228,855 views
32 votes
32 votes
HELP‼️‼️ A car horn creates a 595 Hz tone at rest. Two cars pass on the street, each going 20.0 m/s; the first car honks. What frequency does the other car hear before they pass each other?

User Bojin Li
by
2.7k points

1 Answer

17 votes
17 votes

Final answer:

The frequency heard by the other car is 595 Hz.

Step-by-step explanation:

The phenomenon you are asking about is known as the Doppler effect. When two objects are moving relative to each other, the frequency of the sound wave emitted by one object is perceived differently by the other object. In this case, the first car's horn creates a 595 Hz tone at rest. As the two cars pass each other, the second car hears a different frequency due to their relative motion.

To calculate the frequency heard by the second car, we can use the formula for the Doppler effect:

f' = f * (v + vr) / (v + vs)

Where f is the frequency at rest (595 Hz), v is the speed of sound (343 m/s), and vr and vs are the speeds of the second car and the first car, respectively. Since both cars are moving in the same direction, the relative speed is the difference of their speeds, which is (vs - vr). Plugging in the values, we get:

f' = 595 * (343 + 20) / (343 + 20)

f' = 595 * 363 / 363

f' = 595 Hz

Therefore, the frequency heard by the second car is also 595 Hz.

User Pierre Houston
by
2.6k points