Asked by steve

A truck sounds its 810 hz horn as it drives outside a house at 30mph. But the occupant's ear detects a frequency of 780hz. What is the temperature of the air at this location?

Answers

Answered by drwls
According to the Doppler shift equation for a moving source,

780 = 810*[a/(a + 30)]

where a is the speed of sound.

The truck must be receding from the observer since the shift is to a lower frequency.

1 + (30/a) = 1.0385
30/a = 0.0385
a = 779 mph = 1254 km/h = 348 m/s

Next, find the temperature that gives you that speed of sound in air. There are plenty of places online to do that.

It will be a rather hot day.
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