Find the point of destructive interference of two waves.

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Destructive interference occurs when two coherent waves are out of phase by 180 degrees. In this scenario, two in-phase sound sources are located at (-2 m, 0 m) and (2 m, 0 m) with a wavelength of 0.9 m. To find the points of destructive interference along the x-axis, one must consider the path difference between the waves arriving at any point. The condition for destructive interference is met when the path difference is an odd multiple of half the wavelength. Understanding the relationship between the phase and the distance traveled by the waves is crucial for solving this problem.
HunterDX77M
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Homework Statement



Two coherent in-phase point sources of sound are located at the points (-2 m, 0 m) and (2 m, 0 m). If the wavelength of the sound is 0.9 m, at which of the following x values on the x-axis does destructive interference occur?

Homework Equations



Wave Equation:
y(x, t) = Acos(kx + ωt)

The Attempt at a Solution



I have no idea how to even start this one. Could someone just nudge me in the right direction? This is the last practice problem I have to do, but I am really stuck.
 
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Well, maybe start with this: what is the condition for destructive interference to occur?
 
Well, let's see. They have to be out of phase by 180 degrees. But the part that confuses me is that the problem says they have the same phase.
 
HunterDX77M said:
Well, let's see. They have to be out of phase by 180 degrees. But the part that confuses me is that the problem says they have the same phase.
The sources are in phase.

However, the waves move and that's at a finite speed.
 
The book claims the answer is that all the magnitudes are the same because "the gravitational force on the penguin is the same". I'm having trouble understanding this. I thought the buoyant force was equal to the weight of the fluid displaced. Weight depends on mass which depends on density. Therefore, due to the differing densities the buoyant force will be different in each case? Is this incorrect?

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