Take a turning fork and (a) strike it against the edge of a table. While it is v

Question

Take a turning fork and (a) strike it against the edge of a table. While it is vibrating, touch the bottom end to a variety of surfaces. Explain what you hear. (b) Hold the fork close to your ear while it is vibrating and slowly rotate the tuning fork. Describe and explain what you hear . (d) In a piece of cardboard or construction paper, cut a strip out about half an inch wide and approximately the length of a tine of the tuning fork. Strike the tuning fork again and hold it near the hole in the cardboard. The sound becomes louder. Why?

Explanation / Answer

When the metal fork strikes a hard object, it turns into a tuning fork, allowing sound vibrations to travel straight to your ears. Usually, sound vibrations are carried through the air waves, which is why a sound can often be heard from relatively far away from the source of the noise. However, in this case, the sound vibrations are carried through the string that is wrapped around your fingers and the fork handle. The fingers then direct the sound vibrations from the string to your eardrums, allowing you to hear the sound of bells.

Related Questions

Navigate

• Browse (All)
• Browse T
• Subjects

---

---

Integrity-first tutoring: explanations and feedback only — we do not complete graded work. Learn more.