LEARNING

OUTCOME

 What types of
waves are
sound waves?
Sound
Y E A R 1 0 C H A P T E R 1 1 G J Z A H R A , B . E D ( H O N S )

 How does
sound travel in
air?

 Does sound
travel in liquids
and solids?

 Why does a
boat sound to
be closer when
one is under-
water?

 What is the
speed of
sound? How
can it be meas-
ured?

 What is ultra-
sound?

 How does a
SONAR and
ultrasound
scanning work?

 What is loud-
ness? How is it
measured?

 Are we able to
hear all differ-
ent sounds?

 How do micro-
Name and Surname:
phones and
musical instru-
______________________
ments work?
Class:
______________________
 PAGE 2
11.1 Sound as a Wave

Sound is a form of energy transferred by longitudinal

waves. Sound is due to particles oscillating in the
same direction as the wave is travelling. This results
in compressions and rarefactions (longitudinal wave).
Sound is caused by vibrations.

Sound is caused by vi- Since sound travels by vibration of particles, it needs a medium to travel in. This
brations and propagat-
is different from light waves which can travel through a vacuum (empty space).
ed by longitudinal
waves which consist of The speed of sound in air is 330m/s, much less than that of light which is
compressions and rare- 3x108m/s. Since particles in liquids are closer together, vibrations are more easi-
factions. ly transmitted and the speed of sound in water is about 1,500m/s. Particles in
solids are even closer together and sound can travel at 3,150m/s in ice and
5,120m/s in steel.

Like all other waves, frequency, velocity and wavelength of sound waves are re-
lated by the equation below. Like all other waves, sound is refracted as it enters
a new medium (eg. on going from air to water), reflected if it hits a surface
(echo) and diffracted if it passes through an opening of size comparable to its
wavelength (eg. doorways).

A boat sounds to be v  f
closer than it is when

Practice Exercise 11A

diving. This is because
the speed of sound is
greater in liquids than
in air.
1. If thunder is heard 15 seconds after light-
ning, how far away is the storm if light
travels at 330m/s in air?
2. What is the (a) wavelength and (b) period-
ic time of a sound wave of frequency
10,000Hz travelling at 330m/s?
3. In an experiment a bell is placed in a bell
jar connected to a vacuum pump. The bell
is switched on and then the pump. Ex-
plain what happens. Why?
4. The average wavelength of sound is 1m while that of light is 500nm. Why can
sound be heard round a doorway while one cannot see round the same doorway?

SOUND GJ ZAHRA B.ED (HONS)

 PAGE 3
11.2 Measuring the Speed of Sound
A sound can be produced by a person from a large distance at a particular time,
say at exactly 13.00.00hrs. Another person will record the time at which the
sound arrives. So, for example, if the distance from point to point was 700metres,
and the time taken is 3 seconds, one can then calculate the speed of sound.

However there are problems with this technique as sound might get dissipated
over very large distances and the human reaction times (approximately 0.3s) will
constitute a relatively high percentage error.

To decrease the effects of human reaction time,

repeated readings are needed. A large wall is
found and a person standing at a distance from
the wall claps and then claps again when he
hears the clap’s echo (clap-echo-clap). This is
repeated for a number of times and the time
taken recorded. The time between one clap and
the other, is the time taken for sound to travel
to the wall and back. For example, if a person
stands at a distance of 50m from a wall and
does the procedure a 100 times, the total distance tavelled would be 50m * 2 * 100 = 100,000m.
This is divided by the time taken and the speed of sound found.

A third method involves two microphones connect-

ed to sound operated switches. A sound is made
and when the first microphone picks up the sound,
the time is electronically started. When the second
microphone picks up the sound, the time is elec-
tronically stopped. Timing here is electronic and
automatic and therefore the effects of human reac-
tion times are absent.

Timmy stands 20m from a wall. He makes a sound with two metal pipes, waits for the echo and makes the
sound again. He repeats this for 50 times and takes 6.5 seconds.
a. Calculate the speed of sound in air.
b. Would this value be larger or smaller if the experiment was done underwater? Explain using the theo-
ry of particles.
c. What is the main error in this experiment?

SOUND GJ ZAHRA B.ED (HONS)

 PAGE 4
11.3 The Oscilloscope
When sound waves are detected by a microphone, this changes the longitudinal
vibrations into an equivalent transverse electric current. The microphone can be
connected to an oscilloscope which shows a signal of displacement against time
for the wave picked up by the microphone. Converting the longitudinal sound
waves into a corresponding transverse electric signal simplifies observation of
properties such as amplitude, frequency and wavelength.

A microphone can pick up a

11.4 Ultrasound
sound wave by having a Humans can only hear sound waves with
diaphragm that vibrates
frequencies varying from 20Hz to 20kHz.
with the same frequency as
Sound of higher frequency than the audible
the sound being picked up.
The diaphragm is in turn frequencies for humans (>20kHz) is called
connected to a magnet that ultrasound. Ultrasound has various uses:
lies within a coil. As the
magnet moves with the  Sonars (echo-sounding) send pulses
diaphragm, an electric cur- of ultrasound towards the sea bed and
rent is created in the coil. calculate the depth/distance of objects
This electric current has
by using the time that the sound takes
the same frequency as the
sound being picked up by te
to return back.
microphone.
 Ultrasound can be used to clean deli-
cate machinery without dismantling
it. The object is immersed in a liquid
and powerful ultrasound waves are
used to remove any dirt and grease.

 In medicine ultrasound can be used to break up kidney stones or gall

stones. It is also used to produce image of organs. Ultrasound scanning is
much safer than x-rays, which are high energy waves.

SOUND GJ ZAHRA B.ED (HONS)

 PAGE 5
11.5 Sound Loudness
Sound can have a vast range of frequencies; however the human audible region is from sounds with a fre-
quency of 20 Hz to 20 kHz. Sounds with frequencies higher than 20 kHz are called ultrasounds and have a
variety of uses as mentioned earlier.

Frequency is not, and is not related to, loudness. Loudness is measured in decibels (dB) using a sound level
meter. Sound which is too loud can harm the human ear. In Britain the law limits the maximum noise for an
8-hour working day to 90dB; however personal stereos and discos usually have dangerous levels of more
than 100dB.

SOUND GJ ZAHRA B.ED (HONS)

 GJ ZAHRA B.ED(HONS), ST ALBERT THE GREAT COLLEGE
PAGE 6

Exercise 11B
Answer the following questions on a separate sheet of paper. Unless otherwise stated, assume the
speed of sound to be 340m/s
1. Fill in the blanks using the words provided.

Sound is caused by __(a)__. A sound wave is a __(b)__ wave consisting of __(c)__ Metres, longitudinal;
(where the particles are close together) and __(d)__ (where the particles are well medium; vibrations;
Hz, vacuum; deci-
separated). Since sound needs a __(e)__ to travel through, it cannot travel through a
bels; compressions;
__(f)__. Wave speed in (m/s) equal frequency (in __(g)__) multiplied by __(h)__ (in rarefactions; wave-
__(i)__). Sound travels fastest in __(j)__. Echoes are caused by __(k)__ of sound. length, solids, reflec-
Loudness is measured in __(l)__. (12 marks) tion.

2. If thunder is heard 20 seconds after lightning, how far away is the storm? (2 marks)

3. What is the (a) wavelength and (b) periodic time of a sound wave of frequency 100Hz? (4 marks)

4. What are the highest and lowest frequencies that the human ear can detect? (2 marks)

5. Calculate the shortest and longest wavelengths that the human ear can detect? (3 marks)

6. A man fires a gun and hears the echo from a cliff after 4s. How far away is the cliff? (3 marks)

7. A sonar pulse sent out by a boat arrives back after 3s. If the speed of sound in water is 1500m/s, how
deep is the water? (3 marks)

8. A girl stands 90m from a wall and claps her hands to hear clap-echo-clap-echo for 50 times. The time
taken was 27.7s. What result does she get for the speed of sound? (3 marks)

9. What is the main source of error in the experiment described in question 8? (1 marks)

10. Draw a diagram and briefly describe an experiment better than the one in question 8 to measure the
speed of sound. (5 marks)

11. Mary tunes her guitar at home before an open air concert during the winter. Why does she has to tune
it again on site? (2 marks)

12. Give three uses of ultrasound. (3 marks)

(Total: 43 marks)

SOUND GJ ZAHRA B.ED (HONS)

 PAGE 7
11.6 Music - String Instruments
Notes from a musical instrument have three basic properties:
 The loudness of a sound is measured in decibels and depends on the ampli-
tude of the wave. Loud notes contain more energy. This can be changed by
striking strings harder in a string instrument or by blowing harder in a wood-
String instruments like gui-
tars, violins, mandarins and wind and brass instruments.
cellos, use vibrating strings
to create a sound.  The pitch of a note is related to its frequency and is a measure of how high or
low a sound is. In a string instrument (like guitar, bass, violin, etc) the pitch is
affected by three variables:
 The longer the string, the lower the pitch. If a string is twice as long as
another identical string, the note will be of half the frequency (in music

Brass instruments use vi- we say that the note is one octave lower). String length can be changed
brating air inside the instru-
by keeping the string from different locations using a finger on the fret-
ment to make a sound.
These include trumpets, tu- board. In wind instruments, this is changed by closing or opening spe-
bas, trombones and horns.
cific air holes. These change the length of air oscillating in the instru-
ment.
 The tenser (or tighter) the string, the higher the pitch. This can be
changed using the tuning keys. In percussion instruments, skins can be
tightened or released to change the note.
Woodwind instruments have
a reed with oscillates to cre-  The lighter (thinner) a string the higher the pitch.
ate a sound. These include  The quality or tone depends on the shape of the waveform produced. Only a
clarinets, flutes and saxo-
tuning fork produces a perfect waveform (pure note). Other instruments are
phones. The recorder is a
non-reeded woodwind in- usually unable to produce just one frequency at a time and the different
strument. waves produced overlap to produce slightly complicated waveforms. Thus
one is able to tell the difference between the same note if played with differ-
ent instruments.

In a percussion instrument
an object is hit so that it vi-
brates. These include cym-
bals, drums, tambourines
and triangles.

SOUND GJ ZAHRA B.ED (HONS)