23.3k views
0 votes
A train is moving away from an observer at 120.0 km/hr, and emitting a whistle at 800hz. Now consider the observer following behind the train. How fast must the observer move toward the train (km/hr) to hear a pitch of 750hz?

[?] km/hr

Hint: the speed of sound is 343 m/s

A train is moving away from an observer at 120.0 km/hr, and emitting a whistle at-example-1

1 Answer

4 votes

Answer: the observer needs to move toward the train at 82.3 km/hr to hear a pitch of 750 Hz.

Step-by-step explanation:

We can use the formula for the Doppler effect to solve this problem. The Doppler effect describes the change in frequency of a wave (such as sound) due to the relative motion of the source and observer. The formula for the Doppler effect in this case is:

f' = f (v + u) / (v + u')

where:

f is the frequency of the sound emitted by the train (800 Hz)

f' is the frequency of the sound heard by the observer (750 Hz)

v is the speed of sound (343 m/s)

u is the speed of the train (120.0 km/hr)

u' is the speed of the observer relative to the train (what we want to find)

We need to convert the speeds to the same units (m/s) to use the formula. We have:

u = 120.0 km/hr = (120.0 km/hr) * (1000 m/km) / (3600 s/hr) = 33.33 m/s

v = 343 m/s

f = 800 Hz

f' = 750 Hz

Now we can solve for u':

f' = f (v + u) / (v + u')

750 Hz = 800 Hz (343 m/s + 33.33 m/s) / (343 m/s + u')

750 Hz (343 m/s + u') = 800 Hz (343 m/s + 33.33 m/s)

257250 Hz + 750 u' = 274400 Hz

750 u' = 17150 Hz

u' = 22.86 m/s

Finally, we convert u' to km/hr:

u' = 22.86 m/s * (3600 s/hr) / (1000 m/km) = 82.3 km/hr

Therefore, the observer needs to move toward the train at 82.3 km/hr to hear a pitch of 750 Hz.

User Haoliang
by
7.7k points