Waves, Sound and Light: Light Waves

Light Waves: Audio Guided Solution

Extra Problem 6:

It is known that signals from radio and television stations can reflect off airplanes and mountains and interfere with the signal traveling directly from the station to a home. Suppose that a 6355.9 kiloHertz signal reflects off an airplane located 354 meters above the receiver and destructively interferes with a signal sent directly from a distant station. What next highest plane elevation (in meters) would result in destructive interference? (Assume that the wave does not undergo a phase change upon reflection off the plane.)



 

Audio Guided Solution




Habits of an Effective Problem Solver

An effective problem solver by habit approaches a physics problem in a manner that reflects a collection of disciplined habits. An effective problem-solver...

  • ... reads the problem carefully and developd a mental picture of the physical situation. If necessary, sketch a simple diagram of the physical situation to help you visualize it.
  • ... identifies the known and unknown quantities and record in an organized manner, often times they can be recorded on the diagram itself; equates given values to the symbols used to represent the corresponding quantity (e.g., v = 3.00x108 m/s, λ = 554 nm, f = ???).
  • ... uses physics formulas and conceptual reasoning to plot a strategy for solving for the unknown quantity.
  • ... identifies the appropriate formula(s) to use.
  • ... performs substitutions and algebraic manipulations in order to solve for the unknown quantity.

 

Read About It!

The following pages from The Physics Classroom Tutorial may serve to be useful in assisting you in the understanding of the concepts and mathematics associated with these problems.


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