Two students, Beatrice and Chloe, are conducting an experiment to measure the speed of sound in air. They stand a distance of 200 m200\text{ m}200 m away from a teacher who strikes a starter's clapperboard. Each student starts their stopwatch when they see the clapperboard close, 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) |
|---|---|
| Beatrice | 0.56,0.58,0.57,0.59,0.550.56, 0.58, 0.57, 0.59, 0.550.56,0.58,0.57,0.59,0.55 |
| Chloe | 0.6,0.7,0.5,0.8,0.40.6, 0.7, 0.5, 0.8, 0.40.6,0.7,0.5,0.8,0.4 |
State the precision of Beatrice's readings.
State the equation linking speed, distance travelled, and time taken.
Using the distance of 200 m200\text{ m}200 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) |
|---|---|---|
| Beatrice | ||
| Chloe |
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.
