The human ear is capable of perceiving sound vibrations with a frequency of 16 to 20,000 Hz as a musical tone.

The human ear is capable of perceiving sound vibrations with a frequency of 16 to 20,000 Hz as a musical tone. What range of sound wavelengths can a person perceive at a sound speed of 340 m / s?

To find the upper and lower boundaries of the lengths of these sound waves, we apply the formula: λ = V / ν.

Constants: V – speed of sound (by condition V = 340 m / s); ν1 – minimum vibration frequency (ν1 = 16 Hz); ν2 is the maximum vibration frequency (ν2 = 20,000 Hz).

Calculation: a) Upper limit: λ1 = V / ν1 = 340/16 = 21.25 m;

b) Lower limit: λ2 = V / ν2 = 340/20000 = 0.017 m.

Answer: The length of the specified range of sound waves is in the range from 0.017 m to 21.25 m.