two?
 
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Since the suspect is going in the direction that is away from the sound source, you use a negative value for the observer speed. The source is moving in the direction toward the observer, so there is a positive source speed. That means you get (using the equation correctly):
f_observed = f*[v+(-vo)]/[v-(+vs)]

so there ends up being a - on both top and bottom. Did you follow that?
 
Thanks, so the answer comes out to be 404.531 Hz?
 
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