A musician plays a guitar. This makes a sound wave in the air. (a) The frequency of the sound wave is 440Hz. The speed of sound is 330 m/s. Calculate the wavelength of the sound wave. Use the equation: wave speed = frequency × wavelength Wavelength = ........................................................... m (b) Explain how sound travels through the air from the guitar. Write about air particles in your answer. .......................................................................................................... .......................................................................................................... .......................................................................................................... (c) Fig. 18.1 is a graph of a sound wave. Fig. 18.1 Another sound wave has a higher frequency. The amplitude of the wave remains the same. Draw this sound wave on Fig. 18.2. Fig. 18.2

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A musician plays a guitar - OCR Gateway - GCSE Physics - Question 18 - 2021 - Paper 1

Question 18

A musician plays a guitar. This makes a sound wave in the air. (a) The frequency of the sound wave is 440Hz. The speed of sound is 330 m/s. Calculate the waveleng... show full transcript

Worked Solution & Example Answer:A musician plays a guitar - OCR Gateway - GCSE Physics - Question 18 - 2021 - Paper 1

Step 1

Calculate the wavelength of the sound wave.

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Answer

To find the wavelength, we use the formula:

$\text{wave speed} = \text{frequency} \times \text{wavelength}$

Rearranging the formula gives:

$\text{wavelength} = \frac{\text{wave speed}}{\text{frequency}}$

Substituting the known values:

$\text{wavelength} = \frac{330 \text{ m/s}}{440 \text{ Hz}}$

Calculating this results in:

$\text{wavelength} = 0.75 \text{ m}$

Step 2

Explain how sound travels through the air from the guitar.

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Answer

Sound travels as a longitudinal wave, meaning that the air particles oscillate parallel to the direction of energy transfer.

When the guitar string vibrates, it pushes and pulls on adjacent air particles, causing them to compress and rarefy, which creates a chain reaction.

These oscillations travel through the air, transferring energy from the vibrating string to the listener's ear.

Step 3

Draw this sound wave on Fig. 18.2.

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Answer

To draw the new sound wave, ensure that the wavelength is shorter than that of Fig. 18.1, reflecting the higher frequency while maintaining the same amplitude as shown, which remains constant at 1 mm. The resulting graph should display more cycles over the same distance, indicating the increased frequency.

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A musician plays a guitar - OCR Gateway - GCSE Physics - Question 18 - 2021 - Paper 1

Worked Solution & Example Answer:A musician plays a guitar - OCR Gateway - GCSE Physics - Question 18 - 2021 - Paper 1

Calculate the wavelength of the sound wave.

Explain how sound travels through the air from the guitar.

Draw this sound wave on Fig. 18.2.

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