Resonance Phenomena

When longitudinal waves, like sound, propagate in a fluid in a pipe/tube, they are reflected from
the ends of the pipe in the same manner that a transverse wave on a string are reflected at its
ends. In the same manner as well that standing waves are created in waves on a string, standing
waves are also formed with the superposition of the incident and reflected longitudinal waves in
a pipe.

In this activity, a tuning fork will be made to vibrate at a frequency 𝑓 over the end of a pipe
containing air, as is shown in Figure 1. As the tuning fork vibrates atop the pipe, longitudinal
sound waves are created that propagate along the length of the pipe. The sound waves are
reflected at the end of the pipe which is sealed with water. As shown in Figure 1, the length 𝐿
of the air column in the cylindrical pipe (on the left side of the figure) is varied by moving the
reservoir (on the right side of the figure), connected to the cylindrical pipe by a flexible hose, up
or down. When a standing sound wave is produced in the cylindrical pipe, a resonance condition
is established, and the intensity of the sound that you hear will increase. You are to determine
the length of the air columns at which you hear these “loud” sounds to determine the frequency
of the tuning fork that you are using.

Figure 1. A schematic diagram on the set up showing a tuning fork, made to vibrate close to the opening of the pipe on the left.
(credit: P. A. Tipler and G. Mosca [1])

When standing waves are created in the pipe, note that a displacement node must exist at the
closed end, since the air at the closed end of the pipe is not free to move, and thus the
displacement of the air particles at that end must always be zero. Also, since the other end of

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the pipe (its “opening”) is not closed and thus the air is free to move at the said end, there will
be a displacement antinode at that end when a standing wave is produced in the pipe.

The distance from any node to an adjacent antinode is 𝜆⁄4, as is shown in Figure 2. It is thus
evident that the shortest length 𝐿 of air column in the pipe in which a standing wave can be
established is 𝜆⁄4. In fact, standing waves can be produced in air columns with one end open
and one end closed (also known as “stopped” pipes) with lengths that are odd multiples of 𝜆⁄4
as is also seen in Figure 2.

Figure 2. Standing wave in a pipe with vibrating string analogy (credit: R. Bolalin [2])

Thus, in a stopped pipe, the frequency of the nth harmonic is

𝑛𝑣 (1)
𝑓𝑛 =
4𝐿

where 𝑣 is the speed of sound in the pipe, and n are odd positive integers (since only the odd
harmonics in the series (1st, 3rd, 5th, etc.) are possible.)

The wavelength of the standing wave in a stopped pipe is

4𝐿 (2)
𝜆=
𝑛

where 𝑛 corresponds to harmonics number.

Since the exact point at which sound is reflecting at an open end is not perfectly at the end section
of the tube, but at a scall distance outside the tube, necessitates that an end correction be
introduced to equation (2). Thus, we have

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 4(𝐿 + 0.4𝑑) (3)
𝜆=
𝑛

where 𝑑 is the diameter of the resonance pipe/tube.

Recall that the speed of sound 𝑣 at temperature T is given by

(4)
𝛾𝑅𝑇
𝑣= √
𝑀

where 𝛾 is the adiabatic index equal to 1.400, 𝑅 is the molar gas constant equal to 8,314 J/kmol.K,
𝑇 is the temperature of the room during the experiment in Kelvin, and 𝑀 is the mean molar mass
for dry air equal to 28.8 kg/kmol. Thus, by measuring the temperature of the room in °C and
adding 273.15 to convert it to Kelvin, you can approximate the speed of sound in the air column
in the pipe/tube.

Procedure[2]

1. Set up the equipment as shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3. Equipment set-up

2. Measure and record the room temperature in Kelvin. Using Eq. 5, approximate the speed of sound
at this temperature and record it on your data sheet.
3. Measure and record the diameter of the resonance tube.

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 4. Strike a tuning fork (of known frequency) with a rubber mallet and hold it at about 3 cm above
the open end of the resonance tube with its prong horizontal (see Figure 3). Adjust the water
level starting from its highest level. Gradually increase the length of the air column by lowering
the reservoir to find the first position of resonance, where the sound coming out of the air column
is loudest. You may have to strike the fork several times and move the water column up and down
to precisely locate the resonance position. To improve your data, try to average over several
measured values. (CAUTION: DO NOT LET THE TUNING FORK MAKE ANY CONTACT TO THE GLASS
BURETTE!)
5. Continue this procedure to find the second (and if possible, the third) position of resonance, i.e.
the third (and fifth) harmonics. Record these lengths in your data sheet.
6. Calculate the experimental values of wavelength 𝜆 and frequency 𝑓𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑡 for each of the resonance
positions. Compare the experimental frequency 𝑓𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑡 to the theoretical frequency 𝑓𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑜 of the
tuning fork (the one marked on the fork).
7. Repeat the experiment with two other tuning forks of different frequency.

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DATA SHEET

Room Temperature, 𝑇 = _____ K

Speed of sound in Air, 𝑣 = _____ m/s
Diameter of the Resonance Tube, 𝑑 = _____ m

Frequency Frequency
Air Colum
(Theoretical Wavelength, 𝜆 (Experimental
Harmonics, 𝑛 Length, 𝐿 % Error
Value), 𝑓𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑜 (m) Value), 𝑓𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑡
(m)
(Hz) (Hz)
1
3
5
1
3
5
1
3
5

Guide Questions

1. How is a “displacement” node different from a “pressure” node if we are talking about standing
longitudinal waves in a tube?
2. Was one of the tuning forks easier to hear than the other? If yes, what could be the reason for
this?
3. Give the main sources of error in this experiment. Suggest ways on how the setup could be
improved.
4. If you blow air along the top of an open empty soda bottle, you can excite a standing wave in the
bottle and you hear a sound. Explain what happens if you put some water into the bottle and then
perform the same experiment!

References:

[1] P. A. Tipler and G. Mosca, Physics for scientists and engineers: with modern physics, 6th ed. New
York: W.H. Freeman, 2008.
[2] R. Bolalin, “Experiment 2: Resonance Phenomena.”

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