Two students, Evelyn and Frank, are conducting an experiment to measure the speed of sound in air. They stand a distance of 240 m240\text{ m}240 m away from a starter's pistol. Each student starts their stopwatch when they see the puff of smoke from the pistol, and stops it when they hear the sound.
Describe how a sound wave travels through the air.
The students repeat the experiment five times and record their readings in the table below:
| Student | Time readings (in s\text{s}s) |
|---|---|
| Evelyn | 0.68,0.72,0.70,0.73,0.670.68, 0.72, 0.70, 0.73, 0.670.68,0.72,0.70,0.73,0.67 |
| Frank | 0.7,0.9,0.6,1.0,0.80.7, 0.9, 0.6, 1.0, 0.80.7,0.9,0.6,1.0,0.8 |
State the precision of Evelyn's readings.
State the equation linking speed, distance travelled, and time taken.
Using the distance of 240 m240\text{ m}240 m, copy and complete the table below. Make sure to give your answers to an appropriate number of significant figures.
| Student | Mean (average) time (in s\text{s}s) | Speed of sound (in m/s\text{m/s}m/s) |
|---|---|---|
| Evelyn | ||
| Frank |
The students find that the accepted value for the speed of sound in air is 343 m/s343\text{ m/s}343 m/s at their temperature. They discuss their results:
Evaluate these conclusions, discussing the validity of their arguments concerning reaction time, precision, and accuracy.
