Science (English Medium) Class 11 - CBSE Question Bank Solutions for Physics

A steel wire has a length of 12.0 m and a mass of 2.10 kg. What should be the tension in the wire so that speed of a transverse wave on the wire equals the speed of sound in dry air at 20 °C = 343 m s^–1.

Use the formula `v = sqrt((gamma P)/rho)` to explain why the speed of sound in air increases with humidity.

You have learnt that a travelling wave in one dimension is represented by a function y= f (x, t)where x and t must appear in the combination x – v t or x + v t, i.e. y = f (x ± v t). Is the converse true? Examine if the following functions for y can possibly represent a travelling wave:

(a) `(x – vt )^2`

(b) `log [(x + vt)/x_0]`

(c) `1/(x + vt)`

A bat emits an ultrasonic sound of frequency 1000 kHz in the air. If the sound meets a water surface, what is the wavelength of the transmitted sound? The speed of sound in air is 340 m s^–1 and in water 1486 m s^–1.

A hospital uses an ultrasonic scanner to locate tumours in a tissue. What is the wavelength of sound in the tissue in which the speed of sound is 1.7 km s^–1? The operating frequency of the scanner is 4.2 MHz.

For the wave described in Exercise 15.8, plot the displacement (y) versus (t) graphs for x = 0, 2 and 4 cm. What are the shapes of these graphs? In which aspects does the oscillatory motion in travelling wave differ from one point to another: amplitude, frequency or phase?

For the travelling harmonic wave

y (x, t) = 2.0 cos 2π (10t – 0.0080x + 0.35)

Where x and y are in cm and t in s. Calculate the phase difference between oscillatory motion of two points separated by a distance of `(3λ)/4`.

(i) For the wave on a string described in Exercise 15.11, do all the points on the string oscillate with the same (a) frequency, (b) phase, (c) amplitude? Explain your answers. (ii) What is the amplitude of a point 0.375 m away from one end?

A wire stretched between two rigid supports vibrates in its fundamental mode with a frequency of 45 Hz. The mass of the wire is 3.5 × 10^–2 kg and its linear mass density is 4.0 × 10^–2 kg m^–1. What is (a) the speed of a transverse wave on the string, and (b) the tension in the string?

A metre-long tube open at one end, with a movable piston at the other end, shows resonance with a fixed frequency source (a tuning fork of frequency 340 Hz) when the tube length is 25.5 cm or 79.3 cm. Estimate the speed of sound in air at the temperature of the experiment. The edge effects may be neglected.

A steel rod 100 cm long is clamped at its middle. The fundamental frequency of longitudinal vibrations of the rod is given to be 2.53 kHz. What is the speed of sound in steel?

A train, standing at the outer signal of a railway station blows a whistle of frequency 400 Hz in still air. (i) What is the frequency of the whistle for a platform observer when the train (a) approaches the platform with a speed of 10 m s^–1, (b) recedes from the platform with a speed of 10 m s^–1? (ii) What is the speed of sound in each case? The speed of sound in still air can be taken as 340 m s^–1.

A train, standing in a station-yard, blows a whistle of frequency 400 Hz in still air. The wind starts blowing in the direction from the yard to the station with at a speed of 10 m s^–1. What are the frequency, wavelength, and speed of sound for an observer standing on the station’s platform? Is the situation exactly identical to the case when the air is still and the observer runs towards the yard at a speed of 10 m s^–1? The speed of sound in still air can be taken as 340 m s^–1.

A SONAR system fixed in a submarine operates at a frequency 40.0 kHz. An enemy submarine moves towards the SONAR with a speed of 360 km h^–1. What is the frequency of sound reflected by the submarine? Take the speed of sound in water to be 1450 m s^–1.

Earthquakes generate sound waves inside the earth. Unlike a gas, the earth can experience both transverse (S) and longitudinal (P) sound waves. Typically the speed of S wave is about 4.0 km s^–1, and that of P wave is 8.0 km s^–1. A seismograph records P and S waves from an earthquake. The first P wave arrives 4 min before the first S wave. Assuming the waves travel in straight line, at what distance does the earthquake occur?

Is it possible for a particle to describe a curved path if no force acts on it? Does your answer depend on the frame of reference chosen to view the particle?

It is sometimes heard that the inertial frame of reference is only an ideal concept and no such inertial frame actually exists. Comment.

The figure shows a light spring balance connected to two blocks of mass 20 kg each. The graduations in the balance measure the tension in the spring. (a) What is the reading of the balance? (b) Will the reading change if the balance is heavy, say 2.0 kg? (c) What will happen if the spring is light but the blocks have unequal masses?

The acceleration of a particle is zero, as measured from an inertial frame of reference. Can we conclude that no force acts on the particle? 

Consider a book lying on a table. The weight of the book and the normal force by the table in the book are equal in magnitude and opposite in direction. Is this an example of Newton's third law?