Question

) Music. When a person sings, his or her vocal cords vibrate in a repetitive pattern that has the same frequency as the note that is sung. If someone sings the note B flat, which has a frequency of 466 Hz, how much time does it take the person’s vocal cords to vibrate through one complete cycle, and what is the angular frequency of the cords? (b) Hearing. When sound waves strike the eardrum, this membrane vibrates with the same frequency as the sound. The highest pitch that young humans can hear has a period of 50.0 ms. What are the frequency and angular frequency of the vibrating eardrum for this sound? (c) Vision. When light having vibrations with angular frequency ranging from 2.7 * 1015 rad>s to 4.7 * 1015 rad>s strikes the retina of the eye, it stimulates the receptor cells there and is perceived as visible light. What are the limits of the period and frequency of this light? (d) Ultrasound. High-frequency sound waves (ultrasound) are used to probe the interior of the body, much as x rays do. To detect small objects such as tumors, a frequency of around 5.0 MHz is used. What are the period and angular frequency of the molecular vibrations caused by this pulse of sound?

Answer 1

(a) 0.0021 s, 2926.5 rad/s

The frequency of the B note is

$f= 466 Hz$

The time taken to make one complete cycle is equal to the period of the wave, which is the reciprocal of the frequency:

$T=\frac{1}{f}=\frac{1}{466 Hz}=0.0021 s$

The angular frequency instead is given by

$\omega = 2\pi f$

And substituting

f = 466 Hz

We find

$\omega = 2\pi (466 Hz)=2926.5 rad/s$

(b) 20 Hz, 125.6 rad/s

In this case, the period of the sound wave is

T = 50.0 ms = 0.050 s

So the frequency is equal to the reciprocal of the period:

$f=\frac{1}{T}=\frac{1}{0.050 s}=20 Hz$

While the angular frequency is given by:

$\omega = 2\pi f = 2 \pi (20 Hz)=125.6 rad/s$

(c) $4.30\cdot 10^{14} Hz, 7.48\cdot 1^{14} Hz, 2.33\cdot 10^{-15} s, 1.34\cdot 10^{-15}s$

The minimum angular frequency of the light wave is

$\omega_1 = 2.7\cdot 10^{15}rad/s$

so the corresponding frequency is

$f=\frac{\omega}{2 \pi}=\frac{2.7\cdot 10^{15}rad/s}{2\pi}=4.30\cdot 10^{14} Hz$

and the period is the reciprocal of the frequency:

$T=\frac{1}{f}=\frac{1}{4.30\cdot 10^{14}Hz}=2.33\cdot 10^{-15}s$

The maximum angular frequency of the light wave is

$\omega_2 = 4.7\cdot 10^{15}rad/s$

so the corresponding frequency is

$f=\frac{\omega}{2 \pi}=\frac{4.7\cdot 10^{15}rad/s}{2\pi}=7.48\cdot 10^{14} Hz$

and the period is the reciprocal of the frequency:

$T=\frac{1}{f}=\frac{1}{7.48\cdot 10^{14}Hz}=1.34\cdot 10^{-15}s$

(d) $2.0\cdot 10^{-7}s, 3.14\cdot 10^{7} rad/s$

In this case, the frequency is

$f=5.0 MHz = 5.0 \cdot 10^6 Hz$

So the period in this case is

$T=\frac{1}{f}=\frac{1}{5.0\cdot 10^6  Hz}=2.0 \cdot 10^{-7} s$

While the angular frequency is given by

$\omega = 2\pi f=2 \pi (5.0\cdot 10^{6}Hz)=3.14\cdot 10^{7} rad/s$