Analysis

Anything that vibrates can produce a wave. Whereas, a wave is defined as a

physical disturbance in space and time with the purpose of transporting energy from
on place to another. Mechanical wave is a disturbance that travels through some
material or substance called the medium for the wave. As the wave travels through
the medium undergo displacements of various kinds, depending on the nature of the
wave. One variety of mechanical wave is the transverse axis, which is the subject
that this study focusing on. It is the wave wherein the displacements of the medium
are perpendicular or transverse to the direction of travel of the wave along the
medium. The most familiar example of this wave on the surface of water. As the
wave travels in one direction, it is creating an up and down motion on the water’s
surface.

A transverse wave is a moving wave that consists of oscillations occurring

perpendicular (or right angled) to the direction of energy transfer. If a transverse
wave is moving in the positive x-direction, its oscillations are in up and down
directions that lie in the y–z plane.

In the experiment we have conducted, we will see the relationship of velocity,

frequency and wavelength. But since transverse wave is difficult to see, what the
experiment shows is a standing wave where a standing wave pattern is a vibrational
pattern created within a medium when the vibrational frequency of the source causes
reflected waves from one end of the medium to interfere with incident waves from
the source.

The study aimed to determine the frequency of vibration of a stretched string

and study how the frequency of vibrating string is affected by the tension and linear
mass density of the string. Through this study, the relationship between the
parameters acting on the vibrating string can be determined. Such parameters are the
linear mass density of the string, tension, numbers of segments produced, and its
length of string with complete number of segments.

Once the velocity of propagation is known, the frequency of vibration

produced by the string can be calculated the velocity for the transverse wave as a
function of the tension and the linear mass density of the medium which is:

𝑇
V=√ (eq. 1)
𝜇

through the generated wave equation, the relationship between the velocity,
frequency and wavelength is given by :

v=f ƛ (eq. 2)

wherein we can substitute the value of the velocity of the transverse wave,
thus, the general equation below:

1 𝑇
f= √ (eq. 3)
ƛ 𝜇

If we look more closely at a typical wave, we can see the periodic nature in
the shape of the wave itself. We'll put seconds along the horizontal axis, and the
vertical axis will measure the wave's vertical displacement. Just so we can talk about
the wave more clearly, we'll label it with letters at different points (See Figure 1).
The letters A and E show the low points of the wave, which we call troughs. The
letters C and G show the crests of
the wave. A full wave cycle is
defined as that portion of

Figure 1
the wave between two successive crests, or between two troughs. By looking at how
the crests and troughs line up with our horizontal axis, we can see that a full wave
cycle always takes the same amount of time. That's why we say that waves have a
periodic nature.

Vibrations are oscillating motions around a fixed position. When an object

vibrates, it exhibits a motion that repeats itself over the same path in a periodic
fashion. That is, the time it takes to complete one cycle of the vibration is always the
same.

Transverse wave assumes a sinusoidal wave pattern. This waveform is

visually represented by a standing wave, which is a result of superposition of two
traveling waves: the incident and the reflected waves. The standing waves are set up
in a stretched guitar string by the oscillations of an electrically-driven string vibrator.
By using different sizes of the strings, the dependency of frequency to the linear
mass density will be determined. Parameter like tension, number of segment formed
shall also be identified.

A transverse wave is a moving wave that consists of oscillations occurring

perpendicular (or right angled) to the direction of energy transfer. If a transverse
wave is moving in the positive x-direction, its oscillations are in up and down
directions that lie in the y–z plane. Transverse waves are always characterized by
particle motion being perpendicular to wave motion. It is a wave in which particles
of the medium move in a direction perpendicular to the direction which the wave
moves.

If a string, under tension, is connected to a harmonic oscillator, standing waves are

produced by the interference of two traveling waves. The waves travel down the
string to the other end and back that results to an alternating section of nodes and
antinodes. The node (N) and the antinode (A) refer to the regions of no vibration and
maximum vibration, respectively. The distance between two adjacent nodes is called
a segment. The length of two segments is the wavelength of the waves (See Figure
2).

Figure 2.
Changing the tension in the string, the length of the string, the diameter of the
string, and the linear density of the string will have an effect on its frequency of
vibration.

Table 1. Materials Used in the Experiment

Guitar strings

Sine Wave
Generator and
String Vibrator
Mass Hanger

Weights

Iron Stands

Pulley
Materials and Methods

In determining the frequency of vibration of the string , the following

materials were used: string vibrator which drives a cord to produce a standing wave,
since wave generator which is a mathematical function that describes a smooth
repetitive oscillation, iron stand with clamp, pulley, weights, mass hanger, extension
cord, meter stick, and 5 different sizes of guitar strings were the material that
experimented.

Figure 3. The setup of the materials used in performing the experiment.

We performed the experiment on an air cooled classroom. In the first part of

the experiment, we placed the sine wave generator and the string vibrator on an iron
stand. Then we connected the string vibrator to the output jacks of the sine wave
generator to a pair of banana patch cords and plug the instrument to the power
supply.

After setting up the equipment, the experiment was conducted. A guitar string
was picked by the group and took note of its linear mass density. The string was tied
on one end of the guitar to the stylus of the string vibrator and was passed over the
pulley. At the end of the guitar string, a mass hanger was attached.
 Sine wave generator

String vibrator

Figure 4. Sine wave generator and string vibrator connected to the iron clamp.

We selected the 0.017in string and tie its one end to the stylus of the string
vibrator and pass it over the pulley. We make sure that it is formed a straight line.
At the other end of guitar string, we attached the mass hanger and add 50 grams on
it and adjusted the frequency knob to 110 Hz as a desired frequency of vibration.

Results

Table 1:Frequency of Vibration and Tension

Diameter of wire: 0.2m

Linear mass density of wire: 0.015 g/cm
TRIAL Tension (mass Number of Length of Frequency of Frequency of % Error
added + mass Segments String Vibration Vibration
of pan (experimental) (computed)
1 49,000dynes 4 40.1cm 89.9Hz 90.1443Hz 0.0272%
2 58,800dynes 4 44.1cm 89.9Hz 89.7913Hz 0.121%
3 68,600dynes 4 47.2cm 89.9Hz 90.6159Hz 0.796%
4 78,400dynes 4 50.5cm 89.9Hz 90.5422Hz 0.714%
5 88,200dynes 4 54.5cm 89.9Hz 88.9861Hz 1.02%
 Table 1 shows the data gathered in determining the frequency of vibration
produced by the string in which the linear mass density constant throughout the
several trials made. It also shows the experimental value of frequency of vibration
set on the sine wave generator.

Table 2: Frequency of Vibration of Linear Mass Density

Tension: 49,000dynes
TRIAL Linear Mass Number of Length of Frequency of Frequency of % Error
Density Segments String Vibration Vibration
(experimental) (computed)
1 0.0039g/cm 3 60.2cm 89.9Hz 88.3203Hz 1.757%
2 0.0078g/cm 3 42cm 89.9Hz 89.5143Hz 0.429%
3 0.0112g/cm 4 46.7cm 89.9Hz 89.5782Hz 0.358%
4 0.0150g/cm 5 49.9cm 89.9Hz 90.5507Hz 0.724%
5 0.0184g/cm 6 55cm 89.9Hz 89.0118Hz 0.988%

Table 2 shows the data gathered from the experiment in determining the
frequency of vibration wherein it is used different sizes of guitar strings and the
tension on the string was kept constant throughout the experiment. The table also
shows actual value and the experimental value of frequency of vibration. The
percentage of error was also computed. Using the formula shown below, we
computed for the experimental value of frequency of the first trial in the experiment
and did the same thing for the remaining trials.

1 𝑇
f= √
ƛ 𝜇

where n = number of segments

L = length of the total number of segments
T = tension of the weight pulling the string
µ = linear mass density of the string

Since the outcome of the experiment wasn't exact with the actual value of the
frequency, Errors may have arisen from the measurement of the segments. Someone
with a keen-eye and someone with a stable hand to hold the measuring device to
have a precise and accurate measurement is need in this experiment. Wrong
measurement and the wave produce near the stylus. The stylus can be the source of
error because the clip that connects the stylus to string vibrator affect the wave of
the segment produce in the first segment. The sources of error that can affect the
experiment are the amplitude, The amplitude is also a source of error because we
must allocate better amplitude to see the wave; increase in altitude will make a
different wave and uneasy to measure the length. Measurement of the length is a
source of error in the experiment. We must able to measure the length accurate to
have less error. Also, the string used by the device should be completely leveled and
free to vibrate without obstructions.

Some problems were encountered throughout the experimentation like the

functions of the buttons of the sine wave generator, measuring the segments formed
in the string, and the process of recording the gathered data. First thing we
encountered was the hard time using the sine wave generator. At first, we did not
able to distinguish why did the string on the string vibrator did not vibrated as fast
as like the other string of the other groups. To workout with this problem, we asked
for the assistance of our professor and he explained everything that functions of the
button in the sine wave generator. After that, we adjusted the frequency of vibration
and the amplitude to be able to determine the segments formation produced by the
string. Measuring the segments formation produced by the string was difficult since
measuring using meter stick was hard and the measurement could not be actually
accurate to the actual value of the length of the segments formed. Finding out the
starting point of the segment that should be measured was also encountered and
measuring the segment formed near the pulley solved this problem. Lastly, wrong
calculations and computations had also undergone by our group. The design of the
experiment was good in a way that it helped us to apply the concepts we learned.
The instruments used were good, but it was better if we used the latest materials to
fully understand the concepts about frequency of vibration.
Conclusion

A transverse wave is a wave in which particles of the medium move in a

direction perpendicular to the direction that the wave moves. Transverse waves are
always characterized by particle motion being perpendicular to wave motion.

Based on the results achieved in table1, it clearly shows that the tension is
directly proportional to the frequency and inversely proportional to the number of
segments. As tension increases, frequency also increases and also as tension
increases, number of segments decreases. On the other hand, table 2 shows the
relationship of the diameter of the string, its linear mass density to the number of
segments and frequency. As linear mass density increases, number of segments
increases and frequency decreases. Therefore, linear mass density is directly
proportional to number of segments and inversely proportional to frequency. The
formula in the manual was the same to the data gathered.

Sources of error were wrong measurement of the length of the total number of
segments since you cannot place the meter stick near the string for it will affect the
movement of the wave. In addition, we must count the number of segment after it
passes the stylus because the stylus is affected by the clip that connects the string
vibrator to the stylus. Two, we must also consider the measurement of the length of
string with complete number of segments. Last, we must check the different
relationship of frequency to the segment, tension, linear mass density and length.