Lab Report one sample for Physics 204. Includes extended descriptions for Introduction, Methods, Calculations, Discussion, and Conclusion to help ensure full marks in your reports. Please beware plagiarism as you look the document over and for any questions, refer to your TA.
In the field of physics, sound is defined as a vibration that propagates as a wave through a
medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. Unlike light, sound is a longitudinal wave and it produces
dense regions of medium called compressions and less dense regions of medium called
rarefactions. In air, sound moves by first being created by a source and moving forward and
backward to create changes in pressure and density of air molecules, i.e., compressions and
rarefactions. In our daily lives, sound plays an immense role in helping us sense the world
around us. Our ears are specially designed to perceive sound, which we experience through
music and through the various sound-producing appliances in our households: alarm clocks,
speakers, and much more.
In this lab, the main goal is to analyze the characteristics of sound. Another goal is to
learn how to use the data acquisition tools provided.
Procedure:
First, the warmup exercise was done. The LoggerPro application was opened, and it was
ensured that the LabQuest mini box was connected to the computer as well as the microphone.
To test out whether the application was working, a pure sound was projected onto the
microphone. To produce an optimal graph, multiple attempts were made here. The graph and
data were then recorded.
Next, Experiment 1: The Tuning Fork was done. A tuning fork was hit lightly against a
table and held less than 1 cm away from the microphone to record the sound produced. To make
sure that the sound was captured properly, the start button on the LoggerPro application was
clicked almost immediately after exciting the tuning fork. The results from the orientation that
, 2
produced the best graph was kept. From the graph, the period of the tuning fork and its frequency
was noted (Data).
Then, Experiment 2: Your Voice was done. The same steps as in Experiment 1 was
followed using my voice instead of the tuning fork to produce a pure sound. Once again, the
results producing the best graph was kept. The frequency of the wave produced was also found
(Data).
Figure 1: Application settings for Experiment 3: Measure the Speed of Sound.
Lastly, Experiment 3: Measure the Speed of Sound was done. To do so, a cardboard tube
was used to create an “echo chamber.” The Data Collection settings on the LoggerPro
application was changed so that the software began recording once it “heard” a sound instead of
needing to be started manually. The settings option was found by going into the Experiment tab
and then the Data Collection tab in the application and the set up was as shown in Figure 1. The
microphone was placed at the open end of the tube and a sound was made near the opening of
the tube as well to trigger the recording to start. The graph obtained and the data produced by the
sound were collected. Lastly, the length of the tube, the change in time, and the speed of the
sound was recorded as well (Data).
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