Determining frequency of sound using a calibrated cathode ray oscilloscope

[RigidBody]

hi, i have an exam on wave properties in a week. and i found this on the syllabus. i can't remember learning it let alone what a cathode ray oscilloscope is (an electron gun thingymajig?) my textbooks don't explain it well. so if you know how to determine the frequency of sound using a calibrated cathode ray oscilloscope, please help.

 

[Hammie]

A cathode ray oscilloscope is not much different from a voltmeter, except it visually displays voltage (x direction) vs. time (y direction).

Newer oscilloscopes have nice internal markers on the display, and are calibrated in a way that one can measure the period of the wave, the amount of time for one cycle of the sound wave occurs in.

Frequency = 1/period. This is how you calculate the frequency of the sound wave.

 

[RigidBody]

yay thanks

 

[berkeman]

A cathode ray oscilloscope is not much different from a voltmeter, except it visually displays voltage (x direction) vs. time (y direction).

Small typo -- voltage is on the vertical y-axis and time is on the horizontal x axis. Here's a link to a popular oscilloscope brand. You will probably recognize the instrument when you see it. To measure the period or frequency of a sound, you would connect your oscilloscope probe to a microphone output, and observe the time waveform on the 'scope display.

http://www.lecroy.com/