Creative Commons License Copyright © Michael Richmond. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

Measure the frequency of a plucked string

This project must be done by individuals or teams of 2.

We have examined in class the normal modes of oscillation of a string stretched between two fixed posts, placed under tension. There are lots and lots of formulae which predict the frequencies with which such strings ought to oscillate; they depend upon the tension and the linear mass density of the string, and on the length of the string.

Your job is to set up a real string, stretched under some known tension, and verify that these predictions are correct. If they aren't, you must explain the discrepancies.

Here are some tips:

Hand in sheets of paper, showing all your work.


Creative Commons License Copyright © Michael Richmond. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.