Question

A particularly beautiful note reaching your ear from a rare Stradivarius violin has a wavelength of 39.1 cm. The room is slightly warm, so the speed of sound is 344 m/s. Part A If the string's linear density is 0.660 g/mg/m and the tension is 160 NN , how long is the vibrating section of the violin string

Answer 1

Given Information:  

Wavelength =  λ = 39.1 cm = 0.391 m

speed of sound = v = 344 m/s

linear density = μ = 0.660 g/m = 0.00066 kg/m

tension = T = 160 N

Required Information:

Length of the vibrating string = L = ?

Answer:

Length of the vibrating string = 0.28 m

Explanation:

The frequency of beautiful note is

f = v/λ

f = 344/0.391

f = 879.79 Hz

As we know, the speed of the wave is

v = √T/μ

v = √160/0.00066

v = 492.36 m/s

The wavelength of the string is

λ = v/f

λ = 492.36/879.79

λ = 0.5596 m

and finally the length of the vibrating string is

λ = 2L

L = λ/2

L = 0.5596/2

L = 0.28 m

Therefore, the vibrating section of the violin string is 0.28 m long.