Sound

The sensation felt by our ears is called sound. Sound is a form of energy. Sound is that form of
energy which makes us hear. We hear many sounds around us in our everyday life.

we have produced sound by striking the tuning fork. We can also produce sound by plucking,
scratching, rubbing, blowing or shaking different objects. We set the objects vibrating and
produce sound. Vibration means a kind of rapid to and fro motion of an object. The sound of
the human voice is produced due to vibrations in the vocal cords.

SOUND TRAVELS IN THE FORM OF WAVES / Propagation of sound :- sound travel or

propagate in the form of wave. The matter or substance through which sound is transmitted is
called a medium.

Wave is a vibratory disturbance in a medium Which carries energy from one point to
another without there being a direct contact between the two points. A wave is produced
by the vibrations of the particles of the medium through which it passes. When a wave
passes through a medium the medium itself does not move along the direction of the
wave only the particles of the medium vibrate about their fixed positions. For example,
when sound waves produced by a ringing bell come to us through air, there is no actual
movement of the air from the bell to our ears. There are two types of waves :- 1.
longitudinal waves

2. tranverse waves

Longitudinal Waves Transverse Waves

Parallel to the wave direction Perpendicular to the wave

Particle direction
Movement
 Sound waves, P waves Light waves, S waves
Examples

Can travel through solids, Typically travel through

Medium liquids and gases solids and on the surface of
liquids
Direction of Same as particle movement Perpendicular to particle
movement
It consists of It consists of crest and
Energy Transfer Compression and trough
Rarefaction while travelling
through medium

Longitudinal waves:- A wave in which the particles of the medium vibrate back and fro in
the same direction in the wave is moving, is called a longitudinal wave. A wave consist of
Compression and Rarefaction.

Compression:- A compression is that part of longitudinal wave in which the particles of the
medium are closer to one another than they normally are (hence mass is more so density is also
more ) hence pressure is also more but volume is less as having compact structure.
Rarefaction:- Is that part of a longitudinal wave in which the particles of the medium are
farther apart than normal, (hence mass is less density also less) so pressure is also less and
there is a momentary increase in the volume of the medium (more volume).

Are produced:

1. The waves which travel along a spring (or slinky) when it is pushed and pulled at
longitudinal waves.

2. The sound waves in air are longitudinal wave.

Transverse Waves :- A wave in which the particles of the medium vibrate up and down at
right angles to the direction in which the wave is moving, is called a transverse wave.

A wave consist of crest and trough.

Crest : - The elevation or hump in a transverse wave is called crest.

Trough:- The depression or hollow in Transverse wave is called trough.

Formation :-

1) transverse waves produced by moving one end of a long spring ( or slinky) up and down
rapidly, whose others end is fixed.

2) :- The water waves ( ripples) formed on the surface of water in a pond .

Characteristics of a sound wave :-

1. The minimum distance in which a sound wave repeats itself is called its wavelength, λ.
SI unit is metre ( m).

2. The maximum displacement of the particles of the medium from their original
undisturbed positions, when a wave passes through the medium, is called amplitude of the
wave, A.SI unit is mere (m).

3. The time required to produce one complete wave (or cycle) is called time-period of the
wave, T.SI unit is second (s)
4. The number of complete waves (or cycles) produced in one second is called frequency
of the wave, f. Or v ( nu) SI unit is 1hertz ( Hz) i.e 1 hertz is equal to 1 vibration per second.

5. The distance travelled by a wave in one second is called velocity of the wave (or speed
of wave) V .SI unit is metre per second ( m/s )

Relation between velocity, Frequency and Wavelength of a wave: -

Velocity = distance travelled = λ / T but 1/T = frequency = v

Hence velocity (V)= λ × v

We can say velocity (speed) of a wave in a medium is equal to the product of its frequency
and Wavelength. ( V= λ ×T)

**** sound cannot travel through vacuum.(no air) ----the case of moon and outer space : -
sound cannot be heard directly on the surface of moon because there is no air on the
moon to carry the sound waves (or sound vibrations)

. The astronauts who land on moon (or walk in outer space) talk to one another through
wireless sets using radio waves (because radio waves can travel through vaccum because they
are electromagnetic waves, which do not require a medium to propagate.)

Factors affecting speed of sound:-

1. The speed of sound depends on nature of materials or medium through which it travels.
I.e. speed of sound is fastest in solid than liquid and lowest in gases. Sound travels
15times faster in Iron or steel than air.
2. The speed of sound depends on the temperature:- As the temperature of air rises, the
speed of sound in it increases. The speed of sound in air is more in hot day(summer)
than in cold day(winter or rainy)
 3. The speed of sound depends on the humidity of air:- the speed of sound is less in dry air
but more in humid air. So they are directly proportional as humidity increases, speed of
sound also increases.

REFLECTION OF SOUND:- The bouncing back of sound when it strikes a hard surface is called
reflection of sound. Hard, solid surfaces are the best for reflecting sound waves. For
example, sound is reflected well from hard surfaces like a wall, a metal sheet, hard wood
and a cliff.

The laws of reflection of light are obeyed during the reflection of sound. The laws of
reflection of sound as follows:

1) The incident sound wave, the reflected sound wave, and the normal at the point of
incidence, all lie in the same plane.

2. The angle of reflection of sound is always equal to the angle of incidence of sound.

APPLICATION OF REFLECTION OF SOUND:- The reflection of sound is utilised in the

working of devices such as: Megaphone, Bulb horn, Stethoscope, and Soundboard.

Terms;:-

ECHO:- : The repetition of sound caused by the reflection of sound waves is called an echo. An
echo is simply a reflected sound.

Calculations of minimum distance to hear echo:-

We can hear the original sound and the reflected sound (echo) separately only if there is a
timeinterval (or time gap) of at least – 1/10th of a second (or 0.1 second) between them.

Speed = distance travelled / Time

Distance travelled = speed × time= 344 m/s × 0.1 sec = 34.4 m

But this distance is travelled by sound in going from us (the source of sound) to the reflecting
surface( like wall) and then coming back to us. So our distance from the sound reflecting
surface (like wall) to hear an echo should be half of 34.4m that is 17.2m.

So minimum distance from a sound reflecting surface to hear an echo is 17.2 m at 20 c..

PITCH :- Pitch is that characteristics of sound by which we can distinguish between sound of
same loudness. A pitch of sound directly proportional to its frequency.

QUALITY (timber) :- Quality (or timber) is that characteristic of musical sound which enables us
to distinguish between the sounds of same Pitch and loudness produced by different musical
instruments (and different singers).

REVERBERATION:- The persistence of sound in a big hall due to repeated reflections from the
walls, ceiling and floor of the hall is called reverberation. If the reverberation is too long, then
the sound becomes blurred, distorted and confusing due to overlapping of different sounds.
Some of the methods used for reducing excessive reverberations in big halls and auditoriums
are as follows:

1) Panels made of sound-absorbing materials (like compressed fibreboard or felt) are put
on the walls and ceiling of big halls and auditoriums to reduce reverberations. Put on
the floor to absorb sound and reduce reverberations.
2) Heavy curtains are put on doors and windows to absorb sound and reduce
reverberations.
3) The material having sound-absorbing properties is used for making the seats in a big
hall or auditorium To reduce reverberations.

Loudness of sound and factors it depends on:-

Ans. The sensation produced in the ears which enables us to distinguish between a faint
sound (feeble sound)

And a loud sound is called loudness of sound. The loudness of sound depends on the
amplitude of sound waves. Since the amplitude of a sound wave is equal to the amplitude
of vibrations of the source which produces the sound wave, we can also say that the
loudness of sound depends on the amplitude of vibration of the source producing the
sound waves. This point will become clear from the following example. When we strike a
table lightly, then due to less energy supplied, the table top vibrates with a small
amplitude and hence a faint sound (or soft sound) is produced. If, however, we hit the
table hard, then due to greater energy supplied, the table top vibrates with a large
 amplitude and hence produces a loud sound. Thus, the Loudness of sound depends on the
force with which an object is made to vibrate.

THE FREQUENCY RANGE OF HEARING IN HUMANS:-

1. The range of frequency from 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz is known as the frequency range of

hearing in humans. The sound which we are able to hear is called ‘audible’ sound. So,
we can also say that: The audible range of sound frequencies for human ear is from 20
Hz to 20,000 Hz.

2. The sounds of frequencies lower than 20 hertz are known as ‘infrasonic sounds’ (or
‘infrasound). Thus, infrasonic sounds are very low-frequency sounds. Infrasonic sounds
cannot be heard by human beings. Infrasonic sounds are produced by those objects
which vibrate very slow For example, a vibrating simple pendulum produces infrasonic
sound and (earth quakes,some animals like elephants ,rhinoceroses)

3. The sounds of frequencies higher than 20,000 hertz are known as ‘ultrasonic sounds
(or just ultrasound. Thus, ultrasonic sounds are very high frequency sounds. Ultrasonic
sounds cannot Be heard by human beings. The ultrasound is reflected just like ordinary

sound waves and produces echoes Though human beings cannot hear ultrasonic
sounds but dogs can hear ultrasonic sounds of frequency up to 50.000 hertz. This is the
reason why dogs are used by police. Other animals like Bats, monkey, deer, cats,
dolphins, tortoises and leopards. Bats can hear ultrasonic sounds frequencies up to
1,20,000 hertz.

Due to its very high frequency, ultrasound has a much greater penetrating power than
ordinary sound

Application of ultra sounds:-

1) Ultrasound is used in industry for detecting flaws (cracks, etc.) in metal blocks without
damaging them
2) Ultrasound is used in industry to clean, hard to reach parts of objects such as spiral tubes,
odd- shaped machines and electronic components, etc.
3) Ultrasound is used to investigate the internal organs of the human body such as liver, gall
bladder pancreas, kidneys, uterus and heart, etc
 The technique of obtaining pictures of internal organs of the body by using echoes of
ultrasound pulses is called ultrasonography.

The use of ultrasound Waves to investigate the action of the heart is called
‘echocardiography

4) Ultrasound scans are used to monitor the development of fetus (unborn baby) inside the
mother’s uterus.
5) Ultrasound is used to break kidney stones into fine grains (which then get flushed out
with urine).
6) Ultrasound is used in ‘sonar’ apparatus to measure the depth of sea (or ocean); and to
locate under-sea objects like shoal of fish, shipwrecks, submarines, sea-rocks and hidden
ice-bergs in the sea. Sound ranging is the process of finding the distance (or range) of
distant objects by using the property of reflection of ultrasonic sound.
7) Bats use ultrasound to fly at night (without colliding with other objects) and to search
their prey (like flying insects)