Speed of Sound

Speed of Sound

Lab 11

11/26/2013

Abstract

The speed of sound will be measured in this experiment using the advances in technology to determine the speed of sound t room temperature. A microphone will be placed next to an opening of a hollow tube. The snapping sound made by a dog clicker will be recorded via the Microphone, which will then graph the initial sound and the echo. The speed of sound will be determine the round trip time and calculate the speed of sound.

Objective

The speed of sound will be measured in a long hollow tube to see how long it takes sound to travel down and back in a long tube. Then, compare the speed of sound in air to the accepted value.

Procedure

Begin by connecting the Vernier Microphone to Channel 1 of the interface. Use a thermometer or temperature probe to measure the air temperature of the classroom and record the value in the data table. Then, open the file “33 Speed of Sound” in the Physics with Vernier folder. Set up for a graph of sound level vs. time to be displayed. Close one of the tube ends by placing it on the floor, leveled. Make sure it is sealed and measure and record the length of the tube in the data table. Place the Microphone as close to the open end of the long tube as possible. Position it so that it can detect the initial sound and echo coming back down the tube. Click to begin data collection and click the dog training clicker near the opening of the tube. This sharp sound will trigger the interface to begin collecting data. The graph should look like the picture below.

Repeat the run until it looks similar to the above picture. The second set of vibrations with appreciable amplitude marks the echo. Click the examine button and move the mouse and determine the time interval between the start of the first vibration and the start of the echo vibration. Record the time interval in the data table. Repeat the measurement for a total of five trials and determine the average time...