A physics club compares waves produced on a stretched rope with sound waves travelling through the same room.
(a) Identify the nature (transverse or longitudinal) of the wave on the rope and of the sound in air, and justify each answer with reference to the direction of particle displacement.
(b) Describe an experiment you could perform with the rope to demonstrate that the wave on it can be polarised, and state what the result would be if the same test were attempted with the sound wave.
(c) Both waves are set up at a frequency of 50Hz. The measured wavelength on the rope is 2.0m while the wavelength of the sound in air is 6.8m. Calculate the speed of each wave.
(d) Using your results and the properties of the two media, explain why the two speeds differ even though the frequencies are the same, commenting on how the medium determines wave velocity for mechanical waves.