Courses
Courses for Kids
Free study material
Offline Centres
More
Store Icon
Store
seo-qna
SearchIcon
banner

In the sonometer experiment, a tuning fork of frequency 256Hz is in resonance with 0.4m length of wire when the iron load attached to the free end of the wire is 2kg. If the load is immersed in the water, the length of the wire in resonance would be (specific gravity of iron 8)
A.0.37mB.0.43mC.0.31mD.0.2m

Answer
VerifiedVerified
501.3k+ views
like imagedislike image
Hint: A stretched string, when plucked produces a transverse wave which travels along the stretched string. These transversal waves reach the end of the strings and are often reflected back. The superposition of the transverse wave with the reflected wave produces a stationary wave. This is the principle behind the sonometer.

Complete step by step answer:
We know that the frequency of the wave is given as f1LTμwhere, the length of the string is Land mass mis attached to it, and μ is the mass per unit length of the string . Then the string experiences a tensionT.
Given that, f=256Hz, L=0.4m and m=2kg
Clearly, the frequency doesn’t vary, if the load is immerse in the water, then we can say that the frequency is a constant here, then we get TL=k
We know that the tension in the string, when the setup is in air is given as Ta=mg=2g
The tension in the string, when the setup is in water is given as Tw=mgVρg where V is the volume of the water and ρ is its density. To simplify let us rewrite m=Vd, where d is the specific gravity of the material, here iron.
Then we get, Tw=VdgVρg=Vdg(1ρd)
We know that ρ=1 and given that d=8
Then, Tw=mg(118)=mg(78)
Now, let us take TaLa=TwLw
Then substituting the values we get,mg0.4=7mg8Lw
Or, Lw=722×0.4
Or, Lw=0.37m
Hence the answer is A.0.37m

Note:
The frequency of the wave is independent of the medium. Since the same setup is immersed in water, the mass per unit length is also a constant. Also, note that the frequency of the waves is given by the laws of stretched strings.