Royal Grammar School
Physics Department
A Level Core Practical
Title: Determine the speed of sound in air using a 2- beam oscilloscope, signal generator, speaker and
microphone
Aim: To use appropriate instrumentation to measure a sound signal
Underlying Physics (what equations applies, what graph will you plot?) :
1
The wave speed equation is v=fλ . The frequency can be determined by using f = where T is the time period
T
of the wave. This can be determined by viewing the wave on the oscilloscope and looking at the time division
between one wavelength.
The wavelength can be determined by moving the microphone away from the receiver until the waves are in
phase and then move them apart until they are in phase again. The difference in distance between the
microphone and receiver is the wavelength and an average of this can be used to calculate a more accurate
wavelength.
The frequency and wavelength determined can be input in the wave speed equation to output the speed of
sound.
Prediction (will you get a straight line, why?) :
The speed of sound in dry air is around 340 m/s which is around what we should get
Diagram of equipment: Explanation of equipment:
Oscilloscope used for displaying the wave
electronically
Microphone to detect wave and turn it into
an electrical sound wave
Signal generator to produce a signal in the
first place
Speaker used to output wave that is
registered on the oscilloscope
Digital calliper used to measure the distance
between speaker and microphone
Wires used to connect microphone and
speaker
Royal Grammar School
Physics Department
A Level Core Practical
Method (what are your control variables? How will you improve the accuracy of your measurements?):
1. Connect up the apparatus as shown in the diagram
2. Set up the oscilloscope by varying the voltage and the time division so that the two waves can be visible
and there’s a few wavelengths on screen
3. Keep the vertical position dial the same so that that it is easier to tell if the waves are in phase
4. Have the microphone and the speaker so they are right next to each other and the waves are in phase
5. Slowly move the microphone back until the peaks coincide again and the waves are in phase
6. Use a digital calliper to measure the distance between the two.
7. This is the wavelength of the wave. Repeat this process as many times as you can working out the
difference in distance between the microphone and receiver in order to calculate an average for the
wavelength
8. Frequency worked out by doing 1/Time Period = Frequency. The time period is worked out by counting
the number of squares on the oscilloscope (each division was 10 microseconds) between 5 waves and
then dividing this by 5 for a more accurate number
9. Wave speed can be calculated by multiplying frequency and wavelength
10. Control Variables include temperature, signal generator, frequency
Risk Assessment:
Hazard Risk Precaution
Uncertainty or Error Impact on Experiment How to Minimise
Measuring time division A few mm Use more accurate measuring instruments or use a
using a ruler larger screen
Trace on oscilloscope being A few mm Use a more modern and accurate oscilloscope
too thick
Results (be careful with decimal places and significant figures, keep it neat):
Where peaks coincide Differences between
Royal Grammar School
Physics Department
A Level Core Practical
when peaks coincide
(mm) (mm)
Average of
differences
34.32 8.38 (mm):
42.70 7.56 8.48
50.26 8.46
58.72 8.63
67.35 8.46
75.81 8.55
84.36 9.31
93.67
0.000024
Time Period (s): 8
Uncertainty 0.875
Percentage 10.32
Uncertainty: %
Frequency (Hz): 40322
Wavespeed
(m/s): 341.88
Analysis and evaluation (trends, physics, further analysis of gradients, calculations of uncertainties, anomalies,
errors and uncertainties contributing to imperfect results, improvements to minimise these + improve
method, conclusion regarding accuracy):
To calculate the frequency we worked out the time period which was calculated by measuring the time divisions
between 5 waves which was 124∗10−6 s
and then dividing that by 5 which was 0.0000248s in order to work out an accurate time period. Then, using
1
f= we calculated the frequency which was 40322 Hz.
T
The wavelength was calculated by using the average of the differences between when the peaks coincided and
this was then used in v=fλ to give a final wave speed of 341.88 ms-1 . This was fairly close to the accepted value
for speed of sound in dry air, 340 ms-1 so the experiment was fairly accurate and precise especially considering
our percentage uncertainty of 10.32%.
However, in future, for clearer results we will use a more modern oscilloscope as the trace on the screen can be
quite thick and so there is some uncertainty about exactly where to place the speaker each time. In addition, it
was very difficult to have the waves precisely in phase due to the hand shaking when moving the microphone
and the inability of the microphone to stand perfectly upright. In future, placing the microphone and the speaker
in the exact same plane using a rod or similar would greatly improve our results.
Royal Grammar School
Physics Department
A Level Core Practical
Royal Grammar School
Physics Department
A Level Core Practical
Additional comments / calculations:
