Question

Bearing in mind that a sound reflects off an object if the object is larger than the wavelength of the sound, calculate the wavelength of a sound in the air for a sound in the middle of the human hearing range. Then calculate the wavelength for a sound in the middle of the bat hearing range. If you had to use echolocation to detect an insect, which sound has an advantage

Answer 1

mucilage can detect objects the size of millimeters, whereas humans can only detect objects larger than centimeters

Step-by-step explanation:

The human ear can detect sound in the range of 20 to 20000hz, we are asked to find the mid-range wavelength of the ear at f = 10000 Hz

let's use the relationship between wave speed, wavelength and frequency

v = λ f

λ= v / f

λ = 343/10000

λ = 3.43 10⁻² m

the sound range of a bat is between 25 10³ Hz and 100 10³ Hz, they also ask for the wavelength in the middle range

f = (100 10³ + 25 10³) / 2

f = 62.5 10³ Hz

λ = 343 / 62.5 10³

λ = 5.5 10⁻³ m

Therefore the size of the object that a bat can detect is much smaller than the size that a human can detect, therefore the bat is capable of detecting insects, but humans.

The mucilage can detect objects the size of millimeters, whereas humans can only detect objects larger than centimeters