General Physics Lab I – Experiment 5: Resonance Tube

Report Experiment 5: Resonance Tube

Section N
Student ID: 20220804
Pham Nhu Bach
13/09/2022

1. Introduction: This experiment deals with the characteristics of a standing wave,

generated by projecting a wave inside an enclosed tube, and let its reflections interfere
with themselves multiple times. The resulting standing waves will have various
amplitude values, based on the frequency of the initial wave. There are cases when the
amplitude values of the standing waves are abnormally high, and the standing waves’
frequencies in these cases are referred to as resonant frequencies. These resonant
frequencies can be achieved by alternating the initial frequency for a fixed length tube, or
alternating the length tube for a fixed initial frequency.

In this experiment, we will be creating standing waves, and measure their properties with
a microphone. We will also be determining the length of the tube to create resonant
frequencies, with the initial wave’s frequency being fixed.

The purpose of this experiment was to find the resonances with soundwaves, and to
calculate the speed of sound using standing waves.

2. Theoretical Background:
a. Theory
- Definition: A wave is a travelling disturbance that transports energy but not matter. It is
also a periodic change in physical quantities.
- Waves propagate (the motion of energy), while oscillating (the motion of particles)
repeatedly
- A transverse wave oscillation and propagation are at right angle with each other. (e.g.,
light)
- A longitudinal wave oscillation and propagation are parallel. (e.g., sound wave)
- Water waves contain both transverse and longitudinal waves
- Wave equation:
d2 y ⅆ2 y
F=c 2 =m 2
d x ⅆt

- The solution to this wave equation is the wave function:

ψ ( x , t ) =A sin ( kx−ωt + ϕ )

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General Physics Lab I – Experiment 5: Resonance Tube

2π 2π ω2
In which, k = , ω= , c=m 2 .
λ T k

- Waves can interfere with each other by the superposition principle.

- When 2 waves with same frequency and propagation direction interfere with each other
the sum of those 2 waves can be described by a single frequency wave:
Ψ 1 ( x , t )=A 1 sin ( kx−ωt + ϕ1 )
Ψ 2 ( x , t )= A2 sin ( kx−ωt+ ϕ 2)

+ = +
2 2
= A sin ( kx−ωt+ ϕ ); A=A 1 + A 2 +2 A 1 A2 cos ( ϕ 2−ϕ 1 )

A 1 sin ϕ 1+ A 2 sin ϕ 2
tan ϕ=
A 2 cos ϕ 1+ A 2 cos ϕ 2

- When 2 waves with same frequency, amplitude, phase, and opposite propagation
direction interfere:
Ψ 1 ( x , t )=A 1 sin ( kx−ωt )
Ψ 2 ( x , t )= A2 sin ( kx+ ωt );
They create a wave, which amplitudes do not move, yet still oscillate. This is called a
standing wave.
ψ 1 ( x , t ) +ψ 2 ( x , t ) =2 A sin k x cos ωt

- The relation between the speed, frequency difference, and length of the tube:
v
f n+1−f n=
2d
b. Problem

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General Physics Lab I – Experiment 5: Resonance Tube

Problem 1: By differentiation and substitution, show that the simple harmonic wave
function is a solution of the wave equation.
Simple harmonic wave function: y ( x , t )= A cos ( kx ± ωt );

Differentiating equation y with respect to position x (twice) keeping t constant, we get the slope
of the curve at position x:
∂y
=−Ak sin ( kx−ωt )
∂x

∂2 y 2
 =− A k cos ( kx−ωt ) ;
∂ x2
Now, differentiating equation y with respect to t keeping x constant, we get the velocity of the
particle at x:
∂y
=v y = Aω sin ( kx−ωt )
∂t
If we differentiate the above equation again with respect to t keeping x constant, we get the
acceleration of the particle at position x:

∂2 y
2
=a y =− A ω2 cos ( kx−ωt )
∂t
λ ω
We also know that the wave speed is v= = , so using the substitution method, we can get this
T k
equation:

∂2 y
∂t 2 ω 2 2
∂ y 1 ∂ y
2
= or =
∂2 y k2 ∂x
2 2
v ∂t
2

2
∂x

Problem 2: Show and explain the conditions for generating standing waves are given:
n
Open tube: L= λ (n = 1, 2, 3, …):
2

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General Physics Lab I – Experiment 5: Resonance Tube

Figure 2.1
Figure 2.1 is a demonstration of standing waves in an open tube (both ends open). Because it is
an open tube, the air on the 2 ends oscillates freely, reaching the highest possible amplitude base
on the standing wave equation ψ 1 ( x , t ) +ψ 2 ( x , t ) =2 A sin kx cos ωt . This means that for the wave
with the longest wavelength possible, which contains only one node (illustrated by the red line),
the length of the tube only equals half of its wavelength (starting at the trough of an oscillation,
1
and ending at the crest of the next oscillation), which means for n = 1, L= λ .
2
2
Similarly, for the wave with 2 nodes (the blue line), or n = 2, L= λ=λ . And for the one with 3
2
3
nodes (the green line), n = 3 and L= λ.
2
This means that as long as the tube remain open on both ends (so the air can oscillate freely
there), the condition to create a standing wave inside that tube is:
n
L= λ (n = 1, 2, 3, …).
2
2 n−1
Closed tube: L= λ (n = 1, 2, 3, …)
4
Here we have the illustration for standing wave in a closed tube (1 end closed):

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General Physics Lab I – Experiment 5: Resonance Tube

Figure 2.2
Because an end of this tube is closed, the air at that position cannot oscillates, thus
creating a similar situation to a standing wave on a string that has one end clamped shut.
In this case, we will use the mathematical equation of standing wave:
The initial wave: y 1 ( x , t ) =A sin ( kx+ ωt )
The reflected wave: y 2 ( x , t ) =−A sin ( kx−ωt )
The standing wave: y= y1 + y 2=2 A sin ( ωt ) cos ( kx )

For the end of the tube to have an amplitude of 0, this means when x = L, cos kL=0
π 2 n−1
 KL= ( n−1 ) , or L= λ(n=1 ,2 , 3 , …)
2 4
 Whenever a wave forms inside a medium with a closed or opened end, there is a chance
that wave did not form right at the beginning of the medium, but somewhere before that.
To eliminate the errors that may arise because of these condition, we must implement the
“end correction” method, in which the medium (or in this case, the tube) length, should
be this expression instead of the equation above:
L=L0 + ΔL
 ΔL=0.6 D for an open tube, and ΔL=0.3 D for a closed tube.

3. Methods
a. Set up
- First, prepare the resonance tube connected to a speaker. Measure the length of the tube.
- Make the initial position of the microphone close to the speaker as much as possible.
- After putting the mic in the tube, connect the speaker with a function generator using the
BNC cable.
- Then, connect the mic with the oscilloscope.
- Choose the appropriate trigger.
b. The closed tube experiment:
- We can either change the length of the tube with a fixed position of the mic, or change
the position of the mic with a fixed length of tube.

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General Physics Lab I – Experiment 5: Resonance Tube

- Record the lengths of tube with maximum amplitude, or the position of the mic with
maximum amplitude.
c. The opened tubed experiment:
- Open the end of the tube, and measure the tube’s length.
- Set up the mic in front of the speaker, just like in the previous experiment.
- Change the frequency of the function generator, starting from 200Hx ~ 1kHz
- Record the frequency for the maximum amplitude, and then move on. Repeat until the
frequency reaches 1kHz.
- At the 4th stage, the speed of sound was calculated.

4. Results
Experiment 1: Resonant frequencies of a tube (open, closed)
Let’s calculate the theoretical speed of sound:
m
v=331.3+0.606 T =331.3+0.606 × 16=340.996 ( )
s
2
For an open tube: λ= ( L+0.6 D ) (Length: 90 cm, Diameter: 3.13 cm)
n
Open tube
n Recorded resonant freq. Theoretical freq. Wavelength (m) Speed of sound
(Hz) (Hz) (m/s)
1 186 185.56 1.8375 341.775
2 374 371.14 0.9187 343.5938
3 562 556.68 0.6125 344.225
4 744 742.36 0.4593 341.7192
5 936 927.79 0.3675 343.98
Average: 343.0586

Δv 2.0626
Margin of error: ε = = =0.605 %
v 340.996
4
For a closed tube: λ= ( L+0.3 D ) (Length: 70 cm, Diameter: 3.13 cm)
2n−1
Closed tube
n Recorded resonant freq. Theoretical freq. Wavelength (m) Speed of sound
(Hz) (Hz) (m/s)
1 128 120.16 2.8375 363.2
2 372 360.50 0.9458 351.8
3 677 600.82 0.5675 384.1
4 878 841.27 0.4053 355.8
5 1100 1081.74 0.3152 346.72

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General Physics Lab I – Experiment 5: Resonance Tube

Average: 360.324

Δv 19.358
Margin of error: ε = = =5.677 %
v 340.996

Experiment 2: Standing waves in a tube (open, closed)

Due to the air flow's longitudinal displacement, the internal air pressure of the tube changes. The
left side of the tube has lower pressure than the right end of the tube because of how the waves
inside the tube compress and expand the air. The ends of the tube will serve as the wave's
antinodes. 

1
When L= λ , (n = 1), we call that a fundamental mode, or first harmonic.
2
Open tube: Length: 0.9m
Set frequency: 600 Hz
v 340.996 2 L 1.8
 We can calculate the wavelength: λ= = =0 .5 ( m ) => n= = =3
f 600 λ 0.5
 This is a third harmonic with 3 nodes and 4 anti-nodes
Closed tube: Length: 0.7m
Set frequency: 680 Hz
v 340.996 4 L 4 × 0.7
 λ= = =0.5 ( m ) => 2 n−1= = ≈6
f 6 80 λ 0.5
 This is a sixth harmonic with 3 nodes and 3 anti-nodes

Experiment 3:

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General Physics Lab I – Experiment 5: Resonance Tube

Frequenc Resonant tube length (cm) ∆ L (m) Wavelength Speed Margin

y (Hz) (m) of of error
sound (%)
(m/s)
800 57.9 35.8 15.1 0.214 0.428 342.4 0.411
850 52 32.3 11.5 0.202 0.404 343.4 0.704
900 67.5 47.8 29 10 0.191 0.382 343.8 0.822
950 63.2 44.7 26.5 9.5 0.179 0.358 340.1 0.262

5. Discussion
Most of the results from the first experiment matches theoretical calculations. The margin of
error was small, almost insignificant. However, the measurements for the closed tube of
experiment 1 deviated quite further than expected (margin of error reaches 5.677%). I have not
yet figured out how it was that way; however, I hypothesize that it might have been because the
tube was not perfectly sealed, leaving some turbulence in the process of creating standing waves.
For the second experiment, the result was respectively a third harmonics and a sixth harmonic.
The result number was not precisely integer, but it can be rounded to be one. The results affirm
the hypothesis we established in the theory section.
For the third experiment, the calculations for the speed of sound were highly accurate (the
margin of error was from 0.262 ~ 0.704). This error might also have occurred because of the
incompletely sealed tube.
6. Conclusion
The experiment used a resonance tube with open and closed ends to investigate waves in general.
The theoretical and experimental investigation of standing waves were specially emphasized.
The speed of sound was another significant physical quantity investigated, computed using
numerous theoretical and experimental approaches. The relationship between time, speed, and
wavelength was developed theoretically and verified empirically. Resonant frequencies and the
processes used to create them were also studied. The effects of wave interference on changes in
air pressure were also investigated. All computations had a very limited margin of error, which
was most likely caused by insignificant experimental errors, the failure to account for some
mitigating factors, and faults in the data processing process itself. Such results have proven the
validity and precision of the models and hypothesis stated in the Theoretical Background section.
7. References
- General Physics Report Guidelines
- General Physics Lab I Websites Manual: https://genphylab.kaist.ac.kr/labs/general-
physics-lab-1/resonance-tube/manual
- General Physics Lab I Websites Theory Video: https://genphylab.kaist.ac.kr/labs/general-
physics-lab-1/resonance-tube/theory-video

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General Physics Lab I – Experiment 5: Resonance Tube

- General Physics Lab I Websites Experiment Video:

https://genphylab.kaist.ac.kr/labs/general-physics-lab-1/resonance-tube/experiment-video
- General Physics Lab I Simulation: https://genphylab.kaist.ac.kr/labs/general-physics-lab-
1/resonance-tube/simulation
- Khan Academy Standing Wave in an Open and Closed Tube:
https://www.khanacademy.org/science/physics/mechanical-waves-and-sound/standing-
waves/v/standing-waves-in-tubes-part-1
- Wikipedia “End correction methods”: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/End_correction
- Essential University Physics Vol 1
- Fundamentals of Physics9/15/2022

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