Lab Report

Lab Report
Guiding Question: How does the density of a material affect properties of sound traveling from a tuning fork?

Hypothesis: I think the more the dense the material the slower the sound travels and the smaller the pitch.

Controlled Variable:
• Force
• Tuning Fork

Manipulated Variable:
• Tuning Fork
• Force
• Object


Materials:
• Tuning fork
• Plastic bottles
• Whiteboard
• Bin
• Window
• Book
• Table





Object Pitch How long it vibrates Loudness Density
Glass Window high Long vibrations loud 2.52g/c3
oak table high long vibrations medium loudness 0.65g/cm3
board low pitch long vibrations medium/loud 2.7g/cm3
garbage bin high vibrates for a long time medium loudness 1.55g/cm3
book low short really soft
P.E.T Bottle medium Lasts for a long time Really loud 1.55g/cm3


Conclusion:
After Completing this lab I conclude that my hypothesis was correct and yes the density does somewhat affect the sound of the tuning fork. The denser the object the less it vibrates, but also the materials of the object affect how the sound travels. An example of this is comparing the oak with the Pet bottle. The oak is less dense but the Pet bottle is both lasts longer and is much louder. I guess that the density affects the pitch of an object, the lower the density the higher the pitch.

Further Inquiry: We could have changed this experiment in numerous ways. First you could have used different types of tuning forks. We could have also held are ear further away from the object or closer, because that greatly affects the results.
Bibliography
"Paper Density - Wolfram|Alpha." Wolfram|Alpha: Computational Knowledge Engine. Web. 24 Mar. 2011. .