Harmonics

A vibrating air column in a cylindrical pipe open on both ends is capable of producing

• all frequencies.

• only even-numbered harmonics.

• only odd-numbered harmonics.

• all harmonics.

The lowest frequency of vibration of a plucked string is the string’s _______________ frequency.

• overtone

• timbre

• second harmonic

• fundamental

An air column in a pipe vibrates at a fundamental pitch of 680 Hz. If the length of the pipe were doubled, the fundamental pitch would be

• 170 Hz.

• 340 Hz.

• 1360 Hz.

• 2720 Hz.

How many nodes are present in a string vibrating at its fundamental frequency?

• 0

• 1

• 2

• 3

If the first harmonic of a vibrating string has a frequency of 812 Hz, the second and third harmonics will have frequencies of _______________, respectively.

• 1218 Hz and 1624 Hz

• 1218 Hz and 2030 Hz

• 1624 Hz and 2436 Hz

• 1624 Hz and 3248 Hz

What length of guitar string would vibrate at a fundamental frequency of 1250 Hz if the string is stretched so that the velocity of waves on the string is 488 m/s?

• 19.5 cm

• 39.0 cm

• 1.28 cm

• 256 cm

A term for the quality of sound that gives each different musical instrument a unique sound is

• pitch.

• overtone.

• fundamental.

• timbre.

Two flute players are tuning their instruments. One player sounds a tone with a pitch of 527 Hz and the other player sounds a tone with a pitch of 523 Hz. How many beats per second will the players hear?

• none

• 2

• 4

• 525

The longest common organ pipes are 32 feet (about 10 m) long. What is the fundamental frequency produced by an open-ended organ pipe that is 10.0 m in length? Assume that the pipe is in an environment where the speed of sound is 344 m/s.

• 34.4 Hz

• 172 Hz

• 344 Hz

• 17.2 Hz

The ________ is a series of frequencies that includes the fundamental frequency and integral multiples of the fundamental frequency.

• vibrational series

• timbre series

• harmonic series

• overtone series