# Speed of a Transverse Wave

1. Jun 16, 2006

### Luis2101

Question Details:

A cowgirl ties one end of a 10.0-m-long rope to a fence post and pulls on the other end so the rope is stretched horizontally with a tension of 140 N. The mass of the rope is 0.800 kg.

a) What is the speed of transverse waves on the rope?
b) If the cowgirl moves the free end up and down with a frequency of 1.20 Hz, what is the wavelength of the transverse waves on the rope?
c) The cowgirl pulls harder on the rope so that the tension is doubled to 280 N. With what frequency must she move the free end of the rope up and down to produce transverse waves of the same wavelength as in part (a)?

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For part A, I tried using µ = mass / length = 0.08kg/m
then i tried to solve for V using v = sqrt(F/µ), but my answer, 0.024m/s is incorrect, according to mastering physics.

2. Jun 16, 2006

### HallsofIvy

Staff Emeritus
Then try again! 0.024 is
$$\sqrt{\frac{\mu}{F}}$$
not
$$\sqrt{\frac{F}{\mu}}$$
!

3. Jun 16, 2006

### Luis2101

-_-
Wow.
Lol. I looked over that equation like, 5 different times too, I can't believe I didn't see that.

Thanks.

-Luis

4. Jul 2, 2009

### Rachaelh8

Hi this is my first time to use this so i don't know if I am posting in the right spot. But here is my question:
A wire is stretched between two posts. Another wire is stretched between two posts that are twice as far apart. The tension in the wires is the same, and they have the same mass. A transverse wave travels on the shorter wire with a speed of 255 m/s. What would be the speed of the wave on the longer wire?

5. Jul 2, 2009

### ideasrule

To post a new question, you should click "New Topic" in the "Introductory Physics" subforum instead of entering a thread and clicking "New Reply".

Anyhow, write out two equations of the form
$$v=\sqrt{\frac{F}{\mu}}$$

In both equations, "F" is the same, but "u" isn't. What's the relationship between the linear density of the first rope and that of the second?