My AP physics 1 exam is tomorrow. This question is from a practice exam I have but I never really understood the answer
Using the setup above, a student tests how the tension in a string affects the frequency of the fundamental standing wave (with one antinode). In each trial, with a known mass in the holder, the student adjusts the oscillator frequency to produce the fundamental standing wave. The student notices that as the mass in the holder increases, the string stretches and the total string length, from the oscillator to the mass holder, increases. Which of the following procedures could help the student decide if the string’s total length has a separate effect from the tension on the fundamental frequency?
(A) Repeating the experiment with a string that does not noticeably stretch when the tension is increased
(B) Repeating the experiment but producing standing waves with two antinodes
(C) Repeating the experiment using a different distance between the oscillator and pulley
(D) Repeating the experiment using lighter blocks
The answer is A. But in A we change the tension and keep the string length constant, so what we're really showing is that changing the tension has a separate effect from the string length (not the opposite which is what the question is asking for). Could it be that showing that A has a separate effect from B is the same as showing that B has a separate effect from A? I think choice C is a better fit because it shows that even with a constant string length we may get different results.
Edit: the question comes from an AP physics 1 practice test but the unit concerning waves was removed from the test, but because the question is testing knowledge in an experimental/lab setting it's still important.
