Given below are some functions of x and t to represent the displacement (transverse or longitudinal) of an elastic wave. State which of these represent (i) a traveling wave, (ii) a stationary wave or (iii) none at all:
(a) y = 2 cos (3x) sin (10t)
(b) y = 2 underroot(x -vt)
(c) y = 3 sin (5x - 0.5t) + 4 cos (5x - 0.5t)
(d) y = cos x sin t + cos 2x sin 2t
(a) The given equation represents a stationary wave because the harmonic terms kx and ωt appear separately in the equation.
(b) The given equation does not contain any harmonic term. Therefore, it does not represent either a travelling wave or a stationary wave.
(c) The given equation represents a travelling wave as the harmonic terms kx and ωt are in the combination of kx - ωt.
(d) The given equation represents a stationary wave because the harmonic terms kx and ωt appear separately in the equation. This equation actually represents the superposition of two stationary waves.
A transverse harmonic wave on a string is described by
y(x,t) = 3.0 sin [36t + 0.018x + π /4]
Where x and y are in cm and t in s. The positive direction of x is from left to right.
(a) Is this a travelling wave or a stationary wave? If it is travelling, what are the speed and direction of its propagation?
(b) What are its amplitude and frequency?
(c) What is the initial phase at the origin?
(d) What is the least distance between two successive crests in the wave?
Use the formula v = √ γP/ρ to explain why the speed of sound in air (a) is independent of pressure, (b) increases with temperature, (c) increases with humidity.
A narrow sound pulse (for example, a short pip by a whistle) is sent across a medium.
(a) Does the pulse have a definite (i) frequency, (ii) wavelength, (iii) speed of propagation?
(b) If the pulse rate is 1 after every 20 s, (that is the whistle is blown for a split of second after every 20 s), is the frequency of the note produced by the whistle equal to or 0.05 Hz?
A stone dropped from the top of a tower of height 300 m high splashes into the water of a pond near the base of the tower. When is the splash heard at the top given that the speed of sound in air is 340 m s-1? (g= 9.8 m s-2)
A travelling harmonic wave on a string is described by
y(x,t) = 7.5sin [0.0050x + 12t + π/4]
(a) What are the displacement and velocity of oscillation of a point at x = 1 cm, and t = 1 s? Is this velocity equal to the velocity of wave propagation?
(b) Locate the points of the string which have the same transverse displacements and velocity as the x = 1 cm point at t = 2 s, 5 s and 11 s.
A bat emits ultrasonic sound of frequency 1000 kHz in air. If the sound meets a water surface, what is the wavelength of (a) the reflected sound, (b) the transmitted sound? Speed of sound in air is 340 m s-1 and in water 1486 m s-1.
A steel wire has a length of 12.0 m and a mass of 2.10 kg. What should be the tension in the wire so that speed of a transverse wave on the wire equals the speed of sound in dry air at 20 °C = 343 m s-1.
A pipe 20 cm long is closed at one end. Which harmonic mode of the pipe is resonantly excited by a 430 Hz source? Will the same source be in resonance with the pipe if both ends are open? (Speed of sound in air is 340 m s-1).
For the travelling harmonic wave
y (x, t) = 2.0 cos 2π (10t - 0.0080 x + 0.35)
Where x and y are in cm and t in s. Calculate the phase difference between oscillatory motion of two points separated by a distance of
(a) 4 m,
(b) 0.5 m,
(c) λ / 2 ,
(d) 3λ / 4
Some of the most profound statements on the nature of science have come from Albert Einstein, one of the greatest scientists of all time. What do you think did Einstein mean when he said : “The most incomprehensible thing about the world is that it is comprehensible”?
The sign of work done by a force on a body is important to understand. State carefully if the following quantities are positive or negative:
(a) work done by a man in lifting a bucket out of a well by means of a rope tied to the bucket.
(b) work done by gravitational force in the above case,
(c) work done by friction on a body sliding down an inclined plane,
(d) work done by an applied force on a body moving on a rough horizontal plane with uniform velocity,
(e) work done by the resistive force of air on a vibrating pendulum in bringing it to rest.
A geyser heats water flowing at the rate of 3.0 litres per minute from 27 °C to 77 °C. If the geyser operates on a gas burner, what is the rate of consumption of the fuel if its heat of combustion is 4.0 x 104 J/g?
Estimate the fraction of molecular volume to the actual volume occupied by oxygen gas at STP. Take the diameter of an oxygen molecule to be 3Å.
To maintain a rotor at a uniform angular speed of 200 rad s–1, an engine needs to transmit a torque of 180 Nm. What is the power required by the engine?
(Note: uniform angular velocity in the absence of friction implies zero torque. In practice, applied torque is needed to counter frictional torque). Assume that the engine is 100 % efficient.
Just as precise measurements are necessary in science, it is equally important to be able to make rough estimates of quantities using rudimentary ideas and common observations. Think of ways by which you can estimate the following (where an estimate is difficult to obtain, try to get an upper bound on the quantity):
(a) the total mass of rain-bearing clouds over India during the Monsoon
(b) the mass of an elephant
(c) the wind speed during a storm
(d) the number of strands of hair on your head
(e) the number of air molecules in your classroom.
An air bubble of volume 1.0 cm3 rises from the bottom of a lake 40 m deep at a temperature of 12 °C. To what volume does it grow when it reaches the surface, which is at a temperature of 35 °C?
Figures 14.29 correspond to two circular motions. The radius of the circle, the period of revolution, the initial position, and the sense of revolution (i.e. clockwise or anti-clockwise) are indicated on each figure.
Obtain the corresponding simple harmonic motions of the x-projection of the radius vector of the revolving particle P, in each case.
Does it matter if one uses gauge instead of absolute pressures in applying Bernoulli's equation? Explain.
A pebble of mass 0.05 kg is thrown vertically upwards. Give the direction and magnitude of the net force on the pebble,
(a) during its upward motion,
(b) during its downward motion,
(c) at the highest point where it is momentarily at rest.
Do your answers change if the pebble was thrown at an angle of 45° with the horizontal direction? Ignore air resistance.
A calorie is a unit of heat or energy and it equals about 4.2 J where 1J = 1 kg m2s–2. Suppose we employ a system of units in which the unit of mass equals α kg, the unit of length equals β m, the unit of time is γ s. Show that a calorie has a magnitude 4.2 α–1 β– 2 γ2 in terms of the new units.
An electric heater supplies heat to a system at a rate of 100W. If system performs work at a rate of 75 Joules per second. At what rate is the internal energy increasing?
Figure 3.25 gives a speed-time graph of a particle in motion along a constant direction. Three equal intervals of time are shown. In which interval is the average acceleration greatest in magnitude? In which interval is the average speed greatest? Choosing the positive direction as the constant direction of motion, give the signs of v and a in the three intervals. What are the accelerations at the points A, B, C and D?