Resonance and the Speed of Sound in Air

Instructor: Ph.D. Arnold Guerra III

Vuong Chu
05/21/2015

I. Opening
The main goal of this experiment was to experimentally measure the speed of sound in
the air at room temperature.
II. Procedures and Descriptions
Experimental apparatus: in this investigation, we used a digital sweep function generator,
a digital storage oscilloscope, a clear plastic resonance tube, two wires with banana plug, a Dual
Banana Jack BNC Male Adapter, a microphone, and physic Data Studio program on computer.
1. The room temperature was measure using thermostat and was recorded as 23 Celsius
degree.
2. The theoretical value of the speed of sound in the air was calculated and recorded.
3. The apparatuses were set up as show in the lab handout.
4. The periods of each frequency were calculated and recorded into the table.
5. Using the main knob and fine knob to adjust the frequency to the closest value of given
frequencies.
6. The piston was pulled away from the speaker until it got to the first resonance position
(maximum amplitude displayed on the display of storage oscilloscope). The distance
between speaker and the piston was read and recorded in the table.

7. The piston then was pulled away continuously to get the next resonance and the secondnext resonance. The distances were recorded in the table.
8. The wavelengths were calculated by subtracting the third distance to the first distance,
and then they were converted into meter.
9. The graph between the wavelength as the Y-axis and the period as the X-axis was
graphed. The linear fit was done to get the slope which is the experimental value of the
speed of sound in the air.
10. The percentage error between the theoretical and experimental values of the speed of
sound was calculated.
11. The second graph of the frequency as the Y-axis and the period as the X-axis was
graphed with the data points connected to see the relationship between the frequency and
the period.
III. The Data
The experimental data were recorded in the table.
IV. Sketches and Graphs
The graphs were graphed and attached.
V. Analysis
The room temperature was 23 Celsius degree.
The theoretical value of the speed of sound was calculated as following
= (331 + 0.61 ) = (331 + 0.61 23) = 345.03

The wavelengths were calculated using the following formula

( )

For example, with the frequency of 1000 Hz, the wavelength is

 = = 60.3 24 = 36.3

() = 0.363

()

The experimental value of the speed of sound in the air equals the slope of the fit line,
which is 346 m/s.
The percentage error between theoretical and experimental values of the speed of sound
in the air was calculated as following
% error =

346345.03

x100 =

9345.03

x100 = 0.28 %

The graph between the frequency and the period shows the inverse relationship between
them, as show in the following formula
=
VI. Conclusions

After the investigation, we have experimentally measured the speed of sound in the air as
346 m/s with 0.28% error compared to the theoretical value. Based on the graphs, we can see that
as the frequency increasing, the wavelength and the period decreasing proportionally.