Chapter 10 Wave Phenomena

Name: Lab Partner: Section:

10.1

Purpose

Wave phenomena using sound waves will be explored in this experiment. Standing waves and beats will be examined. The speed of sound will be determined.

10.2

Introduction

While we will be concerned primarily with sound waves in this experiment, all waves have certain common features. There are two general types of waves. A transverse wave is one in which the disturbance is perpendicular to the direction of travel. A longitudinal wave is one in which the disturbance is parallel to the line of travel of the wave. Sound is a longitudinal wave. A wave is periodic if the pattern is repeated over and over. This occurs in both space and time. There are several features which describe such a periodic wave. The period, T, is the time it takes for one complete cycle or oscillation of the wave. The units are seconds. The wavelength, , is the distance between crest of the wave. Wavelength has units of distance. The amplitude is the magnitude of the disturbance. The amplitude can have various units for dierent types of waves. For a water wave, the amplitude would be the height in meters
Transverse Longitudinal

Direction of wave

Figure 10.1: Transverse and longitudinal waves. Sound is a longitudinal wave where the displacement of the medium is in the same direction as the motion of the wave.

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Velocity

Amplitude

Distance

Figure 10.2: The amplitude and wavelength are represented in this gure.

of the wave. For a sound wave, the amplitude is given in units of pressure (Pascal (Pa) = Newton/m2 ) The period is related to the frequency by: 1 T

f=

(10.1)

The unit of frequency is the Hertz (Hz = s1 ). The relationship between the speed of a wave, the wavelength and the frequency is: T

v = f =

(10.2)

This applies to both transverse and longitudinal waves. For sound in air at 1 atmosphere of pressure (1.01 x 105 Pa) and 20o C temperature, the velocity is 343 m/s Waves exhibit interference eects. This is based on the principle of superposition which can be stated as: When two or more waves are present simultaneously at the same place, the resultant wave is the sum of the individual waves. If the wavelength and amplitude of the two waves are the same, the two waves can add up in constructive interference to produce a wave with twice the amplitude of the individual waves (constructive interference). If the waves are out of phase by 180o, i.e. one wave is going up while the other wave is going down, the result is destructive interference and the two waves cancel out. See gure 10.3. A standing wave is a stationary pattern produced by interference of a wave with itself when it reects o of the opposite end of an enclosure. The wave interferes with its own reection. Each standing wave pattern is produced at a unique frequency. This frequency corresponds to an integer number of wavelengths that will t into the length, D, of the enclosure. The positions where there is no amplitude (pressure) is called a node. The positions with maximum amplitude (pressure) are called anti-nodes. Consider a tube of length D. The frequencies that produce the one loop, two loop, etc., patterns shown in gure 10.4 are given by: 64

Figure 10.3: In the top schematic, the two wave interfere constructively. In the bottom schematic, the waves interfere destructively

Figure 10.4: Standing wave pattern.

v ) n = 1, 2, 3, . . . (10.3) 2D where v is the velocity of the wave and D is the length of the tube. For a given D, a set of frequencies fn , where n = 1, 2, 3, . . . , produces standing waves. These frequencies are said to be harmonically related. The lowest frequency f1 (n =1), is usually called the fundamental frequency, the next lowest frequency, f2 = 2f1 (n = 2), is called the rst harmonic. When two waves of dierent frequency are added together, the two waves also interfere with one another. The number of times per second that the loudness rises and falls is the beat frequency. Consider two waves of the form: fn = n(

z (t)1 = Asin(2f1 t)

z (t)2 = Asin(2f2 t)

(10.4)

1 Using the trigonometry identity sin + sin = 2 cos 2 ( ) sin 1 ( + ) the sum of the 2 two waves is:

2 (f1 + f2 )t (2 (f1 f2 )t ))sin(( )) (10.5) 2 2 Note the dierence of frequencies in the cosine function and the sum of the frequencies in the sine function. Figure 10.5 show a plot of a function like equation 10.5. The three variations in intensity form an envelope which is determined by the cosine function in equation 10.5. . z (t) = 2Acos(( 65

Figure 10.5: This gure shows a plot of a function like equation 10.5. Note the envelope which is determined by the cosine function in in equation 10.5.
Transmitter Closed Tube L Reciever slide

Figure 10.6: Schematic diagram of the sound tube used to study standing waves and determine the speed of sound.

10.3
10.3.1

Procedure
Standing Waves

A schematic of the closed sound tube is shown in gure 10.6. A photograph is shown in gure 10.7. When a continuous sound wave is generated by the transmitter (speaker) at one end of the tube, it reects from the other (closed) end of the tube. The reected wave interferes with later waves being generated by the transmitter. A standing wave pattern is set up in the tube. The movable receiver (microphone) is then used to detect the nodes and anti-nodes of the standing wave pattern. Part 1: Fixed distance with the frequency varied. Open the le wave1.ds in DataStudio. A signal generator and oscilloscope will appear. Pull the receiver to the end of the tube opposite the transmitter. Vary the frequency of the signal generator from 2 kHz to 400 Hz. Record the four frequencies (f1 ,f2 ,f3 ,f4 ) from the signal generator where the amplitude is a maximum. The high frequency resonances (harmonics) are easier to see on the display so start at 2 kHz and step the frequency down. You will nd f4 rst, then f3 , etc. Verify the frequencies are related by equation 10.3, i.e. f1 =f4 /4, f1 =f3 /3, etc. Find the average f1 (fundamental harmonic). 66

Figure 10.7: The closed tube apparatus is shown in this photograph. The closed sound tube speaker is connected to the signal generator output and the voltage input is connected to the sliding microphone. Harmonic f4 f3 f2 f1 Frequency

average f1 For the fundamental harmonic, f1 , the wavelength is 2 D where D is the length of the tube. Using the average fundamental harmonic, f1 , nd the speed of sound from equation 10.2. Compare the result (percentage error) with the standard value 343 m/s. Speed of sound (v) Percent error Part 2: Fixed frequency with the distance varied. Find the f4 harmonic around 1.8 kHz. Record the frequency from the DataStudio signal generator display. Frequency (f4 ) Place the receiver near the transmitter ( 2 cm). Slowly move the receiver across the tube and record the maxima (anti-nodes) in the table. The dierence between maxima is L = for f4 . Determine the average . Determine the speed of sound 2 from equation 10.2 and compare to the standard value for the speed of sound (percent error). Average wavelength () Speed of sound (v) Percent error 67

Maximum position (L) dierence (L)

10.3.2

Beats

Figure 10.8: The experimental setup for measuring beat frequencies is shown in this photograph.

Figure 10.8 shows the setup to measure the beat frequencies of two tuning forks with slightly dierent frequencies. Masking tape on one fork is used to slightly retard the frequency. Open the le wave2.ds. Adjust the sound detector to 1 cm from the forks. One fork should have masking tape to retard its frequency from the standard 256 Hz. Remove the tuning fork with the masking tape. Strike the tuning fork without the masking tape and click start. Expand the scale if necessary. Fit the curve with a sine t and determine the frequency. The t parameter for the sine t is the period, T. Calculate the frequency from this period and record it below. Frequency of fork without tape Repeat for the other tuning fork with the masking tape and record the frequency below. Frequency of fork with tape 68

 With both tuning forks in position, strike both tuning forks equally hard with the rubber mallet and click start. Beats should appear on the display i.e. a variation in the intensity like gure 10.5. Using the smart tool function in DataStudio, measure and record the time for four adjacent maxima of the beats. Calculate the time dierence (period) between adjacent maxima and the frequency for these periods. Record the values in the table and calculate the average frequency. Maximum time dierence (T) frequency

Average frequency The frequency of the beats is the dierence in the frequency between tuning forks with and without masking tape. Calculate the dierence in frequency between the two tuning forks. Calculate the percentage dierence between this dierence in frequency and the average frequency of the beats calculated in the previous step. Dierence in frequency between forks Percent dierence Expand the scale so 50 cycles are visible near one of the maxima. Using a sine t, determine the frequency. Compare (percentage dierence) the sine t frequency to one half of the sum of the two individual tuning fork frequencies. Frequency from sine t Percent dierence

10.3.3

Questions

1. Why does adding masking tape to one of the tuning forks lower the frequency?

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2. Why is the frequency of the beats the dierence in the two individual fork frequencies and not one half of this dierence?

10.4

Conclusion

Write a detailed conclusion about what you have learned. Include all relevant numbers you have measured with errors. Sources of error should also be included.

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