A hammer strikes one end of a thick iron rail of length 5.60 m. A microphone loc

Question

A hammer strikes one end of a thick iron rail of length 5.60 m. A microphone located at the opposite end of the rail detects two pulses of sound, one that travels through the air and a longitudinal wave that travels through the rail. (The speeds of sound in air and in iron are 343 m/s and 5950 m/s, respectively.) (a) Which pulse reaches the microphone first? the pulse traveling through the air the pulse traveling through the iron rail (b) Find the separation in time between the arrivals of the two pulses. s

Explanation / Answer

Part A)

This is obvious since the speed in the iron is faster, the pulse in the rail gets to the microphone first

Part B)

Apply d = vt for each pulse

(5.6) = (343)(t)

t = .0163 sec in air

(5.6) = (5950)(t)

t = 9.41 X 10-4 sec in the iron rail

The time separation is .0163 - 9.41 X 10-4 = .0154 sec

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