Name:______Date:______Per:______

WS 2.5- Graphing the SOFAR Channel

  1. Why would whales want their song to travel farther distances?
  1. What will travel farther low frequency (slow moving) sound or high frequency fast moving sound?
  1. What two state properties of water affect the speed at which sound travels through water?

The following is data obtained from an oceanographic expedition in 2010. The data describes the speed of sound in water with respect to the waters temperature (not pressure). Graph the data on the plot below.

Speed of Sound (m/s) / Depth (m)
1530 / 0
1520 / 100
1520 / 250
1517 / 500
1500 / 750
1479 / 1000
1468 / 1500
1465 / 2000
1463 / 2500
1461 / 3000
1459 / 3500
1457 / 4000
/
  1. Using your graph, does the slowest moving sound occur at the surface of the ocean or in the deep ocean? (Circle one)
  1. Just taking temperature into consideration where would a whale most want to sing, on the surface or in the deep ocean? (Circle one)

The following is data obtained from the same oceanographic expedition in 2010. The data describes the speed of sound in water with respect to the waters pressure (not temperature). Graph the data on the plot below.

Speed of sound (m/s) / Depth (m)
1528 / 0
1532 / 250
1535 / 500
1542 / 1000
1552 / 1500
1558 / 2000
1568 / 2500
1573 / 3000
1581 / 3500
1590 / 4000
/
  1. Using your graph, does the slowest moving sound occur at the surface of the ocean or in the deep ocean? (Circle one)
  1. Just taking pressure into consideration where would a whale most want to sing, on the surface or in the deep ocean? (Circle one)

Make a hypotheses:

Look back at your data and predict where sound speed will be the slowest when the effects of both the temperature and pressure of water are taken into consideration:

I feel that the slowest moving sound will be at the surface / in the middle / in the deep ocean (circle one)Because:______

______

The following is the last of the data obtained from the oceanographic expedition in 2010. The data describes the speed of sound in water with respect to both temperature and pressure. Graph the data on the plot below

Speed of Sound (m/s) / Depth (m)
1528 / 0
1523 / 250
1525 / 400
1523 / 500
1510 / 750
1494 / 1000
1492 / 1250
1493 / 1500
1497 / 2000
1503 / 2500
1509 / 3000
1515 / 3500
1523 / 4000
/
  1. Why is the last graph more/ less realistic than the two previous (circle one)?
  1. Where would a whale most want to sing just taking both pressure and temperature into consideration?
  1. Was your hypotheses correct?
  1. Why does the top of this graph look more like the graph showing the effects of temperature and disregarding the effects of pressure?
  1. Why does the bottom of this graph look more like the graph showing the effects of pressure and disregarding the effects of temperature?