Question

A car has two horns, one emitting a frequency of 199 Hz and the other emitting a frequency of 203 Hz. What beat frequency do they produce?

Short answer

The beat frequency produced by the two horns is 4 Hz.

Step-by-step solution

Introduction

We calculate beat frequency of two horns as we know that beat frequency is modulus of difference of two frequencies.

 Given parameters and formula for beat frequency

Frequency of first horn \( = 199 Hz\)

Frequency of second horn \( = 203 Hz\)

Beat frequency \(f = \left| {{f_1} - {f_2}} \right|\)

Here,

\({f_1},{f_2}\)- frequency of 2 sources.

\(f\)- beat frequency.

 Calculate beat frequency

Beat frequency of two horns is

\(\begin{align}{}f &= \left| {{f_1} - {f_2}} \right|\\f &= \left| {199 - 203} \right|Hz\\f &= 4Hz\end{align}\)

Therefore, the beat frequency produced by the two horns 4Hz.