PhysicsLAB Worksheet
Speed of Sound (Honors)
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Directions: Individually, complete these exercises on paper as well as on the website. At the end of the period, make sure that you have your paper initialed and dated by your teacher before you turn it in to the one-way box. This is a one-time submission.
 
1(a). Some species of dogs can hear frequencies as high as 45 khz. This lies in what region of the sound spectrum?
 
1(b). Some species of elephants can hear frequencies as low as 16 hz. This lies in what region of the sound spectrum?
 
2(a). True or False. Sound travels faster in humid air than in dry air if they are both at the same temperature.
 
2(b). Through which medium do sound wave travel at the fastest speed?
 
3. What is the speed of sound on a patio which is at a temperature of 27ºC? 

4. What is the wavelength of a B note (frequency of 494 hz) which is being played on the patio? 

5. At a baseball game on a cool day a ticket holder hears the crack of the bat one-half second after watching the batter hit the ball. How far is home plate from where he is standing if the air temperature is 16°C? 

Refer to the following information for the next two questions.

An oceanic depth-sounding vessel sends a sonar signal of 0.100 Mhz towards the ocean floor.
6(a). If sound travels at 1520 m/sec in seawater, what is the wavelength of this signal? 

6(b). If the return signal is received 6 seconds later, how deep is the ocean floor? 

7. The driver of a 18-wheeler parked on a mountain road gives his truck's horn a quick blast toward a rock cliff that is 3/4rds of a kilometer away. If he hears an echo 5 seconds later, what is the approximate air temperature at his location? 

8. You are watching a distant neighbor re-roof his house one cold morning when the air temperature is 10ºC. As you watch, he pounds a roofing nail at a regular interval of two times each second. You hear the sound of the blows exactly synchronized with the blows you see. After he stops hammering, you hear five more blows, how far away is the neighbor's roof from your window? 

9. Deeply embedded dirt particles around 4.0 x 10-2 cm in diameter can be cleaned ultrasonically from jewelry. Above what frequency should an ultrasonic water bath be operated to produce wavelengths of this size and smaller? 

Refer to the following information for the next four questions.

A person holds a rifle horizontally and fires at target. The bullet leaves the muzzle of the rifle with a velocity of 460 m/s. Two seconds later the person hears his bullet strike the target.
 
Draw a picture of this event: a stick man holding "the rifle," a distant target, a bullet "moving towards" the target, sound waves "reflecting from" the target back to the rifleman. Let t1 represent the time for the bullet to reach the target and t2 represent the time for the sound waves to travel back to the shooter.
10(a). How fast does sound travel in this problem if the air temperature is 72°F? 

10(b). In the blank below, write expressions for the distance the bullet travels using t1 and the distance the sound wave travels using t2. 

10(c). Using the third equation that t1 + t2 = 2, solve for the distance between the rifleman and the target. 


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