Frequency of two objects moving toward eachother

  • Thread starter Thread starter eagles12
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Frequency
Click For Summary

Homework Help Overview

The problem involves a motorcyclist and a police car moving toward each other, with the police car emitting a sound at a frequency of 502 Hz. The speeds of both vehicles are provided, and the goal is to determine the frequency heard by the motorcyclist.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Conceptual clarification, Mathematical reasoning

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • The original poster attempts to apply a formula related to frequency and speed but receives feedback suggesting a different equation related to the Doppler Effect. Some participants question the correctness of the initial equations used.

Discussion Status

Participants are actively discussing the appropriate equations to use for the Doppler Effect, with some suggesting corrections to the original poster's approach. There is an ongoing exploration of the mathematical reasoning behind the calculations.

Contextual Notes

There appears to be confusion regarding the application of the Doppler Effect equations, and participants are addressing potential errors in the setup or interpretation of the problem.

eagles12
Messages
76
Reaction score
0

Homework Statement



A motorcyclist and a police car are moving toward one another. The police car emits a sound with frequency of 502 Hz and has a speed of 27m/s. The motorcycle has a speed of 12 m/s.
What frequency does the motorcyclist hear?

Homework Equations



f=1/T
f'=f(1+v/vs)

The Attempt at a Solution



f'=502(1+27/12)
This gave me f'=1631.5 but it says this is incorrect
 
Physics news on Phys.org
I think your equations are wrong. According to the Doppler Effect, the apparent frequency ##n_a=(\frac{V+V_o}{V-V_s}) n##

## V ## is the velocity of sound.
 
so it would be
(27+343)/(12-343)*502
f=-561.15
 
read my post again.
 

Similar threads

Replies
3
Views
8K
  • · Replies 17 ·
Replies
17
Views
3K
  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
3K
Replies
6
Views
6K
  • · Replies 6 ·
Replies
6
Views
5K
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
3K
Replies
3
Views
2K
  • · Replies 10 ·
Replies
10
Views
6K
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
3K
  • · Replies 4 ·
Replies
4
Views
3K