Transverse Waves

[sdb09]

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Just wanted to repost this question here...posted it in the Kaplan MCAT forum and didn't get any responses but wanted to see if any of you guys had any insight...thanks SO much!

I was wondering if anyone had any insight for a question on transverse waves. The question asked what would you increase in order to increase the speed at which a transverse wave travels on a rope?

The correct answer is tension. I don't understand the relationship as to how that would occur. also I was confused as to why you couldn't increase wavelength becuase of the equation relating v = frequency * wavelength

Thanks!

 

[mosquitoman]

if you increase the wavelength, freq would change as well which would keep velocity the same

if you make the rop tighter, you are kind of decreasing its length

since lambda is 2L/n [thanks for the fix spyder]
as length decreases, wavelength decreases [f is the same here] and V decreases

 

[spyderracing32]

The only way to change the velocity of a wave is to change the material through which it travels. Increasing the tension of the string effectively changes the medium through which the wave travels. The formula is v=sqrt(T/"mu") where "mu" (that is the greek letter, not several different variables) is the mass per unit length of the string. I don't think you'll have to have this formula memorized. Just know that velocity only changes with a changing medium through which it travels.

You could think about it in terms of what mosquitoman said, but the equation is lambda = (2L)/n (where n is the mode of oscillation).

 

[Kaustikos]

The only way to change the velocity of a wave is to change the material through which it travels. Increasing the tension of the string effectively changes the medium through which the wave travels. The formula is v=sqrt(T/"mu") where "mu" (that is the greek letter, not several different variables) is the mass per unit length of the string. I don't think you'll have to have this formula memorized. Just know that velocity only changes with a changing medium through which it travels.

You could think about it in terms of what mosquitoman said, but the equation is lambda = (2L)/n (where n is the mode of oscillation).

And that the traveling of waves through water/gas varies differently as well. Here you have to deal with density, Bulk Modulus, Pressure and Temperature. A Density increase would decrease the velocity of said wave, and the opposite holds true.
For air/gas medium, an increase in temperature would result in an increase in velocity of the wave.