For a small-slope string element, the transverse net tension is . Its mass is , so Newton's second law gives
Its extra length is . Work against the approximately constant tension gives the elastic energy of a small-slope string, while transverse motion gives its kinetic energy:
For a single travelling wave , , so pointwise to this order. A standing wave need not have pointwise or instantaneous kinetic–potential equality.
For a fixed-end string of length L, taking the stated note to be its fundamental gives . Hence
If98Hz were instead the nth harmonic, the required tension would be ; the usual fundamental interpretation is explicit.
For the specified standing wave, . Every allowed nonzero fixed-end mode has , yielding
At this instant the ideal mode's elastic energy is zero; at maximum displacement all its energy is elastic. [ref]