Velocity of Sound in Air

Goals and Introduction

In this experiment, we will study longitudinal wave motion of sound by determining the velocity
of sound in air and using the velocity to find the frequency of a sound wave.
Sound in a gas like air is a longitudinal disturbance in the pressure and displacement of the
molecules. It is clear from a simple experiment that sound travels at a relatively fast but finite
speed. There is no perceptible delay in the sound that arrives at your ears when a person located
across the room is speaking. However, if a lightning flash occurs 5 miles away, it takes a
significant amount of time before the accompanying thunderclap arrives at your ear.
In this experiment, you will examine the relationship between the wave speed, frequency and
wavelength of sound, and in the process, make a determination of the speed of sound. You will
use standing waves, which are produced when two waves of nearly equal wavelength and
amplitude propagate in opposite directions in the same medium. A pattern of loops, or
antinodes, is produced, each of which spans one-half wavelength. By measuring the distance
between the quiet points, or nodes, in the pattern, you can determine the wavelength () of the
sound. If the frequency (f) of the sound is known or measured by other means, then the speed (v)
of the sound waves can be found from the basic wave relation:
v= f

(Eq. 1)

speaker

to ear

Figure 1. Resonance Tube Apparatus

Consider the resonance tube shown in Figure 1. Suppose the piston is in position B. Sound of a
certain frequency enters the tube at A from a small speaker. A small amount of the sound
entering at A will go through the opening in the piston at B and to your ear (on the far right).
Most of the sound energy will be reflected at B back toward A, as in a closed pipe. For specific
lengths of the closed pipe, a standing wave is produced and resonance will occur. The sound
you hear will be much louder than it would be if the resonant condition did not exist. Standing
waves will be produced at various positions of the piston (such as B, C, and D in Fig. 1), for
positions that correspond to nodes of the standing waves, as shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2: Standing Waves and Corresponding Wavelengths in a Closed Tube

Note that the distances between successive points of resonance are each one-half wavelength and
so the wavelength is twice the distance between resonant points. Thus, if the distance between
adjacent nodes, (i.e. the length of one loop) is d, then d = /2 so the wavelength = 2d. For
example, if L is the distance between the first and fifth resonant points, it includes four loops and
the length of one loop would be L/4. Since each loop is half a wavelength, the wavelength would
be twice that length: = 2(L/4).
The source of sound for the resonance tube shown in Fig. 1 is a small speaker that is driven by an
electronic audio oscillator in which the frequency can be closely controlled. A meter stick along
the resonance tube helps in recording the positions of successive resonant points.

Goals: (1)
(2)
(3)

Measure and consider standing waves caused by various sound waves.

Determine the speed of sound in air.
Determine the frequency of a sound wave.

Procedure
Equipment Kundts tube standing wave apparatus, audio oscillator, microphone or hearing
tube, meter stick, thermometer
1) Your laboratory instructor will set the oscillator at some specific frequency and tell you what
it is. Record the value as fA.
2) Starting with the piston close to the speaker, gradually pull it out, while listening carefully
with your ear near the other end of the tube. Find at least three (preferably more) positions of the
piston where you hear maximum loudness in the tube. Be careful not to miss any of the maxima.
Measure these piston positions and record them as xA1, xA2, xA3, etc.
3) Your instructor will set the audio oscillator to another frequency and tell you what it is.
Record the value as fB. Again find at least three (preferably more) piston positions where you
hear maximum loudness. Measure these piston positions and record them as xB1, xB2, xB3, etc.
4) Your Instructor will set the audio oscillator to a third frequency and tell you what it is.
Record the value as fC. Again find at least three (preferably more) piston positions where you
hear maximum loudness. Measure these piston positions and record them as xC1, xC2, xC3, etc.
5) Your Instructor will set the audio oscillator to a fourth frequency, but this time will not tell
you what it is. As before, find at least three (preferably more) piston positions where you hear
maximum loudness. Measure these piston positions and record them as xD1, xD2, xD3, etc.
6) Measure and record the room temperature in degrees Celsius as T.
As always, be sure to organize your data records for presentation in your lab report, using tables
and labels where appropriate. Be sure to label your graphs.
Data Analysis
For the frequency fA, calculate the total distance between the first and last maximum you
measured and label it xA. It will be helpful to use units of meters.
Using Fig. 2 as a guide, and noting that the maxima you found correspond to the positions of
nodes in the standing waves, determine how many loops of the standing wave lie between the
first and last maximum you measured and label it NA.

Question 1: Based on Fig. 2, do you expect the distances between successive maxima (e.g. from
xA1 to xA2, from xA2 to xA3, from xA3 to xA4, etc.) to be the same or different? Explain. Do your
measurements match your expectation? Explain.
Use the total distance xA and the number of loops NA to find the length of one loop, and label
the result dA. Then use that distance to calculate the wavelength and label it A.
Use Eq. 1 to calculate the speed of sound for this wave and label the result vA.
Repeat the same analysis for frequencies fB and fC to find in each case: the total distance between
the first and last maximum (xB and xC), the number of loops included (NB and NC), the length
of one loop (dB and dC), the wavelength (B and C), and the speed of sound (vB and vC).
Question 2: Given the relationship given by Eq. 1, should the wavelength increase or decrease
as the frequency of the oscillator is decreased? Why? Do your data bear out this prediction?
Explain.
In the same way, for the fourth (unknown) frequency, find the total distance between the first and
last maximum (xD), the number of loops included (ND), the length of one loop (dD), and the
wavelength (D).
Calculate the mean of your results for v from the three known frequencies and label the result
vave. Also calculate the standard deviation and the standard deviation of the mean of your results
for v.
Use your average speed of sound with Eq. 1 to determine the fourth, unknown frequency and
label the result fD.
The predicted speed of sound in air can be approximated by v = 331.3 + 0.606 T m/s, where T is
the air temperature in degrees Celsius. Use this approximation to calculate the predicted speed of
sound for your experiment. Label the result vpred.
Error Analysis
Question 3: Why did we measure the total distance between the first and last maximum (e.g.
xA) and the total number of loops included (e.g. NA), rather than just measure the length of a
single loop? Explain why this should result in a more accurate measurement of the period.
Calculate the percentage error of your average experimental speed of sound (vave) compared to
the predicted value (vpred).

Question 4: Remember that the standard deviation of the mean gives you a measure of the
experimental uncertainty in your mean value. Thus, the results would say the true value lies in
the range vave m. Considering your percent error, your mean value, and your standard deviation
of the mean, did your experimental results confirm the predicted speed of sound? Explain.
Questions and Conclusions
Be sure to address Questions 1-4 and describe what has been verified and tested by this
experiment. What are the likely sources of error? Where might the physics principles
investigated in this lab manifest in everyday life, or in a job setting?
Pre-Lab Questions
Please read through all the instructions for this experiment to acquaint yourself with the
experimental setup and procedures, and develop any questions you may want to discuss with
your lab partner or TA before you begin. Then answer the following questions and type your
answers into the Canvas quiz tool for Velocity of Sound in Air, and submit it before the start
of your lab section on the day this experiment is to be run.
PL-1) Two students performing this experiment measure loudness maxima at the following
piston positions: 0.17 m, 0.36 m, 0.53 m, 0.71 m, and 0.86 m. How many loops of the standing
wave are there between the first and last maximum?
PL-2) At another frequency the same two students measure loudness maxima at piston positions
of 0.19 m, 0.39 m, 0.60 m, 0.81 m, and 1.00 m. What is the wavelength of the standing wave (in
m)?
PL-3) At a frequency of 656 Hz, the students determine a wavelength of 0.515 m for the standing
wave. What speed of sound do they determine (in m/s)?
PL-4) The students measure the room temperature to be 18 oC. What is the predicted speed of
sound in the room (in m/s)?
PL-5) Two other students measure the mean and standard deviation of the mean of the speed of
sound to be vave = 337.5 3.1 m/s. How does this compare to their predicted value vpred = 343.4
m/s?
(A) It is numerically equal to vpred.
(B) It is not numerically equal, but it is statistically equal to vpred, because of the standard
deviation of the mean.

(C) It is neither numerically nor statistically equal to vpred, because of the standard deviation of
the mean.
(D) We cant tell from the information given.