Use of the Tuning Forks
The aim of the experiments performed with this pair of tuning forks is to allow students to understand the phenomenon of sound wave propagation.
What students learn
- Wave propagation due to the tuning forks
- Effects of the resonance box
The science behind this experiment
When a tuning-fork, mounted on its resonance box, is excited, it transmits vibrations to the walls of the resonance box and to the air inside the box (this is an oscillating system too).
When the tuning fork is excited sound waves are established inside the box as it happens in a sound tube closed at one end; energy is emitted in the surrounding space from its opening.
The sound produced by the tuning fork-box system has a much greater intensity than the sound produced by the tuning-fork only: in fact the resonance box has the function of increasing the intensity of the emitted sound at a loss, however, in duration.
= c (velocity of sound) / (frequency of the tuning-fork) we have that the length of the box is c/4. It is easy to verify this relationship knowing the frequency of the single tuning fork.
Equipment used
- Pair of La tuning forks with resonance boxes, hammer and clamps — 4317.40
Chemicals and reagents
Safety notes
Questions for students
What to expect
Disposal
Run this experiment in your classroom
This experiment is part of the ATP Mobile Lab — a self-contained laboratory that turns an ordinary classroom into a working science lab, with over 200 experiments in physics, chemistry, biology, robotics and engineering. Gali, the AI tutor built into ATP Connect, guides students through each step and answers their questions at the bench.
See the Mobile LabTalk to our team