Class 9

Science: Physics: Chapter 12: Sound

• Sound is produced due to the vibration of objects.

• Vibration is the rapid to and fro motion of an object.
• A stretched rubber band when plucked vibrates and produces sound.

• Sound energy is a form of energy because of which our ears are able to hear
something.
• One cannot create sound or destroy it. But one can transform one form of
energy into sound energy. For instance, when a cell phone rings, the sound
is produced by converting electrical energy into sound energy.
How does sound travel?
• In order to propagate, sound requires a medium through which it can travel.
This medium could be a gas, liquid or solid.
• Sound propagates in a medium as the particles of the medium vibrate from a
starting point. This means that sound always has a starting point and an
ending point.

What is a wave?
• A wave is a disturbance produced in a medium as the particles of the
medium vibrate.
• The particles produce motion in each other without moving forward or
backwards.
• This leads to the propagation of sound.
• Hence sound is often called a Wave.
How can sound travel through air?
• When an object vibrates in the air or produces a sound, some regions of high
pressure are created in front of it. These are called the Regions of
Compression. These regions of compression move forward in the medium
as particles exert pressure on their adjacent particles.
• With alternate regions of compression, there are also regions of low pressure
that are in its front. These are called Regions of Rarefaction.
 • As the object would move forwards and backwards consecutively producing
sound, the series of compressions and rarefactions will be created. This will
allow sound to move through air or any other medium as well.
• If the medium is dense the pressure exerted on the particles will be more in
order to propagate the sound and vice versa.
• Therefore, we can also say that propagation of sound is all about change in
the pressure of the medium.

What are mechanical waves?

A wave that is produced when objects of the medium oscillate is called Mechanical
Wave. The sound waves are therefore, mechanical waves.

• Sound cannot travel through the vacuum as it always needs a medium to

propagate. The vacuum contains no air hence no particles can propagate
sound.
• Longitudinal waves - Any wave that vibrates in the direction of the motion is
called a Longitudinal Wave. Sound waves are longitudinal because the
particles of the medium vibrate in the direction which is parallel to the
 direction of the propagation of the sound waves. The particles in the medium
oscillate to and fro in the case of longitudinal waves.
• Transverse Waves - A transverse wave is produced when the particles of the
medium oscillate in a direction which is perpendicular to the direction of the
propagation of the wave. The particles in a transverse wave oscillate in an up
and down motion. For Example, light waves are transverse in nature.

•
Propagation of Sound

• When an object vibrates, the particles around the medium vibrate. The particle in
contact with the vibrating object is first displaced from its equilibrium position.
• The disturbance produced by the vibrating body travels through the medium but the
particles do not move forward themselves.
• A wave is a disturbance which moves through a medium by the vibration of the
particles of the medium. So sound is considered as a wave. Sound waves require
medium for transmission. Sound waves are called mechanical waves. When a
vibrating object moves forward, it pushes and compresses the air in front of it forming
a region of high pressure called compression (C). When the vibrating object moves
backward, it forms a region of low pressure called rarefaction (R).
• A vibrating object producing a series of compressions (C) and rarefaction (R)
In these waves the particles move back and forth parallel to the direction of
propagation of the disturbance. Such waves are called longitudinal waves.

Characteristics of a sound wave

Sound waves have following characteristics:
(1) Amplitude
(2) wavelength
(3) Frequency
(4) Time period
(5) Velocity

Amplitude
• The maximum displacement of each particle from its mean position is called
amplitude.
• It is denoted by A.
• Its SI unit is metre (m).
Wavelength
 • The distance between two nearest (adjacent) crests or troughs of a wave is called its
wavelength.
• It is denoted by the Greek letter lamda (λ).
• Its SI unit is metre.
Frequency
• The number of vibrations per second is called frequency.
• The SI unit of frequency is hertz (Hz).
• The symbol of frequency is ν (nu).
Time period
• The time taken to complete one vibration is called time period.
• It is denoted by T.
• Its SI unit is second (s).
• The frequency of a wave is the reciprocal of the time period.
i.e., v = 1/T

Velocity
• The distance travelled by a wave in one second is called velocity of the wave or speed
of the wave.
• Its S.I. unit is metres per second (m/s).
• Velocity = Distance travelled/Time taken
⟹ v = λ/T, where λ = wavelength of the wave travelled in one time time period T)

⟹ v = λv (As 1/T = v)

Thus, Velocity = Wavelength × Frequency

v = λv is called the wave equation.

Pitch and loudness of Sound

Pitch: It represents shrillness or flatness of sound.
It depends on the frequency of vibration. Higher the frequency of sound wave, the higher will
be the pitch of sound and vice-versa.

Loudness: It is a measure of the sound energy reaching the ear per second.
It depends on the amplitude of the sound wave.

It is measured in decibel ‘dB’.

Music And Noise

Music: It is the sound that is pleasant to hear. For example: Sound coming out of musical
instruments)
Noise: It is the sound that is unpleasant to hear. For example: Sound produced by vehicles.
Tone and Note
Tone: A pure sound of single frequency is called tone.
Note: An impure sound produced by mixture of many frequencies is called a note. For
example: A musical note has tones of various frequencies.
Audible Frequency
The audible range of human ear is 20 Hz and 20,000HZ, i.e., the human ears can hear only
those waves whose frequency lies between 20 Hz and 20,000HZ.
Speed of sound

The speed of sound is more in solids, less in liquids and least in gases.

The speed of sound also depends on the temperature of the medium. If the temperature of the
medium is more, the speed of sound is more.

What is a sonic boom?

When an object travels in the air with a speed greater than that of the sound, it
produces a sound with high energy. This energy is loud enough that it can break
glasses or damage the buildings. The sound produced is similar to the sound of an
explosion or thunderclap.
These objects exert a large amount of pressure on the air which causes the production
of shock waves in the air. These shock waves produce extremely large and loud sound
waves which are called Sonic booms.

Laws of Reflection of Sound

• The incident sound wave, the reflected sound wave and the normal, all lie in
the same plane.

Laws of Reflection of Sound

• The angle of incident of incident sound wave is equal to the angle of
reflection formed by the reflected sound wave, that is, i = r
Echo
When we hear the same sound again and again in a medium it is called Echo. The
sound or echo persists in our brain for 0.1 seconds. This means that the difference
between sound and its echo should be at least 0.1 seconds. It is produced as a result of
reflection of sound through a medium. If sound reflects more than once we may hear
multiple echoes.
Reverberation
It is the persistence of a sound after a sound is produced. A reverberation is created
when a sound signal is reflected multiple of times until it reaches a sound wave that
cannot be heard by human ears. Auditoriums and big halls often have to deal with
reverberation. That is why the roofs are made up of soundproof materials like
Flipboard and the chairs in the halls are also made up of fabrics that can absorb sound.

Advantages of Multiple Reflection of Sound

• Horns, trumpets, loudhailers or megaphones are designed in such a way that
sound can travel in a particular direction only without spreading out
everywhere. This makes it easier for the audience to listen to the speaker.
All these instruments work on the phenomena of multiple reflections of
sound.

Multiple Reflections through a horn and megaphone

• The multiple reflections in a stethoscope tube make it possible for the
doctors to listen to a patient’s heartbeat.
 • Concert halls are generally covered so that sound can reflect through it and
reach the wider audience.
The range of sound – on the basis of the range of frequency of a sound, it is
categorized into ultrasound and infrasound.
Human auditory range is between 20 Hz and 20000 Hz.
Applications of Ultrasound
The ultrasound waves are the sound waves with high frequency. Due to this, they can
travel long distances despite any obstacles between their paths.
• The ultrasound waves are used in clearing parts of objects that are hard to
reach such as a spiral tube or electronic components. In order to clean the
objects, they are put in a solution, then the ultrasonic waves are passed
through the solution. As a result, the dust particles on the object get
detached and fall off them.
• Ultrasound waves can recognize tiny cracks in metallic objects that are used
in the manufacture of large structures, buildings and scientific equipment.
The presence of such cracks can lower the strength of these structures and
machines. Hence, the ultrasound waves are passed through the metallic
objects and detectors are used to detect the waves that pass through the
cracks. If a crack is present the ultrasound waves would reflect back.

Ultrasound waves can detect cracks in a metal

• Ultrasonic waves are also used in a medical process
called Echocardiography. In this process, the ultrasound waves are passed
through various parts of the heart in order to form the images of the organ.
• Ultrasonic waves are also used in a procedure called Ultrasonography. In
this procedure, the ultrasonic waves are passed through the internal organs
of the body in order to get their image. In this way, the doctors can find out
the cause of a disease or any abnormalities in the organs. The ultrasound
waves travel through the tissues of the body and as soon as the density of the
tissue changes, they reflect back. The reflected waves are then converted
into electrical signals which form the images of the internal organs.
 • Ultrasound waves are also used to break the kidney stones.
How do bats search their prey?
Bats generate Ultrasonic waves. As these waves hit an object, they get reflected back
to the bat’s ears. The bats can understand the nature of reflection of these waves and
then can decide the position of the object over their prey.

Ultrasonic waves generated by bats