Question

when you strike two tuning forks simultaneously you hear three beats per second. the frequency of the first tuning fork is 440 hz. what is the frequency of the second tuning fork?

Answer 1

We have two possible values for the second tuning fork

443Hz and 337Hz

Step-by-step explanation:

When two waves of slightly different frequency interfere, they produce beats and the frequency of the beats (fb) is:

`f_(b)=\mid f_(1)-f_(2)\mid`

with f1 the frequency of the first tuning fork and f2 the frequency of the second tuning fork, so we should solve

`3=\440-f_(2)\mid`

note that it is the absolute vale of the rest between f1 and f2 so we have two equations and two possible values:

`3=440-f_(2)`

`f_(2)=337Hz`

and

`-3=440-f_(2)`

`f_(2)=443Hz`