Practice Pitch in Physics

Use these practice problems to test your method after reviewing the concept explanation and worked examples.

Quick Recap

Pitch is how high or low a sound seems to a listener. It is mainly determined by the frequency of the sound wave.

Higher frequency sounds are heard as higher pitch.

Showing a random 20 of 50 problems.

Example 1

easy
Human hearing typically spans about 20 Hz to ___ Hz.

Example 2

medium
Two notes are an octave apart. The lower is 256 Hz. What is the higher note's frequency?

Example 3

hard
Two notes are 3 octaves apart. The lower has frequency 110 Hz. Find the higher.

Example 4

easy
Sound A is 200 Hz and sound B is 800 Hz. Which has the higher pitch?

Example 5

hard
A guitar string at tension T0T_0 plays 300 Hz. Tension quadruples and length stays fixed. Find the new pitch (use vโˆTv \propto \sqrt{T}).

Example 6

easy
Two sounds have the same amplitude but different frequencies. Do they have the same pitch?

Example 7

challenge
A string's fundamental is 220 Hz. Its frequency obeys fโˆTf\propto \sqrt{T} with tension TT. By what factor must tension change to raise the pitch by one octave?

Example 8

medium
A vibrating string is held more tightly so the wave speed rises from 100 m/s to 200 m/s, with wavelength unchanged at 1 m. What happens to the pitch?

Example 9

easy
Does a louder sound necessarily have a higher pitch?

Example 10

easy
Fill in the blank: A higher frequency makes the pitch sound ___.

Example 11

hard
Same siren as before (700 Hz) now moves away at 30 m/s. Find the heard pitch with fโ€ฒ=fโ‹…v/(v+vs)f' = f \cdot v/(v + v_s).

Example 12

medium
Sound travels at 343 m/s in air. A wave with wavelength 0.7ย m0.7 \text{ m} has what pitch (frequency)?

Example 13

easy
True or false: amplitude (loudness) sets the pitch of a sound.

Example 14

medium
A note has frequency 330 Hz. A second note one octave lower has what frequency?

Example 15

easy
A piano key plays a note at 262 Hz (middle C). Another key plays 524 Hz. Which has the higher pitch?

Example 16

medium
Two organ pipes produce notes at 200 Hz and 800 Hz. How many octaves apart are they?

Example 17

easy
A sound has period 0.004 s. Find its frequency, which sets its pitch.

Example 18

medium
A flute is shortened. Does the pitch of its fundamental note rise or fall? Explain in one phrase.

Example 19

easy
A tuning fork vibrates 440 times per second. What is its frequency, and is its pitch the standard musical A?

Example 20

medium
Two sounds have the same frequency but different amplitudes. Same pitch? Yes or no.