Erik Bernal Emmanuel Cortes Jessica Amezcua Dr.

Blan 6th Period Group #1

Resonance Speed of sound

The purpose of this experiment is, to determine the speed of sound using the concept of resonance.

Introduction
In this experiment, youll use the concept of resonance of determine the wavelength of a sound wave of known frequency. You can then compute the speed of sound by multiplying the frequency by the wavelength.

Materials
-Meter Stick -Stop Watch -Data Chart -Resonance tube -Students -Pencil -Calculator -Dr. Blans Formulas -1-L plastic graduated cylinder -1 or 2 different tuning forks

Procedure
1. Fill the cylinder with water to about two thirds of its capacity. Place the resonance tube in the cylinder. You can vary the length of the air column in the tube by moving the tube up or down 2. Select a tuning fork, and record the frequency that is imprinted on it. 3. Strike the tuning fork, hold the tuning fork about 1 cm above the open end of the tube. 4. Move both the fork up and down finding the loudest sound. 5. Measure the distance from the top of the resonance tube to the water-level mark.

Conclusion
The word resonance means to "resound" - to sound out together with a loud sound. Once weve completed our experiment, I noticed that that the higher the frequency, the higher the tube needed to be out of the water. As frequency rose, so did the rest of our data. The higher the frequency, the higher the wavelength. This is because the frequency is producing more cycles per second (CPS) extending the wavelength. Resonance only occurs when the first object is vibrating at the natural frequency of the second object. So if the frequency at which the tuning fork vibrates is not identical to one of the natural frequencies of the air column inside the resonance tube, resonance will not occur and the two objects will not sound out together with a loud sound. But the location of the water level can be altered by raising and lowering a reservoir of water, thus decreasing or increasing the length of the air column. This is why the experimentee must raise and lower the tube to find the best and loudest sounding resonance. an increase in the length of a vibrational system (here, the air in the tube) increases the wavelength and decreases the natural frequency of that system. Conversely, a decrease in the length of a vibrational system decreases the wavelength and increases the natural frequency. So by raising and lowering the water level, the natural frequency of the air in the tube could be matched to the frequency at which the tuning fork vibrates. When the match is achieved, the tuning fork forces the air column inside of the resonance tube to vibrate at its own natural frequency and resonance is achieved. The result of resonance is always a big vibration that is, a loud sound.