A student stands at one end of a long steel railing. A friend at the other end hits the railing once with a hammer.
The railing is 680 m long.
The student hears two separate sounds from the one hit.
The speed of sound in air is 340 m/s.
Calculate the time taken for the sound to travel through the air from the hammer to the student.
The speed of sound in steel is 5000 m/s.
Calculate the time between the student hearing the two sounds.
Explain why the student hears two separate sounds.
The sound wave in the steel railing has a frequency of 2000 Hz. At the student's end, some of this sound passes from the railing into the air.
Calculate the wavelength of this sound in the air.