Internal Assessment Darren Boesono 12 IBCP-2 Nickasius Sindhunata
A. INTRODUCTORY
What is sound? Sound is the term to describe what is heard when sound waves pass through a
medium to the ear. All sounds are made by vibrations of molecules through which the sound travels.
For instance, when a drum or a cymbal is struck, the object vibrates. These vibrations make air
molecules move. Sound waves move away from their source (where they came from), traveling on
the air molecules. When the vibrating air molecules reach our ears, the eardrum vibrates, too. The
bones of the ear vibrate in the same way that of the object that started the sound wave. These
vibrations let you hear different sounds. Even music is vibrations. Irregular vibrations are noise.
People can make very complex sounds. We use them for speech. In physics, sound is a vibration
that typically propagates as an audible wave of pressure, through a transmission medium such as a
gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the reception of such waves and
their perception by the brain.
After knowing exactly what does sound really mean, in physics or in general, we know that sound is
an element that is always presented in our entire lives, but we never thought about where it comes
from and how long has it already been traveling. As a person who loves to listen to music, my
curiosity about sound has never stop such as, where does the sound comes from a guitar amplifier,
the sound from drums and the sound that DJs use to create those high intensity beats. One thing I
never usually think about is how these sounds travel and are affected by temperature, such as
playing in summer or winter. What might the delay be, before the sound reaches the audience?
Questions like these started encouraged me to start finding answers.
After a tremendous amount of research i have done, I decided to design an experiment where I
would measure the velocity of sound depending on temperature using an oscilloscope and a
frequency generator. The purpose of this investigation is to find the relationship between
temperature and the speed of sound.
B. THEORY
The velocity of sound is calculated by the formula:
v=f ×λ
V= Velocity of sound in meters per second (m/s)
Internal Assessment Darren Boesono 12 IBCP-2 Nickasius Sindhunata
F= The frequency of sound in hertz (Hz)
λ= The wavelength in meters (m)
Speed of sound in a certain material depends on two main concepts: the density of the material and
its rigidity (elasticity). The effect of rigidity is observed in different states This is also observed in
solids, which have the ability to transmit the sound the fastest. Then there are liquids and at the end
gases, that transmit sound the slowest. Another important factor that influences the speed of sound
is the air humidity. As humidity increases, the number of water molecules in the air increases. The
water molecules have a smaller molecular mass than oxygen, carbon dioxide or nitrogen. When
there are more water molecules there is a lower mass to volume ratio. This leads to an overall
smaller density of the air. The denser the air, the slower the sound propagates through it. The effect
of humidity is a little greater at lower air pressures. At high altitudes, the speed was calculated to be
larger in percentage in 100% humid air than in 0% humid air, keeping the room temperature
constant. When increasing the temperature, the effect of humidity was found to be bigger.
C. METHODOLOGY
First, I took a jar of a known height (16.8 cm) and two sound emitters from sound postcards. I glued
one at the top, which I used as a sound receiver, or a microphone. The other one, I glued at the
bottom and used it as a speaker. I also needed a thermometer in order to measure the temperature
inside the jar.
Next i connected the speaker to the frequency generator and the receiver to the oscilloscope to be
able to analyze the longitudinal wave that occurs. By incrementally increasing the frequency from
small values, I was searching for the maximum amplitude seen on the oscilloscope. This point is
known as the resonance point, as this is where the first standing wave occurs, known as the
Internal Assessment Darren Boesono 12 IBCP-2 Nickasius Sindhunata
st
fundamental 1 harmonic that has the wavelength equal to 2 lengths of the jar. If we then further
nd rd
increase the frequency, we eventually reach 2 harmonic, 3 harmonic and so on. In order to
increase the temperature, I put the jar in a pot full of water on the stove. Then I slowly started
heating the pot and the jar on low fire. The heat from the water was transferred from the water to
the air inside of the jar. I started recording the temperatures shown on my thermometer, and for
every change of exactly 2 Kelvins, I changed the frequency in order to form a standing wave
(resonance) in the jar and then recorded that frequency. I repeated the experiment 3 times, and
calculated the average value of the frequency for each temperature.
Equipment needed:
1. Frequency Generator
2. Oscilloscope
3. Speaker
4. Thermometer
5. Jar
6. Pot with water
7. Stove
