Try it on paper first. A hint, the key idea and the worked solution are here when you need them.
A uniform rope of length and mass hangs from a ceiling. A block of mass hangs from its lower end, as in the figure. The bottom of the rope is given a small sideways jerk, and a transverse pulse runs up the rope. Take .
Have you tried it?
Work it out on paper first. It is fine to get stuck or make a mistake: that is how we learn. When you are ready, go through the solution one step at a time, and check each step against your own.
Plan. Find the tension at each height, then the local wave speed, then add up for the time.
Step 1. Tension and speed. The rope has . At a height above the block, , so
Step 2. Speeds (a, b). At : . At : .
Step 3. Time (c).
Step 4. Half the time (d). The same integral up to a height is . Setting it to half the total gives , so . Less than half the rope: the pulse is slow near the bottom.
Step 5. Wavelengths (e). The frequency stays the same, so .
Answer: (a) . (b) . (c) . (d) . (e) .
Check. Without the block, and the time would be . The block makes the whole rope tighter, so the pulse is quicker.
Watch out. The tension is not the same along the rope. Using the tension at the top, or the average speed of the two ends, gives a wrong time.
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