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General Physics Science Fair Project

Temperature and Tuning Fork Frequency

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Temperature and Tuning Fork Frequency | Science Fair Projects | STEM Projects
Does heating or cooling a tuning fork change the pitch it produces? You take a 640 Hz tuning fork and test it at five temperatures: 0, 25, 50, 75, and 100 degrees Celsius. You chill the fork overnight in a freezer, then warm it in stages using a beaker of heated water on a stove. At each temperature, you strike the fork and measure its frequency with a sound sensor and scope. The data shows a small but steady drop in frequency as the tuning fork gets hotter.

Hypothesis

The hypothesis is that the frequency of sound from a tuning fork will decrease as the temperature increases.

Method & Materials

You will measure the frequency of a tuning fork at different temperatures and see if the sound changes.
You will need a tuning fork, a sound sensor and scope, a beaker, some water, a stove, a refrigerator, and an infrared thermometer.

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Results

The experiment showed that when the temperature of the tuning fork increased, there was a slight reduction in the frequency sound generated.

Why do this project?

This science project is interesting because it shows how temperature can affect the sound of a tuning fork, which is used in many different applications.

Also Consider

Variations of this experiment could include using a tuning fork made from a different material, or using tuning forks of different frequencies.

Full project details

Additional information and source material for this project are available below.

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