Mechanical Waves On a String - Speed, Amplitude, and Power

AI Thread Summary
The discussion centers on calculating the speed and amplitude of a wave on a string under specific conditions. The string has a mass of 38.5g, a length of 5.60m, and is under a tension of 220N, with a wave frequency of 178 Hz. The correct speed of the wave is determined to be 179 m/s, while the amplitude is calculated to be 1.35 cm. The initial calculations were incorrect due to a conversion error in the mass from grams to kilograms. The participant successfully identifies and corrects the mistake, leading to the accurate results.
Nickg140143
Messages
30
Reaction score
0

Homework Statement


A string of mass 38.5g and length 5.60m is secured so that it is under tension of 220N. A wave with frequency 178 Hz travels on the string. Find the speed of the wave and the amplitude of the wave if it transmits power of 140 Watts.

The Given answers are: 179 m/s and 1.35 cm

Homework Equations


I believe these are the main equations that I can use to solve these problems

speed of wave
v=\sqrt{\frac{Tension}{\mu}},\mu = \frac{Mass}{Length}

Power (from my notes)

P=\frac{\mu \times v \times \omega^2 \times A^2}{2},\omega = 2\pi f

Power (from my book, think this is average power)

P=\frac{\sqrt{\mu \times F} \times \omega^2 \times A^2}{2},\omega = 2\pi f

Are my notes correct? Are these equations for the same amount of power?

The Attempt at a Solution



Well, I'm given mass, length and tension of the string, and If my understanding is somewhat correct, the speed at which a wave moves through a medium is dependent only on the properties of the medium itself, and for this string, these properties are the mass, length, and tension

mass(M) = 38.5 g(grams) \longrightarrow .385 kg(kilograms)
tension(T) = 220N(\frac{kgm}{s^2})
length(L)=5.60m(meters)

With this information, I can use my formula for velocity of the wave to find the speed of the wave.

I'll calculate \mu
\mu = \frac{M}{L} \longrightarrow \mu = \frac{.385 kg}{5.60 m}=0.069\frac{kg}{m}

Now v
v=\sqrt{\frac{T}{\mu}}\longrightarrow v=\sqrt{\frac{220\frac{kgm}{s^2}}{0.069\frac{kg}{m}}}=\boxed{56.5\frac{m}{s}}
Since I now have the velocity v, I should use the equation for power P, where P = 140 watts(\frac{kgm^2}{s^3}) and solve for A

P=\frac{\mu \times v \times \omega^2 \times A^2}{2},\omega = 2\pi f

but before I can use this, I need \omega, which is \omega = 2\pi \times frequencey(f)

\omega = 2\pi(rads) \times 178 \frac{1}{s}=1118.41\frac{1}{s}now that I have \omega, I can solve for A

140\frac{kgm^2}{s^3}=\frac{(0.069\frac{kg}{m}) \times (56.5\frac{m}{s}) \times(1118.41\frac{1}{s})^2 \times A^2}{2}

\frac{280\frac{kgm^2}{s^3}}{(0.069\frac{kg}{m}) \times (56.5\frac{m}{s}) \times(1118.41\frac{1}{s})^2}=A^2

A^2=5.74\times 10^{-5}m or 0.0000574 m \longrightarrow \boxed{A=.0076m \rightarrow .76cm}But as you can see, these answers do not correspond with those that are given. There are plenty of concepts that I'm struggling with here in physics, so I want to make sure I'm not straying too far off the path here.

any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
Last edited:
Physics news on Phys.org
Found my problem...

.385kg

This mass should actually be

.0385kg

Looks like I simply messed up on a conversion.
 
I multiplied the values first without the error limit. Got 19.38. rounded it off to 2 significant figures since the given data has 2 significant figures. So = 19. For error I used the above formula. It comes out about 1.48. Now my question is. Should I write the answer as 19±1.5 (rounding 1.48 to 2 significant figures) OR should I write it as 19±1. So in short, should the error have same number of significant figures as the mean value or should it have the same number of decimal places as...
Thread 'A cylinder connected to a hanging mass'
Let's declare that for the cylinder, mass = M = 10 kg Radius = R = 4 m For the wall and the floor, Friction coeff = ##\mu## = 0.5 For the hanging mass, mass = m = 11 kg First, we divide the force according to their respective plane (x and y thing, correct me if I'm wrong) and according to which, cylinder or the hanging mass, they're working on. Force on the hanging mass $$mg - T = ma$$ Force(Cylinder) on y $$N_f + f_w - Mg = 0$$ Force(Cylinder) on x $$T + f_f - N_w = Ma$$ There's also...
Back
Top