Materials List:
How Does the Speed of Sound Vary with Altitude?
Each group needs:
- poster paper (for graphing)
- colored markers
- rulers
- calculator
- laptop or computers with internet and access to NASA website: https://www.grc.nasa.gov/www/k-12/VirtualAero/BottleRocket/airplane/sound.html
To share with the entire class:
- data sheets from the 2019 LIFT PROJECT balloon launch (students calculate the theoretical speed of sound) for altitudes of 0-27 km:
- Air Pressure Data Sheet
- Humidity Data Sheet
- Temperature Data Sheet
- Speed of Sound Data Sheet
- For time management, each group could graph one relationship (such as speed of sound vs. air pressure, etc.) and then take on other graphing relationships if time permits
- photos / data plots
- Air Pressure Data Sheet Plot
- Humidity Data Sheet Plot
- Temperature Data Sheet Plot
- Speed of Sound Data Sheet Plot
- video: 2019 LIFT Project - Speed Of Sound: https://youtu.be/ZO-8rdrp348 (5:15)
