Dr Vince Grade 12 Physics Detailed Revisions 1

CHAPTER 06: EFFECTS AND CHARACTERISTICS OF SOUND

Ch06-Q01: Say True (or) False.
1. Sound waves can be reflected. 1.
2. Sound waves can be refracted. 2.
3. Sound waves can be attenuated. 3.
4. The speed of sound will be the same for different media. 4.
5. Longitudinal sound waves travel faster in solids than they do in liquids. 5.
6. Longitudinal sound waves travel faster in solids than they do in gases. 6.
7. For every 20 dB added to the sound level, the loudness of the sound is increased by 20 7.
times.
8. The 120 dB sound will be 20 times louder than 100 dB sound. 8.
9. Reflection of sound does not obey the laws of reflection. 9.
10. The angle of incidence of sound wave is always equal to the angle of reflection of sound 10.
wave.
11. Audible means able to be heard. 11.
12. Audibility means the ability to be heard. 12.
13. Audibility means capability of detecting sounds in certain range of frequencies. 13.
14. The human’s ear is capable of detecting sounds of all frequencies. 14.
15. Bat can produce normal sound. 15.
16. Bat can produce ultrasound. 16.
17. Bat can produce infrasound. 17.
18. Bat can hear normal sound. 18.
19. Bat can hear ultrasound. 19.
20. Bat can hear infrasound. 20.
21. Dolphin can produce normal sound. 21.
22. Dolphin can produce ultrasound. 22.
23. Dolphin can produce infrasound. 23.
24. Dolphin can hear normal sound. 24.
25. Dolphin can hear ultrasound. 25.
26. Dolphin can hear infrasound. 26.
27. Human can produce normal sound. 27.
28. Human can produce ultrasound. 28.
29. Human can produce infrasound. 29.
30. Human can hear normal sound. 30.
31. Human can hear ultrasound. 31.
32. Human can hear infrasound. 32.
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33. Cat can produce normal sound. 33.

34. Cat can produce ultrasound. 34.
35. Cat can produce infrasound. 35.
36. Cat can hear normal sound. 36.
37. Cat can hear ultrasound. 37.
38. Cat can hear infrasound. 38.
39. Dog can produce normal sound. 39.
40. Dog can produce ultrasound. 40.
41. Dog can produce infrasound. 41.
42. Dog can hear normal sound. 42.
43. Dog can hear ultrasound. 43.
44. Dog can hear infrasound. 44.
45. Elephant can produce normal sound. 45.
46. Elephant can produce ultrasound. 46.
47. Elephant can produce infrasound. 47.
48. Elephant can hear normal sound. 48.
49. Elephant can hear ultrasound. 49.
50. Elephant can hear infrasound. 50.
51. Whales use ultrasound in echolocation. 51.
52. Most sonar technologies use ultrasound. 52.
53. Human can hear a dog whistle. 53.
54. The frequency of a dog whistle is less than 20 kHz. 54.
55. Manufacturers of concrete use infrasound to check for cracks or cavities. 55.
56. Ultrasound can be used to inspect metal pipes. 56.
57. Ultrasound can be used to measure the thickness of the wooden boards. 57.
58. A prenatal ultrasound test uses low frequency sound waves. 58.
59. The ultrasound is audible to the human ear. 59.
60. Ultrasonic cleaning is especially effective in the cleaning of irregular surfaces. 60.
61. In Doppler effect, the wave medium is considered at rest. 61.
62. The observed frequency will be larger when the distance between the source and the 62.
observer becomes larger.
63. The observed frequency will be smaller when the distance between the source and the 63.
observer becomes smaller.
64. Doppler effect is observed in sound wave only. 64.
65. Doppler effect is observed in radio waves. 65.
66. Doppler effect is observed microwaves. 66.
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67. Doppler effect is observed light waves. 67.

68. Doppler effect is observed electromagnetic waves. 68.
69. The pitch of the note determines how high the sound is. 69.
70. The greater the frequency, the lower is the pitch. 70.
71. The greater the frequency, the lower is the period. 71.
72. The notes produced by the violin are richer than guitar. 72.
73. The waveform of a sound varies with the number of overtones. 73.
74. Loudness is a sensation. 74.
75. Loudness depends on the observer. 75.
76. To the human ears, the loudness of the sound is not subjective. 76.
77. For a particular volume of sound, everybody feels the same loudness. 77.
78. The greater the intensity, the greater the loudness of the sound is. 78.
79. Sound is a sequence of pressure waves which propagates through rigid media. 79.
80. The SI units of Young’s modulus and the bulk modulus are the same. 80.
81. Echoes are produced where a sound wave is refracted from a large and hard surface. 81.
82. Reflection of sound obeys the laws of reflection. 82.
83. Elephant can hear lower frequency than human. 83.
84. The greater the intensity, the greater the loudness of the sound is. 84.
85. The notes produced by the violin have more overtones than those of flute. 85.

Ch06-Q02: Fill in the blanks.

1. Sound is a sequence of _______ waves which propagates through 1.
compressible media such as air or water.
2. The speed of sound in solid medium is _______ proportional to the square- 2.
root of the Young’s modulus of the material.
3. The speed of sound in solid medium is _______ proportional to the square- 3.
root of the mass density of the material.
4. The speed of sound in a medium is _______ proportional to the particle 4.
density of the medium.
5. The speed of sound in a medium is _______ proportional to the elasticity of 5.
the medium.
6. The speed of sound in liquid medium is _______ proportional to the square- 6.
root of the bulk modulus of the liquid.
7. The speed of sound in liquid medium is _______ proportional to the square- 7.
root of the mass density of the liquid.
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8. The speed of sound in gas medium is _______ proportional to the square-root 8.

of the adiabatic constant of the gas.
9. The speed of sound in gas medium is _______ proportional to the square-root 9.
of the pressure of the gas.
10. The speed of sound in gas medium is _______ proportional to the square-root 10.
of the mass density of the gas.
11. Young’s modulus and the bulk modulus are _______ properties of the medium. 11.
12. The SI units of Young’s modulus is _______. 12.
13. The SI units of bulk modulus is _______. 13.
14. The level of intensity of a sound is measured relative to a reference _______ 14.
value of the sound.
15. The reference intensity value of the sound is _______. 15.
16. The minimum intensity of sound that can be heard by human is _______. 16.
17. The intensity of threshold of hearing is _______. 17.
18. The minimum audible intensity for human is _______. 18.
19. The _______ is the unit used for measuring sound intensity level. 19.
20. For every 10 dB added to the sound level, the loudness of the sound is 20.
increased by _______ times.
21. The sound intensity level of 120 dB is the sound intensity of ____. 21.
22. Sound intensity is a direct measure of the power reaching the _______ measured 22.
in W m-2.
23. Echoes are produced where a sound wave is reflected from a large and 23.
_______ surface.
24. An echo is repetition of sound due to the _______ of sound. 24.
25. The paddings, the rugs and the carpets absorb the _______ sound. 25.
26. The paddings, the rugs and the carpets reduce the amount of sound _______ 26.
off wall and floor surfaces.
27. Echo can be used to determine the _______ between a source of sound and 27.
the reflecting surface.
28. Bats use _______ to navigate and locate their prey. 28.
29. A _________ is a reflection of light or sound waves, or a wide reaching impact of 29.
an action.
30. The range of _______ a person can hear is known as the range of audibility. 30.
31. For humans with normal hearing, the lower limit is _______. 31.
32. For humans with normal hearing, the upper limit is about _______. 32.
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33. The lower limit and the upper limit of normal hearing is known as limit of 33.
_______.
34. By using _______ generator, the audible frequency range can be determined. 34.
35. Ultrasonic scalers use _______ to remove calculus deposits from the teeth. 35.
36. The transmission of high energy ultrasound may result in the creation of 36.
_______ bubbles.
37. Cavitation bubbles of ultrasonic cleaning are created at sites of _______. 37.
38. The sonar is a type of technology that works based on _______. 38.
39. The _______ technology is used by the ships for navigation at sea. 39.
40. The ships use the _______ technology to detect the position of other vessels. 40.
41. The depth of the sea can be checked using _______ technology. 41.
42. The position of the shoals of fish can be found by using _______ technology. 42.
43. The wavelength of light from a star observed from the earth shifts due to 43.
_________ effect.
44. The wavelength of light of a star observed from the earth shifts towards the _______ 44.
end of the spectrum when the earth and the star are moving away from each other.
45. Radar means _______ detection and ranging. 45.
46. Radar is a form of _______ that uses electromagnetic waves. 46.
47. The Doppler effect is used in some types of radar, to measure the _______ of 47.
detected objects.
48. _______ ultrasound is a technique that is used to examine blood flow. 48.
49. Blood flow rates can be found by measuring Doppler shift in frequency of 49.
ultrasound reflected by _______ blood cell.
50. _______ ultrasound can also be used to examine organ such as heart 50.
(echocardiography) and kidney.
51. The pitch of the note is determined by its _______. 51.
52. The loudness of the note depends upon the _______ of the wave that produces it. 52.
53. Notes of the same pitch played upon different musical instruments are 53.
distinguished from each other by their _______.
54. The timbre of a sound depends on its _______. 54.
55. If the amplitude of a sound wave (A) becomes (2A), the intensity (I) will 55.
become _______.
56. If the frequency of a sound wave (f) becomes (2f), the intensity (I) will become 56.
_______.
57. If the speed of a sound wave (v) becomes (2v), the intensity (I) will become _______. 57.
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58. The intensity of a wave is directly proportional to the _______ of the 58.
amplitude of the wave.
59. The intensity of a wave is directly proportional to the _______ of the 59.
frequency of the wave.
60. Young’s modulus and the bulk modulus are _______ properties of the medium. 60.
61. Doppler shift is the change in _______ of a wave related to an observer. 61.

Ch06-Q03: Choose the correct answer.

1. Longitudinal sound waves travels the fastest in _______. 1.
(A) solid (B) liquid (C) gas
2. The 120 dB sound will be _______ times louder than 100 dB sound. 2.
(A) 20 (B) 100 (C) 1.2
3. An echo is repetition of sound due to the _______ of sound. 3.
(A) refraction (B) reflection (C) diffraction
4. The range of ______ a person can hear is known as the range of audibility. 4.
(A) amplitudes (B) intensities (C) frequencies
5. The sound having frequency less than 20 Hz are known as _______. 5.
(A) infrasound (B) ultrasound (C) audible sound
6. The one which hears ultrasound is _______. 6.
(A) human (B) bat (C) elephant
7. If the sound emitting source approaches the stationary observer, the frequency _______. 7.
(A) becomes larger (B) becomes smaller (C) remains the same

Ch06-Q04: Short Questions.

1. Explain the properties of media which affect the sound propagation.
2. Which physical quantities can affect the speed of sound?
3. Why is the speed of sound higher in solids than liquids and gases? [p. 88(1)]
4. Sound travels faster in moist or humid air. Why is this? [p. 97Q01]
5. Name the factors on which the speed of sound in a gas depends. [p. 97Q02]
6. When can the echo be heard separately from the original sound?
7. How can the effect of echo in buildings be reduced?
8. What do you understand by echolocation?
9. What do you understand by reverberation?
10. Give an example of reverberation of sound.
11. Why are the walls and the roof of an auditorium covered with sound absorbent materials? [R090(2)]
12. Define echo. Give its two applications.[Q08:]
13. Why is the intensity of an echo less than that of the original sound?[ Q09:]
14. Define infrasound, and ultrasound.
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15. What does sonar mean?

16. Why can infrasound not be heard by humans? [R092]
17. Elephants and whales are known to use infrasound to communicate over very large distances. What are
the advantages of infrasound for long distance communication? [Q10]
18. (i) Why is the ultrasound used in medical imaging rather than sound wave of audible frequencies or
lower? [Q05]
19. What do you understand by Doppler effect? Give an example of Doppler shift.
20. Give some examples of the use of radar to detect the velocity of the detected object.
21. Is there a Doppler shift if the source and the observer move in the same direction, with the same velocity?
Explain. [Q14]
22. What do you understand by pitch? Define loudness.
23. Explain why the amplitude is larger for a louder note.
24. What do you understand by timber?
25. Why are the two same notes produced by flute and organ different?
26. Define intensity of the sound.
27. In terms of loudness and pitch, how would you compare the sounds made by a mosquito flying near
your ear and the cracking of a toad? [R097]

Ch06-Q05: Drawings.
1. Draw diagrams to show lower pitch vs higher pitch.
2. Draw diagrams to show quiet sound vs loud sound.

Ch06-Q06: Calculation Questions.

E6.1: What is the speed of sound in (i) an aluminum rod (ii) water? Young’s modulus of Al is 7  1010 N m-2
and density of steel is 2.7  103 kg m-3. The bulk modulus of water is 0.22  1010 N m-2 and density of
water is 103 kg m-3. [p. 86E6.1]
E6.2: Calculate the velocity of sound in air at STP. The density of air at STP is 1.3 kg m-3. Assume air to be diatomic
with  = 1.4. Also calculate the velocity of sound in air at 30 C. [p. 86]
Q03: The speed of sound in a particular liquid is 1.6 × 103 m s-1. If the bulk modulus of the liquid is
0.16 × 1010 N m-2, what is the density of the liquid? [p. 97]
R088(2): If the intensity of sound is tripled, by how many decibels does the sound level increase?
E03: In a noisy classroom, the intensity level of sound is 90 dB. What is the intensity in W m-2?
E04: What value of sound intensity in dB increases by a factor of 100?
E6.5: A bat flying at a speed of 20 m s-1 towards a stationary moth emits sound wave of 340 m s-1. The bat hears
the echoes 0.5 s later. (i) Calculate the distance travelled by the bat in 0.5 s. (ii) Calculate the distance
travelled by the sound wave in 0.5 s. (iii) Determine the initial distance between the bat and the moth.
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R089(1): The sole survivor of a shipwreck has swum to an island, which is 3300 m from a vertical cliff. He sees a
ship anchored between the island and the cliff. A blast from the ship horn is heard twice with the time
elapse of 4 s. Calculate distance between the ship and the survivor. (Speed of sound in air = 330 m s-1)
R092(2): A piezoelectric transducer produces ultrasound at a frequency of 10 MHz. Calculate the
wavelength of this ultrasound in blood if the speed of ultrasound in blood is 1560 m s-1.
E06: Elephants communicate over a long distance (up to 4 km) using sound with the fundamental
frequencies as low as 15 Hz. A rhinoceros uses frequencies down to 10 Hz. (i) Why are elephants able
to talk to one another over such a long distance? (ii) Can rhinoceros be able to communicate over long
distances further than 4 km? Why?
Q11: A sonar echo returns to a submarine 1.4 s after being emitted. What is the distance to the object
creating the echo? (Assume that the submarine is in the ocean, not in fresh water and the velocity
of sound in water is 1500 m s-1.)
Q05(ii): The frequencies used in imaging are typically in the range of 1 to 15 MHz. What is the range of
wavelengths in human tissue where the velocity of sound is 1540 m s-1?
Q06: The velocity of ultrasound in lung, fat and skull bone are 600 m s-1, 1450 m s-1, and 4080 m s-1 respectively.
What are the wavelengths of ultrasound if the sound waves at 2 MHz are used?
Q07: To get the better resolution, higher frequencies ultrasound are used but at the expense of less
penetration because sound waves are attenuated within the distance of about 50 in tissue. If the
velocity of sound in soft tissue is 1500 m s-1 and mean depth of thyroid is 0.75 cm. What is the
most suitable frequency of ultrasound to diagnose thyroid?
E6.7: An ambulance travelling at 40 m s-1 approaches a car heading in the same direction at the speed of 20 m s-1.
The ambulance driver has a siren sounding at 550 Hz. (i) At what frequency does the driver of the car hear
the siren? (ii) What will be the frequency of the siren heard by the driver of the car when the ambulance
overtakes his car? (speed of siren sound v = 330 m s-1)
R095(2): A monorail approaches a platform at a speed of 10 m s-1 blowing its whistle. A man standing on the
platform hears, the whistle with frequency 261 Hz. There is no wind and temperature is chilly 0 C.
What is the observed frequency of the whistle when the train is at rest? (Speed of sound is 332 m s-1)
Q12: (i) What frequency is received by a person watching an oncoming ambulance moving at 108 km h-1
and emitting a steady 800 Hz sound from its siren? The speed of sound on this day is 345 m s-1.
(ii) What frequency does she receive after the ambulance has passed?
Q13: A 5000 Hz sound wave is emitted by a stationary source. This sound reflects from an object moving
5 m s-1 toward the source. What is the frequency of the wave reflected by the moving object as
detected by a detector at rest near the source? [Assume the velocity of sound is 343 m s-1.]
E08: Calculate the displacement of air molecules (amplitude) for a sound having a frequency of 500 Hz at the
threshold of hearing. The speed of sound in air is 343 m s-1 at 20 C, and the density of air is 1.3 kg m-3.