Grade 11 Physics Notes Page 1 of 11

SOUND

The production of sound

Devices that produce sound (sources of sound)

 Vocal cords
 Musical instruments (guitars, pianos, drums etc)
 Hands when clapping
 All devices that produce sound vibrate.
 An object that is not vibrating cannot produce sound.

Experiment

Aim

 To show that a sound-producing body vibrates as it produces the sound.

Materials

 A turning fork
 Beaker filled with water

Procedure

1. Strike the turning fork against any hard object so that it starts to ring
2. Bring the ringing turning fork to the surface of water
3. Hold your hand to your throat and hum

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Observation

1. The turning fork vibrates and some sound is heard.

2. The turning fork cause ripples on the surface of water.
3. The throat vibrates as you hum.

Conclusion

 Any object that is producing sound vibrates.

Properties of sound

 Sound waves are classified as pressure waves or compression waves because they
consist of repeating pattern of high-pressure and low-pressure regions that move
through a medium.
 Sound cannot travel through a vacuum.

How sound is detected

 Ears are the sound detectors.

Transmission of sound waves

 Sound waves require a material medium through which to propagate.

 Sound can travel through solids, liquids and gases.

Experiment

Aim

 To investigate whether sound can travel through a vacuum.

Materials

 Bell jar fitted with suction pump or vacuum pump.

 An electric bell
 Power supply
 Grease or petroleum jelly.

Procedure

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1. Mount the electric bell inside the bell jar

2. Seal the bell with grease or petroleum jelly and place it on flat surface
3. Switch on the power supply so that the bell begins to ring
4. Remove the air from the bell jar using suction pump
5. After sometime put the air into the bell jar.

Observations

1. As the air is pumped out, the sound gets softer until it is no longer heard.
2. As the air is brought in again, the sound gets louder.

Conclusion

 Sound cannot travel through a vacuum.

 Sound is transmitted by the particles of a medium.

Speed of sound

 Sound travels through matter at different speeds.

The speed of sound depends on:

(i) the medium of the material

(ii) the temperature of a material
 Sound travels fastest in solids followed by liquids and slowest in gases.

The speed of sound in gas

 The speed of sound in a gas depends on the:

(i) temperature of the gas (the higher the temperature, the greater the speed of sound).
(ii) density of the gas (the greater the density of the gas, the slower the speed of sound).

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distance
Speed=
time

Experiment

Aim

 To determine the speed of sound in air.

Materials

 Starting pistol or puff of smoke

 Stopwatches
 Measuring tape

Procedure

1. Measure the distance between two points (A and B) using a measuring tape (at least
500m).
2. A leaner with a pistol and a stopwatch stand at A while the other one with another
stopwatch stand at B.
3. Learner A pulls the trigger and starts the stopwatch immediately after seeing the smoke
4. Learner B starts the stopwatch when he hears the sound.
5. After that the two learners stop their stopwatches at the same time.

Observations

1. Learner B heard the sound sometime after learner A saw the smoke.
2. The time difference between two stopwatches (A and B), is the time it took for for
sound to travel.
3. Record the time in seconds it took for leaner B to hear the sound.

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Conclusion

 Light travels faster than sound

 Calculate the speed of sound using the formula.
 The speed of sound should be between 300m/s and 350m/s.

NOTE:

 that the source of error in this experiment is the reaction time to start and stop the
stopwatches.
 that to stop or minimize this error, repeat many times.
 that the results would be different if the experiment was done during hot weather. this
because the air is less dense in hot weather.

The characteristics of sound waves

 Wavelength (λ)
 Frequency (f)
 Amplitude (A)
 Speed (v)
Speed=frequency × wavelength
v=fλ

The range of audible frequencies

 Human ear can only hear sound that has the frequency ranging from 20Hz to 20 000Hz
(20Hz to 20 kHz).
 The outer limits of frequencies of sound that a human can hear are called limits of
audibility.
 Infrasound is the sound that has the frequency below the lower limit of audibility
(20Hz).
 Ultrasound is the sound that has the frequency above the upper limit of audibility
(20kHz).

Exercise

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1. Explain why sound travels faster in water than in air.

2. Explain what determines the amplitude of sound waves.
3. A boy beats a drum. Describe how you would prove that the drum skin vibrates as it
produces the sound.
4. Sound waves were found to be travelling at 340 m/s in a certain air sample. What are
the minimum and maximum wavelengths of sound waves that a normal human ear
would be able to hear in this air sample?
5. Figure below is a diagram showing a wave travelling along a spring in the direction
shown.

(a) Name the type a wave shown above. [1]

(b) What are the regions U and W called? [2]
(c) Explain why sound waves travel faster in liquids than in gases. [2]

6. The figure below shows a vibrating tuning fork, Y in air.

(a) State the nature of wave produced by the tuning fork. Show diagrammatically the
regions created by the wave produced, as it passes through the air.
(b) Explain what happens to the speed of the wave in (a) if the rate of vibration of
Y increases but the length of the wave produced remains the same.

Sound quality

1. Pitch
 Pitch is a measure of how high or low the sound is.

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 Pitch depends on the frequency of sound.

 The higher the frequency, the higher the pitch.
 For example, the sound of a whistle has a high pitch while the sound of a drum has a
low pitch.
2. Loudness
 Loudness is a measure of the amount of energy received by the sound detector.
 Loudness depends on the amplitude.
 The louder the sound, the greater the amplitude.
 Loudness is measured in decibels (dB).

 The blue wave has the greatest amplitude, it has the loudest sound.
 The blue and orange waves have the same frequency, so they have the same pitch.
 The green wave has twice the frequency of the other two waves, so it has twice the
pitch.
 The orange and green waves have the same amplitude, so they are equally loud.
3. Timbre
 Timbre is the quality of sound that helps us to identify the source of sound.
 Fundamental frequency is the main frequency produced by an instrument.
e.g. pure note produced by turning fork or signal generator.

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 Overtones are the mixtures of frequencies that are higher than fundamental frequency
of an instrument.
e.g. notes produced by piano and violin.

Ultrasound

 Ultrasound is sound with a frequency greater than the upper limit of the human hearing
range.

Uses of ultrasound

(i) For measuring and detecting objects.

(ii) For making pictures of internal structures of a human body.
(iii) Testing for fractures in the wings of airplanes or metal bridges.
(iv)For cleaning objects like watches, lenses, jewellery and surgical devices.

Noise

 Noise is sound that is unpleasant to hear and is irritating.

 Noise produces vibrations that are no-repetitive.
 Too much noise leads to noise pollution.
 Noise pollution is annoying and bad for health.

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Some effects of noise or sound pollution

(i) Fatigue
(ii) hearing loss
(iii) Sleeplessness
(iv) Stress
(v) Restlessness
(vi) Lack of concentration.

Ways to minimize sound pollution

(i) Use soundproof materials in rooms. e.g. heavy curtains, carpets, plastic wall coverings
and double glazed windows.
(ii) Noisy machines can be placed in airtight enclosures.
(iii) Noisy machines should not be in contact with the wall of the building.
(iv)Noisy machines can be placed on insulating materials such as rubber mats
(v) Noisy machines should be operated by people wearing ear protectors.

Exercise

1. The human audible frequency range is 20Hz to 20 000Hz. Taking the speed of sound
in air as 330m/s.
(a) What is the upper limit of the human audible frequency in KHz?
(b) What is the wavelength of the lower limit of the audible frequency range?
2. The following diagram shows an ultrasound source sending a sound wave into the
human body.

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The total time for the ultrasound to travel in the bone from X to Y and back to X is
9.0×10-6s.
(a) What does the term ultrasound mean?
(b) If the speed of the ultrasound in bone is 4100m/s, calculate Z the thickness of
the bone.
(c) Mention another use of ultrasound other than medical use.

3. The figure below shows a boat which uses ultrasonic waves to calculate the depth of
the sea.

The speed of sound in water is 1400m/s and an ultrasonic wave has a frequency of
28000 Hz.
(a) Calculate the wavelength of the ultrasonic wave in water.
(b) The pulse takes 0.2s to travel from the transmitter to seabed and back to the
detector. Calculate the distance to the seabed.
7. The figure below shows the pattern which represents the compression and rarefaction
of air molecules produced by a singe

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The sound produced has a period of 0.002 seconds.

(a) Define the type of wave shown in figure 3.1.
(b) What is the wavelength of the sound that the singer produces?
(c) Calculate the frequency of this sound?
(d) What is the speed of this sound?
(e) What property distinguishes notes played on different musical instruments if they
have the same pitch and loudness?
(f) State the limits of audibility.
(g) Name one source of sound wave.
(h) Explain what happens to the speed of sound in the gas if the
(i) temperature of gas is lowered
(ii) density of gas is increased.

Mr. Kawanga. D. 2022