4 A student is studying the speed of sound, \(u\), in a gas under different conditions.
He assumes that \(u\) depends on the pressure, \(p\), of the gas, the density, \(\rho\), of the gas and the wavelength, \(\lambda\), of the sound in the relationship \(u = k p ^ { \alpha } \rho ^ { \beta } \lambda ^ { \gamma }\), where \(k\) is a dimensionless constant. (The wavelength of a sound is the distance between successive peaks in the sound wave.)
- Use the fact that density is mass per unit volume to find \([ \rho ]\).
- Given that the units of \(p\) are \(\mathrm { Nm } ^ { - 2 }\), determine the values of \(\alpha , \beta\) and \(\gamma\).
- Comment on what the value of \(\gamma\) means about how fast sounds of different wavelengths travel through the gas.
The student carries out two experiments, \(A\) and \(B\), to measure \(u\). Only the density of the gas varies between the experiments, all other conditions being unchanged. He finds that the value of \(u\) in experiment \(B\) is double the value in experiment \(A\).
- By what factor has the density of the gas in experiment \(A\) been multiplied to give the density of the gas in experiment \(B\) ?
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As shown in the diagram, \(A B\) is a long thin rod which is fixed vertically with \(A\) above \(B\). One end of a light inextensible string of length 1 m is attached to \(A\) and the other end is attached to a particle \(P\) of mass \(m _ { 1 } \mathrm {~kg}\). One end of another light inextensible string of length 1 m is also attached to \(P\). Its other end is attached to a small smooth ring \(R\), of mass \(m _ { 2 } \mathrm {~kg}\), which is free to move on \(A B\).
Initially, \(P\) moves in a horizontal circle of radius 0.6 m with constant angular velocity \(\omega _ { \text {rads } } { } ^ { - 1 }\). The magnitude of the tension in string \(A P\) is denoted by \(T _ { 1 } \mathrm {~N}\) while that in string \(P R\) is denoted by \(T _ { 2 } \mathrm {~N}\).