E304 QUESTIONS

ANALYSIS:
1. For longitudinal waves in the brass rod, are the ends of the rod
compressions or rarefactions? Explain.
- The sound waves that are formed were came from the
compression of the rod. Since sound waves are also known as
longitudinal waves, the wave itself forms first from the
compression and then it travels through a parallel wave
direction to the vibration inside the glass.
2. In the glass tube, are the regions with minimum amount of powder
compressions or rarefactions? Explain.
- The minimum powder region that was observed in the glass
tube were rarefactions. Rarefactions are the region with
lower pressure and it is observed that the minimum powder
region has a low amount of pressure than the region with a
higher amount of compressed powder.
3. Which is larger, the wavelength of sound in the rod or the wavelength
of sound in air? Support your answer.
- The wavelength of the sound in the rod are the same with the
wavelength of the sound in air. This is due to the resonance
since the frequency of the rod is as same with the frequency
of the wave inside a glass tube.
CONCLUSION:
1. Why is sound a longitudinal wave?
- Sound is considered as the longitudinal wave because it
travels through the parallel wave direction and not on a
perpendicular one like the transverse does. In sound wave,
the vibration of the particles of the medium are along the
direction of wave propagation. Their particles do not move
from one place to another but they simply oscillate back and
forth about their position of rest.
2. Why does the speed of sound depend on temperature?
- Sound is a form of a kinetic energy just like heat. Molecules
at higher temperature have more energy (or it is in an excited
state) and thus they can vibrate faster. Since the molecules
vibrate faster, sound waves travel more quickly. Sound travels

by vibrating molecules and passing the energy on to a nearby

molecule.
3. Why does sound travel faster in water than in air?
- Sound is a pressure wave. This wave slightly behaves
differently through air as compared to water. Water is denser
than air, so it takes more energy to generate a wave but once
a wave has started, it will travel faster than it would do in air.
Water cannot be compressed so when you push on the water,
it immediately transfers its energy to the next molecules
away.
4. Why is the frequency of sound in the brass rod the same as the
frequency of sound in the tube?
- This was due to the resonance where one object is vibrating
at the same natural frequency of a second object, and forces
that second object into vibrational motion. In the experiment,
when the sound waves are produced from the brass rod, the
air was forced inside a tube to vibrate at the same frequency.