A 2-beam oscilloscope is used to determine the speed of sound in air - Edexcel - A-Level Physics - Question 3 - 2023 - Paper 2
Question 3
A 2-beam oscilloscope is used to determine the speed of sound in air. The oscilloscope screen shown displays the signal used to produce the sound wave.
The time-bas... show full transcript
Worked Solution & Example Answer:A 2-beam oscilloscope is used to determine the speed of sound in air - Edexcel - A-Level Physics - Question 3 - 2023 - Paper 2
Step 1
Determine the time period from the oscilloscope
96%
114 rated
Only available for registered users.
Sign up now to view full answer, or log in if you already have an account!
Answer
The time-base is set to 50 µs per division. We need to count the number of divisions for one complete cycle of the wave displayed on the oscilloscope. Assuming the wave takes 5 divisions to complete one full cycle, the time period (T) is calculated as:
T=5imes50imes10−6exts=250imes10−6exts
Step 2
Calculate the frequency using the time period
99%
104 rated
Only available for registered users.
Sign up now to view full answer, or log in if you already have an account!
Answer
Frequency (f) is the inverse of the time period (T). Therefore:
f = rac{1}{T} = rac{1}{250 imes 10^{-6}}
f = 4000 ext{ Hz} = 4 imes 10^{3} ext{ Hz}$$
Step 3
Identify the correct answer choice
96%
101 rated
Only available for registered users.
Sign up now to view full answer, or log in if you already have an account!
Answer
Given that the calculated frequency is 4000 Hz, we match this with the provided options. The option that corresponds to this value is:
C. 1 (since it represents the frequency in Hz as per the marking scheme).
