A sound wave in air travels a distance of 220 m in a time of 0.70 s - Edexcel - GCSE Physics Combined Science - Question 2 - 2018 - Paper 1
Question 2
A sound wave in air travels a distance of 220 m in a time of 0.70 s.
(i) State the equation linking speed, distance and time.
(ii) Calculate the speed of the sound... show full transcript
Worked Solution & Example Answer:A sound wave in air travels a distance of 220 m in a time of 0.70 s - Edexcel - GCSE Physics Combined Science - Question 2 - 2018 - Paper 1
Step 1
State the equation linking speed, distance and time.
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Answer
The equation that links speed (v), distance (d), and time (t) is given by:
v=td
Where:
v is the speed,
d is the distance traveled,
t is the time taken.
Step 2
Calculate the speed of the sound wave in air.
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Answer
To calculate the speed of the sound wave, we can use the equation stated in part (i).
Substituting the given values:
v=0.70s220m
Evaluating this gives:
v=314.29m/s
To one decimal place, the speed of sound in air is approximately:
v≈310m/s
Step 3
Explain how to improve the student’s method for measuring the wavelength.
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Answer
To improve the method of measuring the wavelength:
Use a more precise measuring tool: Instead of a ruler, using calipers would yield more accurate measurements of the distance between crests.
Measure multiple wavelengths: Take several measurements of the distance from crest to crest and calculate the average to reduce the effect of any outliers or measurement errors.
Ensure consistency: Make sure to measure the distance between the same feature of the wave (e.g., crest to crest) consistently to maintain accuracy.
Align the ruler properly: Position the ruler directly along the line of the wave to avoid parallax errors that can occur when viewing angles are not straight.
