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Standing Waves

This experiment investigates standing sound waves in air columns and measures the speed of sound in air. Students use a resonance tube with a piston, microphone, speaker and function generator. They determine the wavelength and speed of sound for different frequencies and observe standing wave patterns by varying the piston position and using the microphone.

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Samar Hanna
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231 views4 pages

Standing Waves

This experiment investigates standing sound waves in air columns and measures the speed of sound in air. Students use a resonance tube with a piston, microphone, speaker and function generator. They determine the wavelength and speed of sound for different frequencies and observe standing wave patterns by varying the piston position and using the microphone.

Uploaded by

Samar Hanna
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Experiment 8

Standing Sound Waves in Air Columns


Objective:
To investigate standing sound waves in air columns and to measure the speed of sound in air.
Equipment:
Resonance tube with piston, microphone, speaker, function generator, and Oscilloscope.
Theory:
Standing waves are created in an air column when a wave is reflected from the end of the
column so that the returning wave interferes with the original wave. Standing waves occur in
a closed tube when the following condition is satisfied:
L=n/4
Where L is the length of the tube, is the wavelength of the sound wave, and n is an odd
integer (n=1, 3, 5)
A standing sound wave has displacement nodes: points where the air does not vibrate, and
displacement antinodes: points where the amplitude of the air vibration is a maximum.
Pressure nodes and antinodes also exist within the waveform. In fact, pressure nodes occur at
displacement antinodes and pressure antinodes occur at displacement nodes. This can be
understood by thinking of a pressure antinode as being located between two displacement
antinodes that vibrate 180 out of phase with each other. When the air of the two
displacement antinodes are moving toward each other, the pressure of the pressure antinode is
a maximum. When they are moving apart, the pressure goes to a minimum.
Reflection of the sound wave occurs at both open and closed tube ends. If the end of the tube
is closed, the air has nowhere to go, so a displacement node (a pressure antinode) must exist
at a closed end. If the end of the tube is open, the pressure stays very nearly at room pressure,
so a pressure node (a displacement antinode) exists at an open end of the tube.
In this experiment, when the diaphragm of a speaker vibrates, a sound wave is produced that
propagates through the air. The sound wave consists of small motions of the air molecules
toward and away from the speaker. The motion of a small volume of air in a sound wave is
parallel to the direction of propagation of the wave. Because of this, the sound wave is called
a longitudinal wave.
NOTE: When using the microphone to investigate the waveform within the tube, be aware
that the microphone is a pressure transducer. A maximum signal, therefore, indicates a
pressure antinode (a displacement node) and a minimum signal indicates a pressure node
(displacement antinode).

Procedure:
1. Set the function generator to a frequency of 0.5 kHz. Turn on the oscilloscope, the
microphone, and the function generator. Move the piston to a position near the end of

the tube. Turn the amplitude of the function generator up until you can hear a sound
from the speaker and observe a small signal on the screen of the oscilloscope.
***DO NOT increase the amplitude of the signal from the function generator beyond
a quarter of the maximum amplitude otherwise the speaker can be damaged. Make
sure the sound from the speaker is audible but not loud.
2. Push the piston slowly further into the tube, until a maximum in the amplitude of the
signal is observed. Adjust the piston accurately as to maximize your signal. Record
the position of the piston.
3. Continue moving the piston into the tube until another standing wave is produced.
Record the new position and repeat the procedure until you have found and recorded
all the piston positions along the tube that produce standing waves. Calculate the
distance between successive maxima.
4. Repeat the above procedure for a frequency of 1 and 1.5 kHz.
5. Determine the wavelength and the speed of the sound waves for each frequency.
Compare to the theoretical value of sound waves in air.
Vsound= (331.5+0.607T) where T is the temperature of air in 0C.
6. Set the function generator to 1 kHz and vary the position of the piston to obtain a
standing wave pattern.
7. Insert the microphone into the tube and record the positions where the oscilloscopes
signal is a maximum and a minimum.
8. Sketch the variations of the signal of the oscilloscope along the length of the tube.
From this deduce the sketch of the displacement nodes and antinodes.
9. Repeat steps 6 and 7 for each length of the air column at which resonance occurs at 1
kHz (Note that these values are already determined in the first part of the experiment).
Record the number of displacement nodes for each length.
10. Plot the length of the tube as a function of the number of displacement nodes in the
standing wave pattern. From the slope, deduce the velocity of sound in air.

Date: _____________

Grade:
Physics302L
Standing Waves in Air Columns

Names:

_____________________

/15
Section: ______

Instructor: _____________________
Calculate the expected value of speed of sound in air at room
temperature. (1 pt)

A-frequency= 0.5 kHz


length
/2

( 2 pts)

XXX

avg =
Vsound=
B-frequency= 1 kHz
length
/2

(2 pts)

XXX

avg =
Vsound=

C-frequency= 1.5 kHz


length
/2
avg =
Vsound=

XXX

(2 pts)

Find the average value of speed of sound in air along with its rms error
and compare it to the expected value. Comment on the possible sources
of error. ( 2 pts)

D- Sketch: (2 pts)

E-frequency= 1 kHz

(2 pts)

length
n
Plot the length of the tube as a function of the number of displacement
nodes in the standing wave pattern. (1 pt)
From the slope, find the velocity of sound in air. Comment. (1 pt)

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