The Symphony of Physics

Mechanical Waves and Sound

Aldrin Bula Glenard Fontanilla Lourie Buenaventura

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The Symphony of Physics
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 Table of Contents
Chapter 1 - Waves
1.1 Mechanical Waves
1.2 Simple Harmonic Motion

Chapter 2 - Sound
2.1 Energy Transport

Chapter 3 Interference and Sound

Chapter 4 Standing Waves

4.1 Nodes

Chapter 5 Doppler Effect

Index

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 Preface
This module was named The
Symphony of Physics because it
discusses the field of physics which
relates to the nature of sound. When
waves are produced beautifully, musical
notes are released. Thus, the waves
must be related to music as the basic
foundation of sound.
When we discovered how these waves
work, how they oscillate, we learn to
harness them and provide the world
with the gift of music. Different
Frequencies produce different sounds.
So, its wide variety supplements the
world.
History has it that even musical
geniuses like Wolfgang Amadeus
Mozart, Ludwig Van Beethoven, Pyotr
Illyich Tchaikovsky, Johann Sebastian
Bach, and many more understand the
physics of music because it has
become a fundamental to all musicians.
These sounds that are produced by
The Symphony of Physics
Mechanical Waves and Sound
musical instruments are then mixed
with a neighboring sound (or a sound
with a higher or lower pitch) to create
harmony. These harmonies are set of
combinations of musical notes that can
be beautifully interpreted depending on
the intonation of the musicians of an
orchestra. Then, the harmonies that are
produced are then continued in a
progression. Once the orchestral
musicians finish a bar, they then
proceed to the other. When they finish
performing all of the movements of a
piece, a symphony was played.
A symphony is a musical composition
for a full orchestra. With the different
sounds produced by various orchestral
instruments, beautiful sound is
produced.
All the sound is understood through
physics; therefore, mechanical waves
are, indeed, the symphony of physics.
This module was completed as a
requirement for General Physics 1 and
was submitted to our subject instructor,
Ms. Ma. Leonora Theresa M. Aguilar.
Submitted by Aldrin Bula, Glenard
Fontanilla, and Lourie Buenaventura of
Grade 12 E, Academic Year 2017-
2018.
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 PRETEST

Test your inner physicist with these general physics questions!

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 1.1 Mechanical Waves

Chapter

1
1.1 Mechanical Waves
1.2 Simple Harmonic Motion
1.3
Figure 1 A rainbow slinky is a great example of a wave

Waves are everywhere. Whether we recognize it or not, we

encounter waves on a daily basis. Sound waves, visible light
waves, radio waves, microwaves, water waves, sine waves,
cosine waves, stadium waves, earthquake waves, waves on a
string, and slinky waves and are just a few of the examples of
At the end of this chapter, our daily encounters with waves.
you should be able to
answer the following A wave can be described as a disturbance that travels
questions: through a medium from one location to another location.
Consider a slinky wave as an example of a wave. When the
What are waves? slinky is stretched from end to end and is held at rest, it
What are mechanical assumes a natural position known as the equilibrium or rest
waves? position. The coils of the slinky naturally assume this position,
What is a medium? spaced equally far apart. To introduce a wave into the slinky,
What is a sound? the first particle is displaced or moved from its equilibrium or
What is simple rest position. The particle might be moved upwards or
harmonic motion? downwards, forwards or backwards; but once moved, it is
returned to its original equilibrium or rest position. The act of
moving the first coil of the slinky in a given direction and then
returning it to its equilibrium position creates a disturbance in
the slinky. We can then observe this disturbance moving
through the slinky from one end to the other. If the first coil of
the slinky is given a single back-and-forth vibration, then we
call the observed motion of the disturbance through the slinky
a slinky pulse. A pulse is a single disturbance moving through
a medium from one location to another location. However, if
the first coil of the slinky is continuously and periodically
vibrated in a back-and-forth manner, we would observe a
repeating disturbance moving within the slinky that endures
over some prolonged period of time. The repeating and
periodic disturbance that moves through a medium from one
location to another is referred to as a wave.

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 A mechanical wave is a wave that is not capable of
transmitting its energy through a vacuum. Mechanical
waves require a medium in order to transport their
energy from one location to another. A sound wave is an
example of a mechanical wave. Sound waves are
incapable of traveling through a vacuum. Slinky waves,
water waves, stadium waves, and jump rope waves are
Figure 3 A drop of water forms a ripple
other examples of mechanical waves; each requires
some medium in order to exist. A slinky wave requires
the coils of the slinky; a water wave requires water; a
stadium wave requires fans in a stadium; and a jump
rope wave requires a jump rope.

It is also a wave that is an oscillation of matter and is

responsible for transfer of energy through a medium.
The distance of the waves propagation is limited by the
medium of transmission. In this case, the oscillating
material moves about a fixed point and there is very
little translational motion. One interesting property of
mechanical waves is the way they are measured, given
by displacement divided by wavelength. This
dimensionless factor when it reaches 1, results in

Figure 2 generation of harmonic effects; for example, waves

break on the beach when this factor exceeds one,
resulting in turbulence.

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 1.2 Simple Harmonic Motion
A common, very important, and very basic kind of oscillatory
motion is simple harmonic motion such as the motion of an
object attached to a spring. In equilibrium, the spring exerts no
force on the object. When the object is displaced an amount x
from its equilibrium position, the spring exerts a force -kx, as
given by Hookes Law:
=
Where k is the force constant of the spring, a measure of the
springs stiffness. The minus sign indicates that the force is a
restoring force; that is, it is opposite to the direction of the
displacement from the equilibrium position. Combining this
equation with Newtons second law (F=ma) we have

Or

The acceleration is proportional to the displacement and is

oppositely directed. This is the defining characteristic harmonic
motion and can be used to identify systems that will fexhibit it:

Whenever the acceleration of an object is

proportional to its displacement and is
oppositely directed, the object will move with
simple harmonic motion.
Because the acceleration is proportional to the net force,
whenever the net force on an object is proportional to its
displacement and is oppositely directed, the object will move
with simple harmonic motion.

The time it takes for a displaced object to execute a complete

cycle of oscillatory motion from one extreme to the other
extreme and back is called the period T. The reciprocal of the
period is the frequency f, which is the number of cycles per
second:
1
=

The unit of frequency is the cycle per second (cy/s), which is
called a hertz (Hz). For example, if the time for one complete
cycle of oscillation is 0.25 s, the frequency is 4 Hz.

Figure shows how we can experimentally obtain x versus t for a

mass on a spring. The general equation for such a curve is

= cos( + )

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 Where A, w, and are constants. The maximum displacement
xmax from equilibrium is called amplitude A. The argument of the
cosine function, + , is which is the phase at t = 0.

Note that cos( + ) = sin( + + 2 ); thus, whether the
equation is expressed as a cosine function or a sine function
simply depends on the phase of the oscillation at the moment we
designate to be t = 0.

The formula to find the period of oscillation is

1 1
= =
2

Where k is the force constant of the spring and m is the mass of

the object on a spring.

Sample Problem 1
What is the period of oscillation of a mass of 40 kg on a spring
with constant k = 10 N/m?

1 1
Since = = = 2
2

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The Symphony of Physics
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1.2 Energy Transport
A medium is a substance or material that carries the wave. A
wave medium is the substance that carries a wave (or
disturbance) from one location to another. The wave medium is
not the wave and it doesn't make the wave; it merely carries or
transports the wave from its source to other locations. In the
case of our slinky wave, the medium through that the wave
travels is the slinky coils
Figure 4 Transverse Waves and Longitudinal
Waves

When a wave is present in a medium (that is, when there is a

disturbance moving through a medium), the individual particles
of the medium are only temporarily displaced from their rest
position. There is always a force acting upon the particles that
restores them to their original position.

Waves are said to be an energy transport phenomenon. As a

disturbance moves through a medium from one particle to its
adjacent particle, energy is being transported from one end of
the medium to the other.

This characteristic of a wave as an energy transport

phenomenon distinguishes waves from other types of
phenomenon. A wave transports its energy without transporting
matter.

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The Symphony of Physics
Mechanical Waves and Sound
 4.1. Standing Wave
Chapter Standing wave,
combination of two
directions, each havi
frequency. The phe

4
interferencethat
superimposed, their
together or cancelled
moving in the sa
produces a travelling
waves, interference p
Standing Wave fixed in space.

At the end of this chapter,

you should be able to
answer the following
questions:

What is standing
wave?
What are the
formulas ? Figure 4.1. A wave pulse mov
upon hitting a rigid barrier.
How to calculate
standing wave?
When a wave
with another wave
resulting wave is
individual waves th
upward wave pulse m
in figure. Because
direction, its phase is
a rigid barrier, the re
the left and is inv
Because it is moving
rad out of phase w
pulse, its phase is giv

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The Symphony of Physics
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 What are the nodes and anti nodes

Now, instead of a single wave pulse, if one end of the string is continuously
moved up and down, the incident wave will interfere in an interference wave. This
will result in an interference pattern shown in figure 4.2. This is called a standing
wave. The points in a wave where the particles are relatively at rest are called the
nodes, and the positions of maximum transverse displacement are called the
antinodes.
One characteristic of every standing
wave pattern is that there are points along the
medium that appear to be standing still. These
points, sometimes described as points of no
displacement, are referred to as nodes. There
are other points along the medium that
undergo vibrations between a large positive
and large negative displacement. These are
the points that undergo the maximum
displacement during each vibrational cycle of
the standing wave. In a sense, these points are
the opposite of nodes, and so they are called
antinodes.

A standing wave pattern always consists of an alternating pattern of nodes

and antinodes. The animation shown below depicts a rope vibrating with a standing
wave pattern. The nodes and antinodes are labeled on the diagram. When a
standing wave pattern is established in a medium, the nodes and the antinodes are
always located at the same position along the medium; they are standing still. It is
this characteristic that has earned the pattern the name standing wave.

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 Example: Find the wave function that describes a standing
transverse wave.

Solution: You can find the wave function of a standing wave using
the principle of superposition. Here, you can simply add the wave
functions for the incident and the reflected waves. Let the incident wave
be moving toward the +x-axis. Its function y,(x,t) is
1 (, ) = ( )
The reflected wave for this incident wave is moving toward the x
direction and the rad out of phase. Thus, its wave function 1 (, ) can
be written as
1 (, ) = ( + + )
Using the principle of superposition, he wave function for the
standing wave is
1 (, ) = (, ) + (, )
1 (, ) = ( ) + ( + )
Using the relation cos( + ) = , you have
(, ) = ( ) ( + )
You can expand this by noting that cos( ) = cos cos
sin sin . This gives
(, ) = [ cos + sin sin cos()
+ sin sin()]
This simplifies to
(, ) = sin

= 2

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The Symphony of Physics
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 This wave function for a standing transverse wave can be interpreted as follows:

1. The amplitude of the standing wave is twice the amplitude of the

incident wave and the reflected wave.
2. The term sin means that the shape of the standing wave is sinusoidal.
3. The term sin means that the particles oscillate up and down (as time
progresses). But unlike the case of a traveling wave, the particles in
standing wave are moving in phase shown in figure 4.3.

Figure 4.3

Example:
Consider a standing wave with wavelength on a string having an
indefinite length as shown in the figure. In terms of , find the positions x of the
nodes and the antinodes.

To find the nodes, set (, ) = 0:

(, ) = sin sin = 0

sin = 0 sin = 0

Because you are concerned with displacements, you use sin sin =
0. .
= 1 0 = 0, , 2, [ = 1,2,3, . . ]
2
= [ = 1,2,3, ]


= [ = 1,2,3, ]
2

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The Symphony of Physics
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 You can see that the nodes can be found at
3
= 0, , , , 2,
2 2
To find the antinodes, set (, ) = as follows:
(, ) = sin sin =
Solving for x gives
3 5
= 1 1 = , , , [ = 1,3,5, ]
2 2 2 2
2
= [ = 1,3,5, ]
2

= [ = 1,3,5, ]
4
So the antinodes can be seen at positions
3 5
= , , ,
4 4 4

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