- Stand a measured distance from a building with a large, flat wall. Try to have no obstacles in the way.
- As a trial, clap two wooden blocks together. An echo is heard: this is the clapping sound traveling to the wall and reflecting back at you. Clap repeatedly in time with the echoes (clap – echo – clap – echo etc.). Once a constant rhythm is achieved…
- Have someone begin timing as you clap 51 times, stopping time on the 51st clap.
- To calculate the speed of sound, divide 2x the distance to the wall by 1/50th the time for the 50 claps (the 51st is not included because that is when the stopwatch stopped timing).
Experiment to Measure the Speed of Sound in Air
Leave a reply