musical instruments often use strings with differing linear mass densities. Why
ID: 2242245 • Letter: M
Question
musical instruments often use strings with differing linear mass densities. Why is this done instead of just changing the tension?
for a Standing Waves on a String lab experiment.
answer:
If one varied pitch only by varying tension, the high strings would be very tight and the low strings would be very loose and it would be very difficult to play. It is much easier to play a guitar if the strings all have roughly the same tension; for this reason, the lower strings have higher mass density, by making them thicker and, for the 3 low strings, wrapping them with wire. From what you have learned so far, and the fact that the strings are a perfect fourth apart in pitch (except between the G and B strings in standard tuning), you can calculate how much
Explanation / Answer
A guitar string is a common example of a string fixed at both ends which is elastic and can vibrate. The vibrations of such a string are called standing waves, and they satisfy the relationship between wavelength and frequency that comes from the definition of waves:
v = flamda
where v is the speed of the wave, f is the frequency (measured in cycles/second or Hertz, Hz) and lamda is the wavelength.
The speed v of waves on a string depends on the string tension T and linear mass density (mass/length)
Related Questions
Navigate
Integrity-first tutoring: explanations and feedback only — we do not complete graded work. Learn more.