542

CHAPTER 16 Sound and Hearing

Beats: Beats are heard when two tones with slightly different frequencies a and b are sounded together. The
beat frequency beat is the difference between a and fb .

beat = fa - b

(16.24)

Displacement

(beat frequency)

t
t
Beat

Doppler effect: The Doppler effect for sound is the frequency shift that occurs when there is motion of a
source of sound, a listener, or both, relative to the
medium. The source and listener frequencies S and L
are related by the source and listener velocities vS and
vL relative to the medium and to the speed of sound v.
(See Examples 16.1416.18.)
Shock waves: A sound source moving with a speed vS
greater than the speed of sound v creates a shock wave.
The wave front is a cone with angle a. (See Example
16.19.)

BRIDGING PROBLEM

L =

v + vL
S
v + vS

(16.29)

L to S
!

(Doppler effect, moving source

and moving listener)

v
v

vL v

a vS b l
S
S
vS
v

sin a =

v
vS

(shock wave)

(16.31)
vS . v
a
Shock wave

Loudspeaker Interference

Loudspeakers A and B are 7.00 m apart and vibrate in phase at

172 Hz. They radiate sound uniformly in all directions. Their acoustic
power outputs are 8.00 10-4 W and 6.00 " 10-5 W, respectively.
The air temperature is 20C. (a) Determine the difference in phase of
the two signals at a point C along the line joining A and B, 3.00 m
from B and 4.00 m from A. (b) Determine the intensity and sound
intensity level at C from speaker A alone (with B turned off) and from
speaker B alone (with A turned off). (c) Determine the intensity and
sound intensity level at C from both speakers together.
SOLUTION GUIDE
See MasteringPhysics study area for a Video Tutor solution.

IDENTIFY and SET UP

1. Sketch the situation and label the distances between A, B, and C.
2. Choose the equations that relate power, distance from the
source, intensity, pressure amplitude, and sound intensity level.
3. Decide how you will determine the phase difference in part
(a). Once you have found the phase difference, how can you
use it to find the amplitude of the combined wave at C due to
both sources?

4. List the unknown quantities for each part of the problem and
identify your target variables.
EXECUTE
5. Determine the phase difference at point C.
6. Find the intensity, sound intensity level, and pressure amplitude at C due to each speaker alone.
7. Use your results from steps 5 and 6 to find the pressure amplitude at C due to both loudspeakers together.
8. Use your result from step 7 to find the intensity and sound
intensity level at C due to both loudspeakers together.
EVALUATE
9. How do your results from part (c) for intensity and sound
intensity level at C compare to those from part (b)? Does this
make sense?
10. What result would you have gotten in part (c) if you had
(incorrectly) combined the intensities from A and B directly,
rather than (correctly) combining the pressure amplitudes as
you did in step 7?