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Using Resonance
Abstract
In this lab, a method needed to be used that would give the most accurate measurement of sound
waves. Different tuning forks and a tube partially submerged in a larger tube filled with water
was used to measure the speed of sound. The purpose of this lab was to be able to understand and
learn how to determine the speed of sound using resonance. The average speed of sound
measured was 331 meters per second 10 meters per second.
Introduction
Resonance is definitely the focus of this lab and needs to be understood first in order to be able
to apply that knowledge into measuring the speed of sound. Resonance occurs when an
oscillating system is at a frequency which is the same as its own natural frequency. In the case of
this lab, resonance applies where the sound waves that are traveling down the smaller tube
interfere constructively with the ones that bounce of the water and passes back up that tube. In
this lab the sound waves were generated by three tuning forks, each with different frequencies
that were vibrated above the smaller tube. The smaller tube was raised until it was at an effective
height where the resonance could be clearly heard. Another vital piece of information that
needed to be understood in order to successfully use the data collected and determine the speed
of sound is by understanding the equation =v/d. This derivation could be some simply
explained through the image below.
This trial was done a total of three times with tuning forks of different frequencies to get a
variety of results to compare from and average so that the measurements could be most accurate.
The results are as portrayed below in the data table.
Frequency of the tuning fork Wavelength *f=v
The average velocity among these three different trials is 331 m/s 10 meters per second.
Conclusion
There are many variables that can affect the results of these measurements, these include a
change in the medium at which these measurements are taken from. Some of the variables that
can change the medium of the air include the temperature of the air or even the air pressure. The
frequencies used should dont affect the results no matter these changes in the medium at which
these measurements are taken from. In the physics book that is used for this class, it states that
the speed of sound is at 342 meters per second, but these results were taken from sea level
(which also include a handful of variables that can affect the medium at which the measurement
was taken). The measurements in this lab were taken in a here in a region where the air pressure
a lot higher, which is why the result of this lab can vary 10 units either way depending on the
medium.