Velocity Of Sound By Air Column

Velocity of Sound by Air Column
Aim: To measure the velocity of sound by air column.
Materials:
-Large measuring cylinder
-Glass tube
-Set of Tuning Forks
-Ruler (0,1cm/100cm)
Diagram:Tuning Fork

H: Length where fundamental frequency occurs.
Glass Tube

Water
Measuring Cylinder

Diagram #1: This is how the experiment should be performed.
Method:
a) Hold the vibratingtuning fork above the glass tube.
b) Move the tube up and down until you find the shortest length of the air column that produces a loud sound.
c) Measure length “h”. Note the frequency f thetuning fork.
d) Repeat this for tuning forks of several different frequencies.
Data Collection:

Frequency (Hz) | Measured length (h) in meters where highest resonance occurs (+-0.01) | Velocityof sound (m/s) |
C-256 | 0.32 | 330 (expected value) |
E-320 | 0.26 | |
G-384 | 0.21 | |
A-440 | 0.18 | |
Table #1: Fundamental resonance lengths with their respective frequencies.
DataProcessing:
Frequency (Hz) | Calculated Length (h) in meters where highest resonance occurs (+-0.01) | Speed of Sound (m/s) |
C-256 | 0.322 | 329.73 |
E-320 | 0.258 | 330.24 |
G-384 | 0.215 |330.24 |
A-440 | 0.188 | 330.88 |
Table #2: Calculated length where fundamental resonance occurs with their respective frequencies and measured speed of sound
Calculations:
V= F x λ330 = 384 x λ λ= 0.859375m | L = λ / 4L = 0.859375/4L = 0.21484375m | V = f x λV = 384 x (0.21484375 x 4)V = 330 m/s |

Graph:
Graph #1: Frequency vs. Wavelength (the slope represents the speed of sound).Conclusion: In this experiment we could measure the velocity of sound by air column by using the formula V = f x λ , as we knew the frequency of the tuning fork and the wavelength, which was found out bythe formula L = λ/4. The results obtained were very close to the expected value (speed of sound = 330m/s). There was a considerable variation in the lengths where fundamental resonance occurs: they...