Describes four hands-on and inexpensive activities science teachers can employ to demonstrate, encourage, develop, and teach students the physical properties of light, heat, and sound waves, utilizing a coffee can. Details the basic experiments and provides additional information for tailoring the activities to elementary through middle…

Described are the purposes, laboratory set-ups, and procedures of four classroom experiments: ultrasound speedometer; vibrating-bar depth gauge; folding three-dimensional model of equipotential surfaces; and a simple optical system for the reconstruction of images from computer-generated holograms. Diagrams and pictures are provided. (YP)

Presents experiments that use Helmholtz resonators and have been designed for a sophomore-level course in oscillations and waves. Discusses the theory of the Helmholtz resonator and resonance curves. (JRH)

Explains a physics experiment on the dynamics of impact cratering. Measures the spreading velocity of the impact wave and the acoustic signal. (YDS)

Presents a procedure to demonstrate how the speed of sound in air or within a denser gas can be calculated quickly and accurately in the laboratory. (MKR)

Describes four physics experiments including "Investigation of Box Resonances Using a Micro"; "A Direct Reading Wattmeter, DC or AC"; "Exercises in the Application of Ohm's Law"; and "Hysteresis on Gas Discharges." Discusses procedures, instrumentation, and analysis in each example. (CW)

Describes experiments to address the properties of brass musical instruments that can be used to demonstrate sound in any level physics course. The experiments demonstrate in a quantitative fashion the effects of the mouthpiece and bell on the frequencies of sound waves and thus the musical pitches produced. (Author/NB)

Presents a simple but effective experiment that uses ultrasonic transducers and some basic electronics to study the speed of sound using the Doppler effect. Eliminates the noise problems associated with most sound experiments. Discusses the theory, and describes the apparatus and procedure. (JRH)

The use of a logarithmic amplifier preceding an oscilloscope's vertical amplifier is described for physics teachers who want to demonstrate the exponential decay nature of some phenomena. (Author/SA)

Describes some undergraduate laboratory experiments in acoustics which involve the analysis of speech and musical instrument sounds and the general analysis of the frequency range of complex sounds. (HM)

Describes an experiment that uses the ultrasonic transducer for demonstrating the Fourier components of waveshapes such as the square and triangular waves produced by laboratory function generators. (JRH)

Provides the background theory and some experiments for studying static equilibrium using a Slinky. (MVL)

Describes a measurement system for recording the frequency response of acoustic systems. The computer interface detects the characteristic modes, their relative strengths, and resonant shapes over a broad range of frequencies. Includes experimental data for tubes and analyzes the data to determine the optimal functional form for the resonant…

Describes high-speed photographic methods used to demonstrate that the tip of a snapped towel does break the sound barrier. (ZWH)

Describes the use of chromatic musical instrument tuners to make frequency measurements of sound waves and as an exercise in the conversion of pitch to frequency. (ZWH)