Good Vibrations
Student Instruction Sheet
Challenge
Determine the relationship between frequency, wavelength, period, and pitch.
You will do this in three parts using WAVEPORT's Sound Creator.
In the first part, you will explore the tools and features of Sound Creator while
qualitatively determining how frequency, wavelength, period, and pitch are
related. The second part is an extension of the first. Upon completion of it, you
will not only confirm your findings in the first part, but you will also be able to
express the mathematical relationship between period and frequency. The third
part is also an extension of the first. You will again confirm findings from the
first part, and also express the mathematical relationship between wavelength
and frequency.
Computer w/ Speakers
DataStudio software
WAVEPORT plug-in
Safety Precautions
Remember, follow the directions for using the equipment.
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Background
Much of the information about the world around you comes via waves,
electromagnetic waves (light waves) and mechanical waves. Sound is a longitudinal
mechanical wave. A mechanical wave is a traveling disturbance that carries
energy from one place to another. As an object vibrates, it transfers energy to
the particles of the matter that surround it, causing the particles to also
vibrate.
These vibrations are manifested in a series of compressions (pulses of
compressed air or other matter) and rarefactions (disturbances in the air or
other matter where the pressure is lowered) as energy moves out from the
source. When the vibrations reach the eardrum, it in turn vibrates. This
vibration is registered in our brain as sound.
Longitudinal waves occur when a medium
vibrates parallel to the direction in which
the wave travels. A medium is the material
through which the sound travels. Without
a medium (i.e., in a vacuum such as space)
there can be no sound. It is useful to
represent sound waves in a wave diagram
(Figure 1) in which
the crests represent areas of
You can often create a tone by blowing air across the top of an empty glass
bottle. When you add some water to the bottle and blow, the tone changes its
pitch. What is it about sound waves that make one have a different pitch than
another? Changing a pitch (how low or high a sound seems to be) and loudness
involves changing some of the properties of a sound wave. By adding water to the
bottle, you have done something to change the properties of the wave. To
understand how those properties relate to each other and affect the sound, you
must first understand what some of those properties are. As you read further
about those properties refer to the wave diagram in Figure 2.
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343
Helium
1005
Hydrogen
1300
Water
1440
Sea Water
1560
~5000
Glass
~4500
Aluminum
~5100
Hard Wood
~4000
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Figure 3
Predict
Before beginning the eLab, complete the prediction portion of the Student
Response Sheet.
Explore
Computer Setup
1. Launch the DataStudio program.
2. Select Open Activity from the Welcome to DataStudio window.
3. Navigate to the folder containing the DataStudio configuration files and choose
20 Sound Wave Properties CF.ds.
This is a DataStudio Workbook file configured to prompt the appropriate
displays for each of the three activities in this lab.
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3. After you enter the value for the frequency, press the Enter or Tab key to
move to the next column and record the corresponding Period. After typing in
the value be sure to press Enter to record it.
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5. Click on the table and enter the next set of data points.
6. Continue changing the frequency and entering data into the table until you
have collected at least 6 sets of data points.
2. Observe the shape of the curve of your data and determine the type of
mathematical expression that best describes it.
3. Click the Curve Fit button (
) on the graph toolbar and choose the type of
curve fit expression that best approximates the mathematical relationship
between Frequency and Period. After you click on your selection, a plot of that
selection appears on the graph, and box opens displaying the parameters of the
fit. The closer the Mean Squared Error is to 0, the better the fit.
4. Answer the questions on the Student Response Sheet.
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3. Click the Curve Fit button on the graph toolbar and choose the type of curve fit
expression that best approximates the mathematical relationship between
Frequency and Wavelength. After you click on your selection, a plot of that
selection appears on the graph, and a box opens displaying the parameters of the
fit. Be sure to note the scale factor.
4. Answer the questions and define the vocabulary words on the Student Response
Sheet.
5. Follow your teachers instructions regarding cleaning up your work space.
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Vocabulary
Use available resources to find the definitions of the following terms:
compression: _________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
crest: ______________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
mechanical wave: ______________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
medium: _____________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
rarefaction:
__________________________________________________
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___________________________________________________________
trough:______________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
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Predict
1. How do you think sound waves are created?
Data
Note your observations for each of the activities.
Activity
Touch a vibrating tuning
fork to the surface of a pan
of water.
Tie a lightweight object to a
piece of thread and dangle
it near a vibrating tuning
fork.
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Analyze
1. By what means is sound produced? Which of the four activities demonstrated
this?
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
2. What is required for sound to be present? Which activity demonstrated this?
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
Synthesize
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2. If a tree falls in the forest and there is no one around to hear it, does it make a
sound?
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
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Figure 1
Figure 2
484
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Vocabulary
Use available resources to find the definitions of the following terms:
amplitude: ___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
cycle:
______________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
frequency: ___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
hertz: ______________________________________________________
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___________________________________________________________
loudness: ____________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
period:
_____________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
pitch: _______________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
wavelength: __________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
Predict
1. How do you think frequency, wavelength, and pitch of a sound waves are related?
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
2. What do you think is the relationship between the frequency and period of a
sound wave?
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
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Data
Part 1: Identify the Functions (DataStudio Workbook Page 1)
For each of the following tools found in Sound Creator, identify how using it
affects (1) the appearance of the display and/or the waves properties and (2)
the sound of the wave.
Speaker
(1)_____________________________________________________
(2) ____________________________________________________
Amplitude Tool
(1)_____________________________________________________
(2) ____________________________________________________
Pitch Tool
(1)_____________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
(2) ____________________________________________________
What wave property do the numbers with the units of time (s) indicate?
_______________________________________________________
Phase Tool
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(1)_____________________________________________________
(2) ____________________________________________________
Analyze
1. How did increasing and decreasing the amplitude affect the sound?
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
2. Explain how decreasing the period affects the:
a. frequency ____________________________________________
b. pitch ________________________________________________
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