Question

Average human ears can hear sound frequencies between 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz. If the speed of sound in air is 340m/s, then a human could hear which of the following wavelengths?o 25 mO 5.0 m0 0.01 m80 m

Answer 1

ANSWER:

5.0 m

STEP-BY-STEP EXPLANATION:

We must calculate the minimum distance and maximum distance to know which of these distances is correct.

We know that hearing a sound wave,

Speed = Wavelength x Frequency, therefore:

$\begin{gathered} v=\lambda\cdot f \\ \text{solving for }\lambda \\ \lambda=\frac{v}{f} \end{gathered}$

Maximum distance

$\lambda=\frac{340}{20}=17\text{ m}$

Minimum distance:

$\lambda=\frac{340}{20000}=0.017\text{ m}$

The only answer choice between 17 meters and 0.017 meters is 5 meters.