A tuning fork has been damaged and its frequency slightly changed. What could its altered frequency be if it produces two beats per second with a tuning fork that is known to vibrate at 422 Hz? Lowest frequency? Highest frequency?
422 + 2 or 422 -2
so
420 or 424
To determine the altered frequency of a damaged tuning fork that produces two beats per second with a known frequency tuning fork, we can use the concept of beat frequency.
Beat frequency is the difference in frequencies between two vibrating sources that are slightly out of tune. In this case, the known frequency tuning fork is vibrating at 422 Hz. The beat frequency is given as two beats per second, which means the altered tuning fork's frequency is either slightly higher or lower than the known frequency.
We can solve this problem by considering the lowest and highest possible frequencies for the damaged tuning fork.
1. Lowest Frequency:
To find the lowest frequency, we need to subtract the beat frequency from the known frequency:
Lowest Frequency = Known Frequency - Beat Frequency
Substituting the given values:
Lowest Frequency = 422 Hz - 2 Hz = 420 Hz
Therefore, the lowest frequency of the damaged tuning fork could be 420 Hz.
2. Highest Frequency:
To find the highest frequency, we need to add the beat frequency to the known frequency:
Highest Frequency = Known Frequency + Beat Frequency
Substituting the given values:
Highest Frequency = 422 Hz + 2 Hz = 424 Hz
Therefore, the highest frequency of the damaged tuning fork could be 424 Hz.
To summarize:
- The altered frequency of the damaged tuning fork could be around 420 Hz (lowest frequency) or 424 Hz (highest frequency) if it produces two beats per second with a tuning fork vibrating at 422 Hz.