Hands-on lab activities are highly motivating for students.
Active or hands-on learning activities used in science classes are often referred to as labs. There are multiple benefits to implementing active learning strategies in high school engineering courses: students associate the new information more readily with their prior knowledge; students get more timely feedback; the activities increase students' self-confidence; students build independence; and students are more motivated to learn with active learning than passive learning.
What Material Provides the Most Resonant Soundboard?
For this activity, you will need a sound level meter, music box movement, identical size samples of materials to use for soundboards, four sections of foam packing to support soundboards and a quiet room. Put the material to be tested atop the four sections of foam. Wind up the music box and put it on the soundboard. Take at least five separate decibel ratings from a fixed distance. Calculate the mean decibel level. Repeat the procedure for each material tested. Calculate the density of each material. Record the base decibel level for the music box. Subtract this from the mean decibel level for each sound board. Graph the results versus the density of the material.
Frequency-Dependent Sound Absorption
Materials you need for this experiment are an audio test CD, a sound system, a sound level meter and audio insulation materials to test. Materials might include soundboard, gypsum wallboard, acoustic foam or foam blocks. Choose six frequencies to test and measure the attenuation for each material at each of these frequencies. Attenuation is measured by adjusting the volume until there is a constant sound pressure on the meter; putting the material you are testing in front of the speaker; and measuring the decibel level again. This value is the attenuation. Record the attenuation for each test frequency and for each material. Graph the results.
The Effects of Temperature Changes on Tuning Fork Frequency
For this experiment you will need a (640 Hz) tuning fork, a beaker, water, sound sensor and scope, a stove, an infrared thermometer and a refrigerator. Put the tuning fork in the freezer overnight to bring its temperature to 0 degrees Celsius. Confirm the temperature of the fork with the thermometer. Knock the tines slightly and measure the frequency. Record the temperature and frequency. Let the fork come to room temperature, or about 25 degrees Celsius, and repeat the frequency test. Heat some water in the beaker on the stove. Put the tuning fork inside the beaker. Raise the temperature of the water to 50 degrees Celsius. Take the fork out of the water and repeat the frequency test. Repeat with the water raised to 75 degrees and 100 degrees Celsius. Graph the results of the frequency changes versus the temperature of the tuning fork.
Test the Speed of Sound
For this experiment, you will need a starter pistol and stopwatch. Locate a suitable position with an echo. Stand an identified distance from the object the sound is bouncing off of. Fire the starter pistol and begin the stopwatch. When you hear the echo, stop the watch. Divide two times the distance by the amount of time to calculate the speed. The results may need to be adjusted for temperature variance. (For the temperature variance formula, see article "Test the Speed of Sound.")
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