Question

Your TA has a set of tuning forks with "unknown" frequencies. He/she will come around and record a waveform on your computer of two unknown tuning forks being sounded together. Your task is to determine the frequency of the two forks. Report your answer in your informal report; include an explanation of how you determined the frequencies.

Answer 1

To identify the frequency of two unknown tuning forks, use beat frequency by comparing each with a known fork. The difference between the known frequency and the beat frequency gives the unknown fork's possible frequencies.

Step-by-step explanation:

To determine the frequency of two unknown tuning forks, you can use the concept of beat frequencies which occur when two sound waves of slightly different frequencies interfere with each other. The beat frequency is equal to the absolute value of the difference between the two frequencies. If you have tuning forks of known frequencies and you produce sounds together with each unknown tuning fork, you can listen for the beat frequency. For instance, if a known 250 Hz tuning fork and an unknown fork create a beat frequency of 5 Hz, the unknown fork's frequency could be either 245 Hz or 255 Hz. Similarly, if a 270 Hz fork and the unknown fork create a beat frequency of 15 Hz, the unknown fork's frequency could then only be 255 Hz, as it is the only frequency that fits both scenarios. Therefore, the unknown fork has a frequency of 255 Hz. This method can be used to find the frequency of any tuning fork if you have at least one other fork of a known frequency.