Question

Sammy is conducting an experiment to see what will happen when she changes the frequency of one of the strings on her guitar, which is made out of wood. What happens to the sound waves coming from the guitar when the string is adjusted to match the frequency of the wood?

Answer 1

The sound wave produces a vibrating object. In this case, the vibrating string strings put the surrounding air molecules into vibrational motion. The frequency at which vibrates air molecules is equal to the frequency of the guitar strings. Vibrations of air molecules are temporary, and after a while, they return to their original position. Vibrations of air molecules create a wave of pressure that travels outside its source. This pressure creates compressions and rarefactions. Due to this pressure, the air molecules compress in a small space. Replacing compression and rarefactons is actually a sound wave. In this sense, the sound wave transfers energy from one place to another without the transport of matter. By increasing the frequency of the strings, the frequency of the vibrating air molecules increases and a louder sound is obtained.

The guitar string does not produce a high frequency by itself, and therefore the surrounding air molecules very little vibrate and produce a sound that is not loud. When the strings are attached to the acoustic guitar box, which is made of wood, then the guitar wood begins vibrating with the same frequency as the strings. Due to the large surface of the wooden guitar box, which vibrates with the same frequency as the strings, the box starts to mobilize a much larger number of air molecules to vibrate, thereby gaining a louder sound.

Answer 2

The correct answer to this open question is the following.

What happens to the sound waves coming from the guitar when the string is adjusted to match the frequency of the wood is that the air molecules are going to adapt to the vibration of the new vibration of the string. The sound wave is going to adjust to this new pattern of rarefactions and compressions. The string of the guitar vibrates at the same frequency of the sound vox of the guitar.