Doppler Effect for Sound Wave 1

Doppler Effect for Sound Wave

Michael A. Luna

Dyersburg State Community College

Doppler Effect for Sound Wave 2

Introduction

If a car or truck is moving while its horn is blowing, the frequency of the sound you hear

is higher as the vehicle approaches you and lower as it moves away from you. This phenomenon

is one example of the Doppler effect, named for Austrian physicist Christian Doppler

(1803–1853), who discovered it. The same effect is heard if you’re on a motorcycle and the horn

is stationary: the frequency is higher as you approach the source and lower as you move away.
Doppler Effect for Sound Wave 3

Procedures

1. An ambulance travels down a highway at a speed of 75.0 mi/h, its siren emitting sound at

a frequency of 400 Hz. What frequency is heard by a passenger in a car travelling at 55.0

mi/h in the opposite direction as the car (a) approaches? (b) Moves away from the

ambulance?

Results:​ For speed of sound of c=340m/s:

f'=f((c+Vr)/(c+Vs)) where Vr is speed of receiver (+ if moving towards source) and Vs is speed

of source (+ if moving away from receiver)

So A) 596Hz

B) 275Hz

2. A train moving at a speed of 40.0 m/s sounds its whistle, which has a frequency of 500
Hz. Determine the frequency heard by a stationary observer as the train approaches the
observer also find the frequency heard by the stationary observer as the train recedes
from the observer.
Results: ​ 500Hz 1/40m 1- / s 340m / s = 567Hz

Discussion/Conclusion

Although the Doppler effect is most often associated with sound, it’s common to all waves,

including light. In deriving the Doppler effect, we assume the air is stationary and that all speed

measurements are made relative to this stationary medium. In the general case, the speed of the

observer , the speed of the source , and the speed of sound are all measured relative to the

medium in which the sound is propagated.

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Section 2:

(a)​An experimenter wishes to generate in air a sound wave that has a displacement amplitude of
6.20 10​-6​ m. The pressure amplitude is to be limited to0.850 Pa. What is the minimum
wavelength the sound wave can have? (Take the equilibrium density of air to be ​ρ​ = 1.20 kg/m​3
and assume the speed of sound in air is ​v​ = 343 m/s.)
Results:​ For displacement amplitude(A), Pressure amplitude(P), density(p), sound velocity(v)

A= P/(2*pi*p*c*f); f=53.012 Hz ; c=f*l; wavelength(l)= 6.47m

(b)​ Calculate the pressure amplitude of a 2.80 kHz sound wave in air, assuming that the
displacement amplitude is equal to 2.00 ​✕​ 10​-8​ m.

Results: ​A= P/(2*pi*p*c*f); f=2.8*1000 Hz

P= 0.144 Pa

Since reference pressure level is 1.013*10​5​ Pa, Since reference pressure level is 1.013*10​5​ Pa,
[​Note​: Use the following values, as needed. The equilibrium density of air is ​ρ​ = 1.20 kg/m​3​.
The speed of sound in air is ​v​ = 343 m/s. Pressure variations Δ​P​ are measured relative to
atmospheric pressure, 1.013 ​✕​ 10​5​ Pa.]
(c)​ Earthquakes at fault lines in Earth's crust create seismic waves, which are longitudinal
(P-waves) or transverse (S-waves). The P-waves have a speed of about 9 km/s. Estimate the
average bulk modulus of Earth's crust given that the density of rock is about 2500 kg/m​3​.
Results:​ v= sqrt(B/p) ; B-bulk modulus

So, B= v​2​*p =2.025*10​11​ Pa

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