Two point sources of sound are separated by 10 cm . They vibrate in phase, generating waves with a wavelength of 5.0 cm . Determine the phase difference between the two waves arriving at a point located 20 cm from one source on the line connecting the sources.

Step-by-step solution

Let the two sources be S₁ and S₂ with a separation d = 10 cm . The point P is located on the line passing through S₁ and S₂ at a distance of 20 cm from one of the sources. Since 20 cm > 10 cm , the point P lies outside the segment S₁ S₂ . For any point on the line outside the segment connecting the two sources, the path difference x between the waves from the two sources is exactly equal to the distance between the sources. x = |S₁ P - S₂ P| = d = 10 cm The phase difference is given by the relation: = 2 x Substitut