PHYOOOI l C

UNIVERSITY OF YORK

PHYSICS

First Year Examinations 2012

Physics of Music

All students

Time allowed: ONE hour and THIRTY minutes

(TWO questions are to be answered out of THREE)

START EACH NEW QUESTION USING A NEW ANSWER BOOKLET

Materials supplied:
Calculator
Tables of Constants and Mathematical Formulae

Turn over
 Physics of Music - PHY00011C

Answer TWO questions (out of three)

1 Write briefly on each of the following topics.

(a) Some musical instruments produce tones that are perfectly harmonic while
others always produce inharmonic partials. Give examples of two such
inharmonic instruments, describing how the inharmonicity arises and what
measures (where appropriate) are taken to reduce the inharmonicity. [ I 01
(b) Describe the Chladni's plate experiment. Point out the information it gives
about the vibrations of plates and membranes and why this may be useful
for the study and manufacture of musical instruments.

2 For some musical instruments, the quality of the sound they produce is
sensitively dependent upon the exact shape of a resonator or primary vibrator.
Give examples of two such instruments, describing carefully the physics
involved and how the shape affects the sound.

3 (i) List the objectives of an acoustic engineer who is designing a concert hall for
orchestral music. [41

(ii) Choose two of these objectives and describe how they may be attained. [81

(iii) Give examples of two acoustic faults and describe how they can be avoided. [8]

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