A standing wave vibrates at its fourth harmonic. How many nodes will be in the wave pattern?

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Answer 1 · 2016-08-02T03:06:47

$5$

The equation for finding the wavelength of a standing wave is

$lambda$ = $(2 L)/(n)$

where n represents the harmonic of the wave

Since $n$ = $4$ the wavelength is $lambda$ = $(L)/(2)$

Isolate to solve for $L$ and you get $2$ $lambda$ = $L$

This means you have a string whose length produces 2 waves

The nodes for this wave will be 5 since nodes are where no displacement occurs.