Title

Standing Wave in a String

Aims
To find the percent difference between the frequency used and computed frequency.

Apparatus
Mechanical wave driver, function generator, elastic cord, super pulley with clamp, weight hanger and slotted weights, meter rule, electronic balance, retort stand with boss head and retort clamp.

Procedure
1. A piece of long string that is long enough to be looped at each end so as to be attached to the vibrator and a weight hanger suspended from the end running over the pulley is cut. The vibrator and the pulley is clamped to support posts at the opposite ends of the laboratory table to give an active string length of about 150 cm. The total length of the string is measured and its mass is determined by using the electronic balance. These values are recorded in table 1 and the linear mass density is computed. 2. The string is attached to the vibrator and a weight hanger is suspended from the other end. The string is made sure to be aligned properly and that it is parallel to the table surface. The distance between the vibrator arm and the point of contact of the string on the pulley is measured. The length is recorded in Table 1. The vibrator is turned on at a frequency of . A different standing-wave pattern in the string is produced by alternatively lifting and carefully pulling down on the weight hanger. A thin strip of paper can be helpful by folding it in half and hang it on the string to observe vibrating action. The number of loops increased with less tension. 3. An enough weights it put on the hanger to formed a standing-wave patter of two loops is formed in the string. The tension is adjusted by adding or removing some small weights until the loops are of maximum amplitude. A fine adjustment is done by loosening the clamp holding the vibrator rod and sliding it slightly back and forth so as to find the optimum string length between the ends that gives the maximum loop width or amplitude for a given tension. A meter rule is used to measure the distance from the point where the string contacts the pulley to the center nodal point. 4. Weights are removed and adjusted from the hanger so that a standing-wave pattern of maximum amplitude with three loops is formed. The distance from the pulley contact to the nodal point nearest the vibrator is measured. This length and the total suspended

mass are recorded in Table 1. The length of two loops is equal to one wavelength, . 5. Procedure 4 is repeated for consecutive standing-wave patterns up to eight measured loops. The wavelength in each case is computed. It is shown that in general or , where N is the number of loops in a given . The similarity of the latter form of this is equation with Equation 2 wherein the length is the total vibrating length of the string is noticed. 6. The equation 6 can be written as Where and ( ) , where

are constant. It has the form of a straight line,

. The experimental data is plotted on a graph paper of versus . The straight line that best fit the data is drawn, and the slope of the line is determined. From this value and the previously determined value of , the average frequency of the oscillations is computed. String vibrator is operated on 60-cycle as current. Vibration action is accomplished by means of an electromagnet operated by the input current. The vibrator arm is attracted toward an electromagnet during each half-cycle, or twice each cycle, so the vibrating frequency is (cycle per second). Using this as the accepted value of the vibrational frequency, the percent error of the experimentally determined value is computed.

Diagram

Results
Mass of string, = = =

Total length of string Linear mass density

Length of string between vibrator and pulley Table 1 No. Of Loops Measured 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Suspended Mass 0.45 0.35 0.25 0.20 0.15 0.14 0.10
(e.g., if then

Tension Force

Measured Length for loops

Wavelength

2.10 1.82 1.57 1.40 1.21 1.17 0.99

* For convenience, express the tension weight force in terms of

Slope of graph: Compute frequency, : m= = 0.3828 m =

Frequency used: Percent error:

0.3828 =

= 38.15 Hz

Questions
2. (a) A particular tension will produce a much shorter wavelength than expected, thus decreases the slope of the graph. 3. (a) When the strings are tightened or loosened, the tension of the strings will differs. The changes in the strings tension will affect the wave velocity. So if T increases, v also increases and vice versa. But wavelength remains the same, so frequency will increase. Tightening a string makes the sound sharper; loosening the string makes the sound flatter. (b) Sound is produced by an object that vibrates. The faster the object vibrates, the higher the pitch of the sound. A thick string is going to vibrate slower than a thin string; therefore a lower sound will produced. Strings of lower tones have lower resonance frequency, consequently lower wave velocity. Since wave velocity is inversely proportional to density per unit length, for lower v, higher density per unit length is needed. So the strings of lower tones are thicker. (b) When fingers are placed on the strings this will cause the length of the standing wave to reduce, thus the wavelength will also reduce. However, the wave velocity remains the same since tension and density are same. Frequency has to increase to balance this change. As a result, notes of higher pitch or frequency are produced.

Conclusion
If you vibrate one end of a string and keep the other end fixed, a continuous wave will travel down the string to the fixed end and be reflected back. Hence on the string there will be waves traveling in both directions and they will interfere with each other. With just the right combinations of the vibration frequency and tension in the string, the two traveling waves will interfere in such a way that there will be a large amplitude fixed pattern on the string. These fixed patterns are called standing waves, because they do not appear to be traveling. The points of destructive interference, where the string remains still, are called nodes; and the point of constructive interference, where the string oscillates with maximum amplitude, are called antinodes. The nodes (or antinodes) are separated by exactly one half of a wavelength, l. The natural frequencies of a vibrating string system are determined by a variety of factors; in this case, they are the tightness, length, or weight of the string. An alteration in either speed or wavelength will result in an alteration of the natural frequency.