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Chapter 16: Problem 5

Standing on the sidewalk, you listen to the horn of a passing car. As the car passes, the frequency of the sound changes from high to low in a continuous manner; that is, there is no abrupt change in the perceived frequency. This occurs because a) the pitch of the horn's sound changes continuously. b) the intensity of the observed sound changes continuously. c) you are not standing directly in the path of the moving car. d) of all of the above reasons.

Short Answer

Expert verified
Answer: The frequency of the car horn changes from high to low due to the Doppler Effect, which causes the observed frequency of the wave to change when the source of the wave and the observer are moving relative to each other. In this case, the pitch of the horn's sound changes continuously as the car approaches and moves away from the listener.

Step by step solution

01

Identify the correct answer through understanding the Doppler Effect

The Doppler Effect is a phenomenon that causes the observed frequency of a wave to change when the source of the wave and the observer are moving relative to each other. In this situation, the source of the wave (the car horn) is approaching and then moving away from the observer (the listener on the sidewalk). As a result, the observed frequency of the horn changes from high to low as the car passes by the listener. Let's analyze each given option. a) The pitch of the horn's sound changes continuously: This option seems reasonable because the Doppler Effect can cause a change in the perceived frequency (or pitch) of a sound wave as the source moves relative to the observer. b) The intensity of the observed sound changes continuously: This option is incorrect because the intensity of sound waves does not affect the observed frequency or pitch. c) You are not standing directly in the path of the moving car: This option is incorrect because the observer's position relative to the car's path is not the cause of the change in frequency. d) Of all of the above reasons: This option is incorrect because only option (a) correctly explains the change in the perceived frequency. Therefore, the correct answer is (a) the pitch of the horn's sound changes continuously.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

Consider a sound wave (that is, a longitudinal displacement wave) in an elastic medium with Young's modulus \(Y\) (solid) or bulk modulus \(B\) (fluid) and unperturbed density \(\rho_{0}\). Suppose this wave is described by the wave function \(\delta x(x, t),\) where \(\delta x\) denotes the displacement of a point in the medium from its equilibrium position, \(x\) is position along the path of the wave at equilibrium, and \(t\) is time. The wave can also be regarded as a pressure wave, described by wave function \(\delta p(x, t),\) where \(\delta p\) denotes the change of pressure in the medium from its equilibrium value. a) Find the relationship between \(\delta p(x, t)\) and \(\delta x(x, t),\) in general. b) If the displacement wave is a pure sinusoidal function, with amplitude \(A\), wave number \(\kappa,\) and angular frequency \(\omega,\) given by \(\delta x(x, t)=A \cos (\kappa x-\omega t)\) what is the corresponding pressure wave function, \(\delta p(x, t) ?\) What is the amplitude of the pressure wave?

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