3.3.11

Measuring the Speed of Sound

Test yourself

Measuring the Speed of Sound - Experiment

Echoes can be used to measure the speed of sound.

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Speed of sound - echo

  • Two people stand a measured distance from a tall vertical wall. This distance should ideally be about 100m.
  • The first person bangs two wooden blocks together to make a sharp sound and repeats this every time the echo is heard.
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Speed of sound - echo

  • Starting counting from zero, the second person uses a stopwatch (timer) to measure the time taken for a number of claps – 50 or 100.
  • In the time between two successive claps, the sound travels to the wall and back.
  • The speed of sound can be calculated from the following relationship:
    • speed of sound = distance to wall × 2 × number of claps (N) ÷ time taken for N claps.

Jump to other topics

1Biology

1.1Cells, Tissues & Organs

1.2Reproduction & Variation

1.3Ecological Relationships & Classification

1.4Digestion & Nutrition

1.5Plants & Photosynthesis

1.6Biological Systems & Processes

2Chemistry

2.1Particles

2.2Chemical Reactions

2.3Atoms, Elements, Compounds

2.4The Periodic Table

2.5Materials & the Earth

2.6Reactivity

2.7Energetics

2.8Properties of Materials

3Physics

3.1Energy

3.2Forces & Motion

3.3Waves

3.4Electricity & Magnetism

3.5Matter

3.6Space Physics

4Thinking Scientifically

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