Question

A loudspeaker in a parked car is producing sound whose frequency is 20 510 Hz. A healthy young person with normal hearing is standing nearby on the sidewalk but cannot hear the sound because the frequency is too high. When the car is moving, however, this person can hear the sound. (a) Is the car moving toward or away from the person

Answer 1

The car must be moving away from the person.

Step-by-step explanation:

From Doppler's Effect, we know that when a sound source moves towards a stationary observer, the apparent frequency of that sound increases. While the apparent frequency decreases if the source moves away from the stationary observer.

The audible range of frequencies for a human ear is 20 Hz to 20000 Hz. Therefore, in order for the sound of a loud speaker to be audible for the person, the frequency must decrease below 20000 Hz.

Due to this reason, the car must be moving away from the person.