Physics 301 "Physics of Sound" Spring 2012

Course Outline and Syllabus

Textbook: Principles of Vibration and Sound 2^nd ed., by Rossing and Fletcher. (Available from the Rutgers Bookstore, or online e.g., at Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com)

Format: The course consists of 2 lectures and 1 laboratory session each week.

• Lectures: Mondays and Wednesdays 1:55 PM - 2:50 PM, Physics Lecture Hall, Busch Campus.

• Laboratory: Wednesday (5:00 PM – 6:20 PM), Physics and Astronomy Building, Busch Campus, in room 232. The first lab will be on Jan 25 (no lab on Jan. 18). The lab schedule web page gives information on the lab experiments, including downloadable write-ups and report forms. Labs will need to be completed in class and handed in before you leave. Be sure to print out a copy of the write-up and report form beforehand, read it, and come to lab prepared!

• Exams: There will be two exams. Midterm exam: March 7, during class (Physics Lecture Hall); Final exam: May 8, 12:00 – 3:00 PM, location TBA. You will be allowed to bring a 8 x 11 inch formula sheet (both sides) with whatever information you choose to each exam, in addition to a hand held calculator. The final exam will be cumulative.

• Homework: Weekly or biweekly homework assignments will be announced during the lecture and posted on the homework webpage, and will be due at the beginning of lecture one week later. They will typically consist of 5 short problems or questions, and solutions will be posted out after the homework is collected. No late homework will be accepted.

Grading and Assessment: Final grades will be based on the following elements

• Class attendance and participation

• In class mid-term exam --- nominally 20%

• Final Exam --- nominally 30 %

• Weekly homework assignments --- nominally 25%

• Lab reports --- nominally 25%

You may check your scores here.

Prerequisites: Two terms of introductory physics and two terms of calculus. Primarily for science majors.

• Students with Disabilities: If you have a disability, you are urged to speak to the course supervisor early in the semester to make the necessary arrangements to support a successful learning experience. Also, you must arrange for the course supervisor to receive a letter from your College's Disability Concerns Coordinator verifying that you have a disability. To find out how to do this, contact http://www.physics.rutgers.edu/ugrad/disabilities.html

Lab Schedule and Manuals

All labs take place in Physics and Astronomy Building room 232

The order and content of lab schedule and lab manual is subject to change.

Note that in the event of a snow day, the lab will be pushed back one week and the review and make up will be abandoned.  Make ups are only permissible on two days indicated, only one make up for each day, and only if the excuse is legitimate. 

SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL

Vibrations and normal modes:

• Coupled pendula (applet)

• Longitudinal normal modes (applet)

• Singing rod normal modes (with sound files and videos)

• Measured normal modes of hockey stick (visualization)

Waves:

• Waves (animations)

• Sound waves, water waves, Raleigh waves (animations)

• Superposition of waves and standing waves (animations)

• Reflection of waves (animations)

• Standing waves in singing rod (with sound files and videos)

• Pulse and modes on a plucked string (applet)

• Modes on plucked string (applet)

• Normal modes of a string (animations)

• Normal modes of rectangular membrane (applet)

• Normal modes of circular membrane (applet)

• Listen to sine, square, sawtooth, triangle waves and their linear combinations (applet)

• Diffraction (applets)

• Doppler effect and sonic booms (animations)

• Refraction of sound waves (animations)

• Sound fields from monopole, dipole, quadrupole sources (animations)

Fourier program and applets:

• Listen to beats (applet)

• Fourier decomposition (animations)

• Fourier expansion and synthesis (applet - draw your own wave!)

• Fourier synthesis (applet with clarinet and trumpet sounds)

• Download Fourier transform program for PC's.

Voice and vocal formants:

• Vocal sound production

• Spectra of several spoken vowels

• Helium speech (mini-lecture with sound files)

Ear and hearing:

• Ear anatomy (picture)

• Ear anatomy and eardrum function (animation)

• Organ of Corti (picture)

• Fletcher-Munson curves (equal loudness curves)

• Tutorial: decibels, phons, and sones.

Music and musical instruments:

• Music: A Mathematical Offering (free online textbook)

• Piano, Harpsichord and Organ

• Edgetones

• How do woodwind instruments work?

• Woodwind instruments

• How do brass instruments work?

• Brass instruments

• The piano keyboard

• Violin Acoustics

• Slip & Stick of bow/string

• Spectra of saxophone, clarinet, guitar, piano

• Circle of fifths (music theory)

Miscellaneous:

• Auditorium acoustics 

• Reverberation time (sound files)