Discovering the Speed of Sound

in Air SCIENTIFIC
SCIENCE FAX!
Introduction
Have you ever observed a carpenter hammering in a nail off in the distance? If you are far enough away from the carpenter,
you will observe the hammer hit the nail before you hear it hit. It seems as though there is a delay in the time it takes for
the sound to reach your ears. Why does this happen? How fast does sound travel? Discover the speed of sound with this
activity!

Concepts
• Anti-node and node • Longitudinal wave
• Frequency and wavelength • Standing wave
• Mechanical wave • Velocity

Background
Tuning fork
Sound is a mechanical, longitudinal wave created by the vibrations of material objects. A
mechanical wave requires a medium in order to propagate. In other words, for sound to
travel, some type of substance must be present (solid, liquid, or gas). A substance is needed White PVC tube
because sound travels by pushing molecules back and forth. If there are no molecules to
move, sound will not propagate. This is why sound can not travel in a vacuum. Sound is
also considered to be a longitudinal wave because it vibrates the particles in the medium Closed-end of
back and forth along the direction of the wave propagation. the air column
The speed of sound is not a constant value and varies depending on the medium in which Clear tube
it travels. At 0 °C the accepted value for the speed of sound in air is 331 m/s. As the tem-
perature of air increases, the speed of sound also increases because molecules in hot air Water
move more rapidly and collide more often than molecules in cool air. The speed of sound
also increases in substances having molecules that are packed tightly together. Therefore Rubber stopper
sound tends to have higher speeds in solids and slower speeds in liquids and gases. The Figure 1.
reason for this is because molecules that are close together bump into each other more
easily than molecules that are far apart.
The speed of sound can be calculated using Equation 1 below. According to this formula, if the frequency (ƒ) and
wavelength (λ) of a wave are known, the speed (v) can easily be calculated by multiplying the two values together. In this
activity you will be using various tuning forks to determine the speed (v) of sound. When a tuning fork is set into motion,
the sound produced will have a specific frequency and wavelength. The frequency of a tuning fork is printed directly on it.
The wavelength, on the other hand, is not listed on the tuning fork, and must be determined in order to calculate the speed
of sound.
v = ƒλ Equation 1
v = speed (m/s)
ƒ = frequency (Hz)
λ = wavelength (m)
The wavelength of a sound wave can be determined using an air-filled tube that is closed at one end. In this experiment,
the air-filled tube is a piece of white PVC tubing placed in water. The water is used to close off the tubing at one end. See
Figure 1. A tuning fork will be used to generate a sound wave over the open end of the white PVC tube. The length of the
white PVC tube is altered by slowly lifting it out of the water. As the PVC tube is lifted, the length of the air-filled portion
increases. At the appropriate length (this length varies for tuning forks of different frequencies), the sound wave travels
through the air in the tube and reflects off the water at the closed end. The reflected wave then interferes with the incident
waves generated by the source (the tuning fork), and a standing wave forms.
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Discovering the Speed of Sound in Air continued

A standing wave is a pattern that results when two waves of the same frequency, wavelength, and amplitude travel in opposite
directions and interfere with each other. A node is a point in a standing wave that always undergoes complete destructive inter-
ference and therefore is stationary. An anti-node is a point in the standing wave, halfway between two nodes, at which the larg-
est amplitude occurs. See Figure 2. Because the amplitude is largest at an anti-node, the sound will be the loudest at this point.
Figure 3 represents various standing waves that can be created in a close-ended column of air. When an anti-node is present at
the open end, the sound will resonate or hum loudly.

N = node
A = anti-node
N N
N N
A A A
Figure 2.

No. of Wavelengths Closed-end Air Column

Shown
A

¼λ
1 quarter of a full
wavelength

¾λ N
3 quarters of a full
A
wavelength

N
⁄ λ
54
A
1 full wavelength plus
N
1 quarter of a wavelength
A
N

Figure 3.
The Procedure section of this lab lists the steps necessary to create a standing wave having only one node and one anti-node,
as shown in the top section of Figure 3. Creating a standing wave with one node and one anti-node will mean that only ¼ of a
complete wavelength is present inside the air-filled PVC tube. If the length (L) of the air-filled portion of the PVC tube is mea-
sured in meters, this will be the length of ¼ of one complete wavelength. In order to calculate one complete wavelength, the
tube length (L) must be multiplied by 4. See Equation 2 below.
λ = 4L Equation 2
λ = wavelength (m)
L = tube length (m)

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Discovering the Speed of Sound in Air continued

Materials
Clamps, universal extension, 2 Ruler, metric
Clamp holders, 2 Support stand
Graduated cylinder, 250-mL Tuning forks, set of 8
Plastic tube, clear, 1" diameter, 2 ft Tuning fork activator
PVC tube, white, 1/2" diameter, 2 ft Water, 250 mL
Rubber stopper, solid, #6

Safety Precautions
This lab is considered to be nonhazardous. Please follow all laboratory safety guidelines.

Procedure
1. Set up a support stand and attach one universal extension clamp to the top of White PVC tube
the rod, and a second universal extension clamp to the bottom of the rod. L
2. Plug the bottom of the clear plastic tube with a #6 rubber stopper. Clear plastic tube

3. Attach the clear plastic tube to the support stand using the universal extension
clamps. See Figure 4. The rubber stopper should be resting on the base of the
support stand. Universal extension
4. Place the white PVC tube inside of the clear plastic tube. clamp and clamp
holders
5. Fill a large graduated cylinder with 250 mL of water.
6. Make sure the end of the clear plastic tube is completely sealed by pouring a
small amount of water into the tube and watch for leaking. Vaseline® can be Support stand
put around the edge of the stopper if leaking does occur. Rubber stopper #6
7. Pour the 250 mL of water into the sealed plastic tube. The water should be
near the top but not overflowing. Figure 4.
8. Obtain a tuning fork that matches a frequency listed on the data table (see the next page).
9. Hit the tuning fork on a tuning fork activator.
10. Hold the tuning fork over the tube setup. Hold the white PVC tube with your free hand and slowly lift it out of the water
while at the same time lifting the tuning fork. Make sure the tuning fork remains over the opening of the white PVC pipe
(see Figure 1). Keep moving the tube and the tuning fork upward until a very loud humming noise is heard. The tube may
hum the entire time, but at a certain point, it will get very loud.
11. Hold the tube in place at the spot where the sound resonates the loudest. Using a metric ruler, measure the length of the
white PVC tube that is above the surface of the water. Measure the length (L) in centimeters, and record the length in
both cm and meters on the data table.
12. Repeat steps 7–10 with the remaining tuning forks.
13. Using Equation 2 from the Background section, calculate the wavelength of sound for each tuning fork.
14. Using Equation 1 from the Background section, calculate the speed of sound in air for each tuning fork.

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Discovering the Speed of Sound in Air continued

NGSS Alignment
This laboratory activity relates to the following Next Generation Science Standards (2013):

Disciplinary Core Ideas: Middle School Science and Engineering Practices Crosscutting Concepts
MS-PS1 Matter and Its Interactions Developing and using models Patterns
PS1.A: Structure and Properties of Matter Analyzing and interpreting data Cause and effect
MS-PS3 Energy Using mathematics and computational System and system models
PS3.C: Relationship between Energy and Forces thinking Energy and matter in systems
MS-PS4 W
 aves and Their Applications in Constructing explanations and designing Structure and function
Technologies for Information Transfer solutions
PS4.A: Wave Properties
Disciplinary Core Ideas: High School
HS-PS1 Matter and Its Interactions
PS1.A: Structure and Properties of Matter
HS-PS3 Energy
PS3.A: Definitions
 of Energy
HS-PS4 W
 aves and Their Applications in
Technologies for Information Transfer
PS4.A: Wave Properties

Tips
• This activity will only work for tuning forks with a frequency of 256 Hz or higher.
• If a clear plastic tube is not available, a large graduated cylinder may be used.
• Before the students do this activity, demonstrate how to properly lift the white PVC pipe out of the water while lifting
the tuning fork. As this technique is demonstrated, have the students listen for the change in loudness of the sound. The
students should be close during the demonstration because individuals who are far way commonly have trouble hearing
the change in volume.
• PVC tubing of a different length and diameter may be used in place of the size suggested. If the length or diameter is
changed, make sure to test it before the students perform the activity. Make sure that the tube length is longer than
0.35 m. This is because our sample data shows that the largest ¼ wavelength was 0.329 m from the tuning fork with a
frequency of 256 Hz. If the tube is not longer than this amount, the 256 Hz tuning fork will not resonate when held over
the tube.
• For further concept development, try the Waves and Sound Student Laboratory Kit (Flinn Catalog No. AP7014) and the
Open-Ended Resonance Tube Set (Catalog No. 4616) available from Flinn Scientific.

Sample Data Table

Average Speed
Frequency (Hz) Tube Length (cm) Tube Length (m) Wavelength (m) Speed of Sound (m/s)
of Sound (m/s)
256 32.9 0.329 1.316 336
288 29.5 0.295 1.180 339
320 26.5 0.265 1.060 339
341 24.7 0.247 0.988 337
334
384 21.6 0.216 0.864 331
427 19.4 0.194 0.776 331
480 17.2 0.172 0.688 330
512 16.2 0.162 0.648 331

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Discovering the Speed of Sound in Air continued

Materials for Discovering the Speed of Sound are available from Flinn Scientific, Inc.
Catalog No. Description
AP7260 Disocvering the Speed of Sound in Air—Classroom Set
AP1037 Clamp, Universal Extension Clamp
AP8219 Clamp Holder
AP2228 Rubber Stoppers, Solid, #6
AP4685 Ruler, Metric, 12"
AP4550 Support Stand, Economy Choice
AP9242 Tuning Forks, Set of 8
AP6422 Tuning Fork Activator
Consult your Flinn Scientific Catalog/Reference Manual for current prices.

5 © 2017 Flinn Scientific, Inc. All Rights Reserved.