SUCCESS MANTRA COACHING CENTRE

TH
CLASS: 9 SUBJECT: PHYSICS
TOPIC: SOUND

IMPORTANT TERMS
1. Sound :
Sound is a form of energy which produces a sensation of hearing in our ears. Sound travels in form
of wave.

2. Production of sound:
Sound is produced when object vibrates or sound is produced by vibrating objects. The energy
required to make an object vibrate and produce sound is provided by some outside source (like our
hand, wind etc.). Example: Sound of our voice is produced by vibration of two vocal cords in our
throat.

3. Propagation of sound
The substance through which sound travels is called a medium. The medium may be solid, liquid or
gas. When an object vibrates, then the air particles around it also start vibrating in exactly the same
way and displaced from their stable position. These vibrating air particles exert a force on nearby air
particles so they are also displaced from their rest position and start to vibrate. This process is
continued in the medium till sound reaches our ears. In this way, sound propagates from source of
sound to observer.

4. Characteristics of the medium required for the propagation of sound:

a. Medium must be elastic so that the medium particles have the tendency to return back to their
original positions after the displacement.
b. Medium must have the inertia so that its particles have the capacity to store the energy.
c. The frictional resistance of the medium should be negligible to minimise the loss of energy in
propagation.

5. Wave
A wave is a defined as a disturbance in a medium that carries energy without actual movement of
particles. It may take the form of elastic deformation, a variation of pressure, electric or magnetic
intensity, electric potential, or temperature.
Types of waves
a. Mechanical waves :
A mechanical wave is a periodic disturbance which requires a material medium for its
propagation. On the basis of motion of particles the mechanical waves are classified into two
parts.
i. Transverse wave:
When the particles of the medium vibrate in a direction perpendicular to the direction of
propagation of the wave, the wave is known as the transverse wave. Transverse waves
travels in the form of crests and troughs. For example, waves produced in a stretched
string

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 ii. Longitudinal wave:
When the particles of the medium vibrate along the direction of propagation of the wave
then the wave is known as the longitudinal wave. Longitudinal waves travel in the form
of compression and rarefactions, as shown in the figure. For example sound wave in air.

Components of Longitudinal wave:

i. Compression (C):
When a body vibrates then it compresses the air surrounding it and form a area of
high density called compression (C). Compression is the part of wave in which
particles of the medium are closer to one another forming high pressure.
ii. Rarefaction (R):
When vibrating body vibrates back a area of low pressure is formed called rarefaction
(R). Rarefaction is the area of wave in which particles of the medium are further apart
from one another forming a low pressure or low density area.
b. Electromagnetic waves:
The waves which do not require medium for propagation are called electromagnetic waves these
waves can travel through vacuum also. For example, light waves, X-rays.

6. Reflection of sound:
When sound waves strike a surface, they return back into the same medium. This phenomenon is
called reflection.
Laws of reflection:
a. Angle of incidence is equal the angle of reflection.
b. The incident wave, the reflected wave and the normal all lie in the same plane.

7. Characteristics of a sound wave

a. Amplitude (A): The maximum displacement of a particle of the medium from its mean position
is called Amplitude. Its S.I unit is meter.
b. Time period (T): The time required to complete one complete oscillation to and fro about its
mean position by a particle of the medium is the time period T of the wave. It is measured in
seconds.
c. Wavelength (λ): The distance between two successive crests or trough for a wave is termed
wavelength. It is denoted by the Greek letter lamda (λ). Its SI unit is metre.
d. Frequency (n): The number of oscillations performed by a particle in one sec is termed as the
frequency of waves. The symbol of frequency is υ (nu). Its S.I unit is Hertz (Hz). The frequency
of a wave is the reciprocal of the time period, i. e. υ =
e. Wave velocity (v): The distance travelled by a wave in one second is called velocity of the wave
(or speed of the wave). The S.I. unit for the velocity of a wave is metres per second (m/s or ms-).
f. Pitch: Pitch is the sensation (brain interpretation) of the frequency of an emitted sound and is the
characteristic which distinguishes a shrill (or sharp) sound from a grave (or flat) sound. It is
directly proportional to its frequency. Greater the frequency, higher is the pitch and lesser the
frequency, lower is the pitch.
g. Loudness: It is a measure of the sound energy reaching the ear per second. It is also defined as
measure of response of our ears to sound. The loudness depends on the amplitude of the sound
wave. Greater the amplitude of sound wave, greater is the energy, louder the sound; short is the
amplitude, less is the energy, soft is the sound. Loudness is measured in decibel ‘dB’.
h. Quality or Timbre: The timbre of a sound depends on the shape of sound wave produced by it. It is the
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 characteristic of musical sound. It helps us to distinguish between two sounds of same pitch & loudness.
Sound of single (same) frequency is called tone while a mixture of different frequencies is called note.
Noise is unpleasant to hear while music is pleasant to hear and it is of good quality.

8. Relation between Wave velocity, wave length and frequency

Let v be the velocity of a wave, T be the time period, υ be the frequency, and λ be the wavelength.
Wavelength is defined as the distance travelled by a wave in one time period, i.e., in T seconds.
Wave velocity =
⇒v =
⇒v =
⇒v = [
⇒v =
Therefore, Wave velocity = Frequency x wavelength

9. Echo:
The repetition of sound caused by the reflection of sound waves is called an echo. We can hear echo
when there is a time gap of 0.1 second in original sound and echo (reflected sound). Echo is
produced when sound reflected from a hard surface (i.e. brick wall, mountain etc.) as soft surface
tends to absorb sound

10. Relation between speed of sound, time of hearing echo and distance of reflection body:
If t is the time at which an echo is heard, d is the distance between the source of sound and the
reflecting body and v is the speed of sound. The total distance travelled by the sound is 2d.
Speed of sound, v = or d=

11. Conditions for the formation of Echoes

a. The minimum distance between the source of sound and the reflecting body should be 17.2
metres.
b. The wavelength of sound should be less than the height of the reflecting body.
c. The intensity of sound should be sufficient so that it can be heard after reflection.

12. Reverberation:
The persistence of sound in a big hall due to repeated reflection of sound from the walls, ceiling and
floor of the hall is called reverberation. If reverberation is too long, sound becomes blurred, distorted
and confusing due to overlapping of different sound.

13. Range of Hearing :

a. Range of hearing in human is 20 Hz to 20000 Hz.
→ Children younger than 5 years and dogs can hear upto 25 KHz.
b. The sounds of frequencies lower than 20 Hz are known as ‘infrasonic sounds’.
→ A vibrating simple pendulum produces infrasonic sounds.
→ Rhinoceroses communicate each other using frequencies as low as 5 Hz.
→ Elephants and whales produces infrasonic waves.
→ Earthquakes produces infrasonic waves (before shock waves) which some animals can hear
and get disturbed.
c. The sounds of frequencies higher than 20 KHz are known as ‘ultrasonic waves’.
→ Dogs, parpoises, dolphins, bats and rats can hear ultrasonic sounds.
→ Bats and rats can produce ultrasonic sounds.

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14. Hearing Aid:
It is battery operated electronic device used by persons who are hard of hearing. Microphone convert
sound into electrical signals, than those are amplified by amplifier. Amplified signals are send to the
speaker of hearing aid. The speaker converts the amplified signal to sound and sends to ear for clear
hearing.
Applications of ultrasound:
a. It is used to detect cracks in metal blocks in industries without damaging them
b. It is used in industries to clean ‘hard to reach’ parts of objects such as spiral tubes, odd shaped
machines etc.
c. It is used to investigate the internal organs of human body such as liver, gall bladder, kidneys,
uterus and heart.
d. Ecocardiography: These waves are used to reflect the action of heart and its images are formed.
This technique is called echocardiography.
e. Ultrasonography: The technique of obtaining pictures of internal organs of the body by using
echoes of ultrasound waves is called ultrasonography.
f. Ultrasound is used to split tiny stones in kidneys into fine grains.

15. SONAR:
SONAR stands for Sound Navigation And Ranging. In this sound waves (ultrasonic) are used
[microwaves are absorbed by water)]. Sound waves are emitted by a source. These waves travel in
water with velocity v. The waves reflected by targets (like submarine bottom sea) are detected.
Uses
a. The SONAR system is used for detecting the presence of unseen underwater objects, such as a
submerged submarine, a sunken ship, sea rock or a hidden iceberg, and locating them accurately.
b. The principle of SONAR is also used in industry of detection of flaws in metal blocks or sheets
without damaging them.

16. Human ear:

It is a highly sensitive part of the human body which enables us to hear a sound. It converts the
pressure variations in air with audible frequencies into electric signals which travel to the brain via
the auditory nerve. The human ear has three main parts. Their auditory functions are as follows:
a. Outer ear: The outer ear is called `pinna’. It collects the sound from the surrounding. The collected
sound passes through the auditory canal. At the end of the auditory canal there is a thin membrane
called the ear drum or tympanic membrane. When compression of the medium produced due to
vibration of the object reaches the ear drum, the pressure on the outside of the membrane increases
and forces the eardrum inward. Similarly, the eardrum moves outward when a rarefaction reaches. In
this way the ear drum vibrates.
b. Middle ear: The vibrations are amplified several times by three bones (the hammer, anvil and
stirrup) in the middle ear which act as levers. The middle ear transmits the amplified pressure
variations received from the sound wave to the inner ear.
c. Inner ear: In the inner ear, the pressure variations are turned into electrical signals by the cochlea.
These electrical signals are sent to the brain via the auditory nerve, and the brain interprets them as
sound.

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NCERT SOLUTIONS
INTEXT Questions
Q1. How does the sound produced by a vibrating object in a medium reach your ear?
Ans. Air is the commonest material through which sound propagates. When vibrating objects, like prongs
of a tuning fork move forward, they push the molecules of the air in front of them. This in turn
compresses the air, thus creating a region of high pressure and high density called compression. This
compression in the air travels forward. When the prongs of the tuning fork move backward, they
create a region of low pressure in the air, commonly called rarefaction.
This region has low pressure, low density, and more volume. As the tuning fork continues to
vibrate, the regions of compression in the air alternate with the regions of rarefaction. These regions
alternate at the same place. The energy of vibrating tuning fork travels outward. This energy which
reaches the ears, makes the eardrums to vibrate and thus we hear sound

Q2. Explain how sound is produced by your school bell.

Ans. Air is the commonest material through which sound propagates. When school bell is rung, it pushes
the molecules of the air in front of it. This in turn compresses the air, thus creating a region of high
pressure and high density called compression. This compression in the air travels forward. When the
bell moves back, it creates a region of low pressure in the air, commonly called rarefaction. This
region has low pressure, low density, and more volume. As the bell continues to vibrate, the regions
Of compression in the air alternate with the regions of rarefaction. These regions alternate at the
same place. The energy of vibrating bell travels outward. This energy which reaches the ears, makes
the eardrums to vibrate and thus we hear sound.

Q3. Why are sound waves called mechanical waves?

Ans. Some mechanical energy is required to make an object vibrate. Sound energy cannot be produced on
its own. The mechanical energy of vibrating object travels through a medium and finally reaches the
ear. Therefore, the sound waves are called mechanical waves.

Q4. Suppose you and your friend are on the moon. Will you be able to hear any-sound produced by
your friend?
Ans. No, I will not be able to hear sound, because moon has no atmosphere. Therefore, no sound waves
can travel to your ears and, therefore, no sound is heard.

Q5. Which wave property determines (a) loudness, (b) Pitch?

Ans. (a) The amplitude of the wave determines the loudness; more the amplitude of a wave, more is the
loudness produced.

(b) The pitch is determined by the frequency of the wave. Higher the frequency of a wave more is its
pitch and shriller is the sound.

Q6. Guess which sound has a higher pitch; guitar or car horn?
Ans. Car horn has a higher pitch than a guitar, because sound produced by the former is shriller than the
latter.

Q7. What are wavelength, frequency, time period and amplitude of a sound wave ?
Ans. ALREADY DONE IN IMPORTANT TERMS

Q8. How are the wavelength and frequency of a sound wave related to its speed ?
Ans. ALREADY DONE IN IMPORTANT TERMS

Q9. Calculate the wavelength of a sound wave whose frequency is 220 Hz and speed is 440 m s-1 in a
given medium.

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Ans. Frequency = 220 Hz
Speed of sound = 440 m s-1
We know that
speed of sound = Frequency x Wavelength
⇒440 = 220 x Wavelength
⇒Wavelength = =2m

Q10. A person is listening to a tone of 500 Hz sitting at a distance of 450 m from the source of the
sound. What is the time interval between successive compressions from the source?
Ans. Frequency, = 500 Hz
Wave length, = 450m
We know that

⇒
⇒
⇒

Q11. Distinguish between loudness and intensity of sound.

Ans. The loudness depends on energy per unit area of the wave and on the response of the ear but
intensity depends only on the energy per unit area of the wave and is independent of the response of
the ear.

Q12. In which of the three media, air, water or iron, does sound travel the fastest at a particular
temperature?
Ans. Sound travels fastest in iron as compared to water and air.
An echo is returned in 3 s. mat is the distance of the reflecting surface from the source, given the
speed of sound is 342 m s-1

Q13. Why are the ceilings of concert halls curved?

Ans. The ceilings of concert halls are curved because sound after reflection from it reaches all the corners
of the hall and is audible to each person in the hall.

Q14. What is the audible range of the average human ear?

Ans. An average human ear can hear sound waves between frequencies 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz.

Q 15. What is the range of frequencies associated with (a) Infra sound ? (b) Ultrasound ?
Ans. (a) Infra sound : Sound waves between the Frequencies 1 and 20 Hz.
(b) Ultrasound : Sound waves of the frequencies above 20,000 Hz.

TEXTUAL EXERCISE
Q1. What is sound and how is it produced ?
Ans. Sound is mechanical energy which produces a sensation of hearing. When an Object is set into
vibrations, sound is produced.

Q2. Describe, with the help of a diagram, how compressions and rarefactions are produced in the
air near a source of the sound.
Ans. When a vibrating object moves forward, it pushes and compresses the air in front of it creating a
region of high pressure. This region is called a compression as shown in the figure below:

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 When the vibrating object moves backwards, it creates a region of low pressure called rarefaction
(R), as shown in the above figure. As the object moves back and forth rapidly, a series of
compressions and rarefactions are created in the air.

Q3. Cite an experiment to show that sound needs a material medium for its propagation.
Ans. Take an electric circuit which consists of a cell, a switch and an electric bell arranged inside a bell
jar, which stands on the platform of an evacuating pump. The switch of the bell is pressed to close
the electric circuit. When there is air within the bell jar, sound is heard. Air is now pumped out of the
bell jar. When the air is completely removed from the bell jar, no sound is heard as it is obvious from
fig. because the medium of air which has to carry energy from the bell to the bell jar is removed. It
shows that sound needs material medium for its propagation.

Q4. Why is sound wave called a longitudinal wave ?

Ans. Sound wave is called longitudinal wave because the particles of the medium vibrate in the direction
of the propagation of wave.

Q5. Which characteristic of the sound helps you to identify your friend by his voice while sitting
with others in a darkroom ?
Ans. The characteristic of sound is quality or timbre.

Q6. Flash and thunder are produced simultaneously. But thunder is heard a few seconds after the
flash is seen, why ?
Ans. Speed of sound is 330 m/sec in air medium at 0°C whereas speed of light is 3 x 108m/sec. When we
compare the speed of light with that of speed of sound, speed of light is greater than that of speed of
sound. Therefore thunder is heard a few seconds after the flash is seen.

Q7. A person has a hearing range from 20 Hz to 20 kHz. What are the typical wavelengths of sound
waves in air corresponding to these two frequencies? Take the speed of sound in air as 344 m/s
Ans. In the first case:
Speed, v = 344 m s − 1
Frequency, = 20 H z
And, Wavelength, = ?
Now, v = ×
⇒344 = 20 × λ
⇒ = 344 / 20 = 17.2
⇒Wavelength, = 17.2 𝑚
In the second case:
Speed, v = 344 m s − 1
Frequency, = 20 k H z = 20 × 1000 H z (Because 1 k H z = 1000 H z )
= 20000 H z
And, Wavelength, = ?
Now, v = ×
⇒344 = 2000 ×
⇒ = 344 / 20000 = 0.0172 𝑚
⇒Wavelength = 0.0172 𝑚

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 Thus, the wavelengths of sound in air corresponding to the frequencies of 20Hz and 20 kHz are
17.2m and 0.0172 m respectively.
Q8. Two children are at opposite ends of an aluminium rod. One strikes the end of the rod with a
stone. Find the ratio of times taken by the sound wave in air and in aluminium to reach the
second child.
Ans. Velocity of sound in air= 346 m/s
Velocity of sound wave in aluminium= 6420 m/s
Let length of rode be ‘x’
Time taken for sound wave in air, t1 =
Time taken for sound wave in Aluminium, t2 =

Therefore, Required ratio =

Q 9. The frequency of a sources/ sound is 100 Hz. How many times does it vibrate in a minute?
Ans. The frequency of 100 Hz means that the source of sound vibrates 100 times in 1 second.
Also, 1 minute = 60 seconds.
Now, No. of vibrations in 1 second = 100
So, No. of vibrations in 60 seconds = 100 × 60 = 6000
Thus, the source of sound vibrates 6000 times in a minute.

Q 10. Does sound follow the same laws of reflection as light does? Explain.
Ans. Yes. Sound follows the same laws of reflection as that of light because,
(i) Angle of incidence of sound is always equal to that of angle of reflection of sound waves.
(ii) The direction in which sound is incident, the direction in which it is reflected and normal all
lie in the same plane.
(iii)
Q 11. When a sound is reflected from a distant object, an echo is produced. Let the distance between
the reflecting surface and the source of sound production remains the same. Do you hear echo
sound on a hotter day?
Ans. Time is inversely proportional to the speed. As the temperature increases, the speed increases. Thus
on a hot day due to high temperature the speed of sound increases. Hence the time will decrease and
we can hear the echo sooner.

Q12. Give two practical applications of reflection of sound waves.

Ans. 1. Reflection of sound is used in megaphones, horns and musical instruments such as trumpets
and shehnai.
2. It is used in stethoscope for hearing patient’s heartbeat.
3. Ceilings of the concert halls are curved, so that sound after reflection reaches all comers of the
hall.

Q13. A stone dropped from the top of a tower 500 m high into a pond of water at the base of the
tower. When is the splash heard at the top? Giving, g = 10 ms-2 and speed of sound = 340 m s-1.
Ans. Downward motion of stone
Distance covered by stone, s = 500 m
Initial speed, u = 0
Time taken, t =?
Acceleration, g = 10 m/s2
We know that,
s = ut + ½ gt2
⇒500 = 0 × t + ½ × 10 × t2
⇒500 = 5 × t2
⇒t2 =
⇒t2 = 102
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 ⇒t = 10
⇒Time, t = 10 s (i)
Upward motion of sound

We know that,
Speed of sound = 𝑚

⇒340 =
𝑚

⇒Time taken by sound =

So, the required time at which splash is heard at the top = 10 s + 1.47s = 11.47s

Q14. A sound wave travels at a speed of 339 ms-1. If its wavelength is 1.5 cm, what is the frequency
of the wave? Will it be audible?
Ans. Speed = 339 ms-1
Wavelength λ = 1.5 cm. = 0.015m
We know that
v= ×
⇒

= 22600 Hz.
This frequency is greater than 20000 Hz. So it will not be audible. For an audible range of the human
ear is 20Hz to 20000 Hz.

Q 15. What is reverberation? How can it be reduced?

Ans. ALREADY DONE IN IMPORTANT TERMS

Q16. What is loudness of sound? What factors does it depend on?

Ans. The loudness of sound is determined by its amplitude. The amplitude of the sound wave depends
upon the force with which an object is made to vibrate. Loud sound can travel a larger distance as it
is associated with higher energy. A sound waves spreads out from its source. As it moves away from
the source its amplitude as well as its loudness decreases.

Q17. Explain how bats use ultrasound to catch a prey.

Ans. Bats search out its prey by emitting and detecting reflections of ultrasonic waves. The high-pitched
ultrasonic squeaks of bat are reflected from the obstacles or prey and return to bat’s ear. The nature
of reflection tells the bat where the obstacle or prey is and what it is like.

Q18. How is ultrasound used for cleaning?

Ans. Ultrasound is used to clean parts located in hard-to-reach places (i.e.) spiral tube, odd shaped parts,

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 electronic components etc. Objects to be cleaned are placed in a cleaning solution and ultrasonic
waves are sent into the solution. Due to the high frequency, the dust particles, grease get detached
and drop out. The objects thus get thoroughly cleaned.

Q19. Explain how defects in a metal block can be detected using ultrasound.
Ans. Ultrasounds can be used to detect cracks and flaws in metal blocks. Metallic components are used in
the construction of big structures like buildings, bridges, machines and scientific equipment’s. The
cracks or holes inside the metal blocks, which are invisible from outside reduces the strength of the
structure. Ultrasonic waves are allowed to pass through the metallic block and detectors are used to
detect the transmitted waves. If there is even a small defect, the ultrasound gets reflected back
indicating the presence of the flaw or defect.

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