MARKS

(10%)
Procedure (1%)
Results (2%)
UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MARA Analysis (2%)
UiTM SABAH Discussion (2%)
Conclusion (1%)
PHY370
PHYSICS LABORATORY Lab Skills &
(INSTRUMENTATION AND APPLICATION) Technique (2%)
TOTAL (10%)
LABORATORY REPORT

TITLE : Velocity of Sound in Air with Cobra3

EXPERIMENT NO. :2
CLASS/GROUP : AS1205A1
DATE OF EXPERIMENT : 17th September 2019
DATE OF SUBMISSION : 24th September 2019
LECTURER’S NAME : DR. AJIS BIN LEPIT

No. Group Member Student ID

1. HUZAIFAH BIN DARWIS 2017651982
2. MAIZURAH BINTI JALIL 2017266168
3. NUR AIN BINTI MURSIDIE 2017680384
4. NURUL FADIENA BINTI DURAHEMAN 2017433928
1.0 TITLE
Velocity of Sound in Air with Cobra3

2.0 OBJECTIVE
2.1 To determine the velocity of sound in air
2.2 To demonstrate the linear relationship between the propagation time of sound and its
respective path.

3.0 EQUIPMENT
Cobra 3 Basic Unit 12150.00 1
Power Supply, 12V 12151.99 1
RS232 data cable 14602.00 1
Cobra3 Timer/ Counter Software 14511.61 1
Microphone with amplifier 03543.00 1
Battery, 9 V, 6 F 22 DIN 40871 07496.10 1
Support rod with hole, l = 100 mm 02036.00 2
Support 09906.00 1
Barrel base -Pass- 02006.55 2
Measuring tape, l = 2 m 09936.00 1
Connecting cord, l = 75 cm, red 07362.01 1
Connecting cord, l = 75 cm, blue 07632.04 1
Connecting cord, l = 25 cm,32 A, red 07360.01 1
Connecting cord, l = 25 cm, 32 A, blue 07360.04 1
PC, Windows 95 or higher

1
4.0 INTRODUCTION

Sound is a longitudinal wave. A wave consists of an oscillation in some medium. Sound waves are
longitudinal waves in air where the air molecules oscillate in the direction of propagation of the wave.
All waves are characterized by amplitude, period, frequency, wavelength and velocity. Regardless of
the source of the sound wave, sound waves traveling through air are longitudinal waves. And the
essential characteristic of a longitudinal wave that differentiates it from other types of waves is that
the particles of the medium move in a direction parallel to the direction of energy transport.

As the speed of a wave is defined as the distance that a point on a wave such as a compression
or a rarefaction travels per unit of time, it is often expressed in units of m/s. In equation form, this is

Speed = distance/time

According to theories, the speed of sound in air approximately 331.5 m/s at 0 C or around
1200 km per hour. The speed of ound through air is approximately 343 m/s at normal room
temperature which is at 20 C.

5.0 PROCEDURE

1. After the sound has travelled the distance s, the pulse of sound is registered by the microphone;
in this manner, Timer 1 is stopped.
2. One obtains the sound travel time t or also immediately the speed of sound v = s / t if the path
distance has been previously entered.
3. The sound pulse was ensured to be generated at approximately the same height in which the
microphone is located in order to ensure that the horizontal distance between the sound source
and the microphone is in reality the distance that the sound pulse must travel.
4. The free metal rod was tapped on the side of the clamped-in rod that faces away from the
microphone. Subsequently, the measured speed of can be read off and the timer is stopped.
5. The measurement was repeated several times for various micro- phone-sound source distances,
and the measured values were compared.

6.0 RESULTS

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 Table 6.1 Velocity of sound in air for each distance

Distance (m) V1 (m/s) V2 (m/s) V3 (m/s)

0.1 301.20 300.30 300.30
0.2 316.96 317.97 318.98
0.3 326.44 327.15 319.49
0.4 337.55 338.70 336.98
0.5 341.53 339.44 338.29
0.6 343.05 342.08 342.47
0.7 457.82 460.22 462.66

7.0 ANALYSIS

Table 7.1 Average velocity of sound in air for each distance

Distance (m) V (m/s)

0.1 300.6
0.2 317.97
0.3 324.96
0.4 337.74
0.5 339.75
0.6 342.53
0.7 462.22

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8.0 DISCUSSION

In this experiment, the velocity of sound in air at different distances were determined. The average
velocity of sound in air for every distance was obtained by adding up all three readings and then
divide it by three. According to Table 7.2, the average velocity of the sound in air for distance 0.1 m,
0.2 m, 0.3 m, 0.4 m, 0.5 m, 0.6 m and 0.7 m are 300.6 ms-1, 317.97 ms-1, 324.96 ms-1, 337.74 ms-1,
339.75 ms-1, 342.53 ms-1, and 462.22 ms-1 respectively.

From the result, it is clearly seen that there is a linear relationship between the velocity of
sound in air and its distance.

Speed = distance/time

The formula above shows when the distance travelled by the sound increases, the velocity of
sound also increases.

The possible sources of error when conducting this experiment was human error. For example,
the exerted forces on the rod might not be consistent throughout the process. This would lead to
inaccurate reading of the sound velocity in air.

Next was due to background noise. As stated in laboratory manual, there should no
background noise occur when conducting the experiment since they would also be registerd by the
microphone and could falsify the measurement. The precautions that can be taken during carrying out
this experiment are making sure there are none or minimal background noise occur when conducting
the experiment. Next is to increase the consistency of the force exerted on the metal road to increase
the precision and accuracy of the readings.

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9.0 CONCLUSION

The aims of the experiment which is to determine the velocity of sound in air and demonstrate the
linear relationship between the propagation time of sound and the respective path were achieved. The
average velocity of the sound in air for distance 0.1 m, 0.2 m, 0.3 m, 0.4 m, 0.5 m, 0.6 m and 0.7 m
are 300.6 ms-1, 317.97 ms-1, 324.96 ms-1, 337.74 ms-1, 339.75 ms-1, 342.53 ms-1, and 462.22 ms-1
respectively. To conclude, the speed of sound in air increases as the distance travelled increases. The
further the distance to travel, the higher the velocity of sound in air.

REFERENCES

Compadre. (2013). Sound Properties and Their Perception. Retrieved February 26th, 2013, from The
Physics Classroom: http://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/sound/u11l2c.cfm.

Daniel A. Russell, P. (2011). Acoustics and Vibration Animations. Retrieved February 26th, 2013,
from http://www.acs.psu.edu.

Physics for Scientists & Engineers with Modern Physics 4th Edition, Giancoli, Pearson International
Edition.