The Loudness Lab

Loudness Lab

Kyle C.

I. GUIDING QUESTION/S (State the guiding question/s):

How does density of various solids affect the way the sound waves travel from the turning fork?

II.HYPOTHESIS:

Kyle’s Hypothesis: I believe that the responding variable (especially vibrations) of wood will likely last longer and be very loud due to the thickness.

Control=Force, Tuning fork, Frequency, Length, Temperature (Loudness change)
Manipulated=Materials, Temperature
Responding=Pitch, Loudness, How long the sound lasts (Properties of sound)

III. Exploration (PLAN & DO A TEST):

(Materials)

Tuning Fork
Metal
Plastic
Wood
Paper
Notebook
Pencil (To record)

(Procedure)

1. Find and gather the densities of following materials below.
2. Use a tuning fork; hit it against a manipulated variable.
3. After banging towards the object, place the small part or the edge of the tuning fork towards your ear.
4. Record the vibrations and the loudness of the manipulated variable.
5. Use this method to find the loudness of the other materials.

IV. RECORD & ANALYZE

A. Data Tables:

Tuning Fork: 512C
Weight: 27.3g

	Metal	Wood	Plastic	Paper
Density	7.85g/cm3	5kg/cm3	7.85g/ml3	0.78g/cm3
Loudness	Boisterous or could be expressed as very loud	(Ultra) So Loud and its vibration lasts long as if it was noisy (disturbing)	Bit loud, Bit soft, it is arduous to determine	Very Soft; can’t hear that much
Other Observations	Measured on the metal attached to the board. The sound of the metal had caused disturbances to the classmates next to me (vibrations last for a lot.)	Measured a wooden chair Could have similar frequency with metal	The plastic containing no materials didn’t vibrate that long due to the manufacture quality (plus, the loudness might vary on the value and the quality)	The paper lasted only about 1 sec, the vibration lasted very short. Maybe the heavier the manipulated variable, vibration last longer
Vibration (Time Lasting) 3 Trials	10 Sec 8 Sec 8 Sec	11 Sec 10 Sec 8 Sec	4 Sec 4 Sec 3 Sec	2 Sec 1 Sec 1 Sec

C. Analysis of Data:

Kyle’s Analysis:

The results above show that the metal (could be wood as well) will likely produce vibrations, which will last longer and the loudest volume.
I also figured out that it might be possible that heavier the manipulated variable, vibration last longer.


IV. Concept Acquisition (CONCLUSION):

My hypothesis “I believe that the responding variable (especially vibrations) of wood will likely last longer and be very loud due to the thickness,” was applicable in this lab but I assume that more manipulated variables will be required in-order for my hypothesis could be correct. Also, metal and wood will likely to have the equal amount of frequency perhaps due to the similar vibrations records. As you can see above, the results suggests that higher the density, vociferous it will be; what really concerns me is that the density of the plastic expressed as “cm,” might disturb the data table since neither Riena and I knew if we should leave it as it is or change it to make the units all same. Another problem is the weight of the tuning fork, as I thought, depending on the weight of the tuning forks, results will vary. So in conclusion, depending on the thickness of the responding variable, adjustments can be made, and last of all but not least, the weight of the tuning fork could vicissitude.

V. Concept Application (FURTHER INQUIRY):

As to write my further inquiry, I would like to account for the improvements and causes of this lab; though we didn’t have miscommunication or any major mistakes we (well mostly I) had troubles due to partner departure. On the other hand, the major causes of error were probably incorrect density records or confusion upon the weight of the tuning fork. When I was working on the lab, I had confusion that my hypothesis will be wrong since depending on the weight of the tuning fork, answers will alter. The improvements I can make if I have to re-dew this experiment will be choosing a different responding variable to try something new and not letting the partner I am with leave me since I have to do a lot of work then. As said, if my predictions were to be all correct, I can assume that this was actually an engaging lab, due to the fun of experimenting the tuning fork.