Try it on paper first. A hint, the key idea and the worked solution are here when you need them.
Ten tuning forks are set out in order of rising frequency. Each fork gives 6 beats each second with the next one. The last fork has a frequency times that of the first. Find (a) the frequency of the first fork, (b) the frequency of the last fork, and (c) the frequency of the fifth fork.
Two sounds of frequencies and that are close give beats:
You hear the pitch . Wax lowers a fork's frequency, filing raises it, tightening raises a string's.
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.
(a) Each step up adds , and there are 9 steps from the first fork to the last. So .
We are told . So . We want , so and .
(b) .
(c) The fifth fork is 4 steps up: .
Watch out. Ten forks give nine gaps, not ten.
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