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Column of air resonance and the velocity of sound, Theory – Casio EA-200 User Manual

Page 26

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20020601

English

Activity: Setup

Activity: Setup

2-7-1

í Equipment

Glass Resonance Tube (Uniform Inside Diameter, With Scale Markings)

Rubber Tube

Reservoir

Stand

Low Frequency Generator (or Tuning Fork)

Audio Measurement Setup (EA-200, graphic scientific calculator,

data communication cable)

Temperature Measurement Setup (EA-200, graphic scientific calculator,

data communication cable, temperature probe)

í Setting Up

u Set up the equipment as shown in the illustration, and fill with water, taking care it does

not overflow.

u Raise and lower the reservoir and check to make sure that the level of the water changes.

This activity uses the resonance of a column of air to measure the velocity of sound.

Resonance is what occurs when one object vibrating at the same natural frequency of a

second object causes the second object to vibrate. If you have two tuning forks of the same

natural frequency located near each other and strike one of the tuning forks so begins

vibrating, the other tuning fork will also vibrate even if you do not strike it. This is due to

resonance.

This activity uses a fixed-frequency sound source to produce resonance in a vertical

resonance tube. The sound produced by the resonating column of air will sound louder than

the sound produced by the sound source.

The expressions below show the relationships between the length of the column of air and

wavelength, and the velocity of sound and wavelength. The relationship between the

velocity of sound and wavelength is called the basic equation.

L

n

(m) : Air Column Length for Resonance

Point

n

(

n

= 1, 2, 3...)

ͬ

L

(m) : Air Column Open-end Correction

λ

(m)

: Wavelength of Sound

v

(m/s) : Velocity of Sound

f

(Hz)

: Frequency of Sound Wave

Actually, the air around the opening in the resonance tube also behaves like part of the air

column. This is called “open-end correction.” The effects of open-end correction can be

eliminated by measuring the length of the air column at Resonance Point 1 and Resonance

Point 2 and calculating the difference between the two. This can be used in combination

with the wave basic equation to determine the velocity of sound, using the expression

below.

Column of Air Resonance and

the Velocity of Sound

Theory

1

Glass Resonance Tube

2

Tube Length: 1 meter

3

Stand

4

Reservoir

5

Rubber Tube

6

Low Frequency Generator:
800Hz

7

Speaker

8

EA-200

v

1

Resonance Point 1

2

Resonance Point 2

L

n

=

λ

ͬL v

=

f

λ

2n–1

4