Physical Science Journal Questions - due Tuesday, April 27, 2004 (e-mail or paper)

When numerical answers are asked for, the answers must be descriptive of the problem.  Do more than just list the numerical answer.

Example:  A car tire spins 20 times a sec.  What is the period, or the time to complete one cycle?  

Bad answer:  0.05 sec/cycle.

Good Answer:  The period is 1/frequency.  1/20(cy/sec) = 0.05 sec/cycle.

  1. On the big swing between Gladfelter and Spidel, the time for one cycle is 3.0 sec.   What is the frequency?

  2. In a mass-spring system, explain what happens to the frequency for a small amplitude vibration compared to a large amplitude vibration.  Cite your experiment.  Give a possible reason for this phenomenon.

  3. Explain the difference in oscilloscope traces for a low-pitched pure tone and a high-pitched pure tone at the same loudness.

  4. Explain how the sounds of a person singing "OOOOO" differ from a person singing "AHHHH" when they sing at the same frequency or pitch.  See class activities for Thursday and text section 11.13.  Discuss the oscilloscope waveforms for the two different sounds.