souno = [2431 position B to position C, and then comes back to B. It again goes from position B to position C, and then ‘comes back to B, This motion of the pendulum bob is repeated again and again, We say that the gyi sme yu his / new AL, os oe 2 = igure 9 pendulum bob is vibrating (or oscillating) between positions B and C. In Figure 9(0), the position A of bob is called central position and the positions B and C are called the extreme positions of the bob. When the pendulum bob goes from one extreme position B to the other extreme position C, and then comes back to 8, we say that it completes one vibration (or one oscillation). Every vibration (or oscillation) has three ‘characteristics : amplitude, time-period, and frequency. These are discussed below. 1. Amplitude of Vibrations ‘When a simple pendulum vibrates, its bob goes to equal distances on either side of its central position. For example, in Figure 9(0, the pendulum bob goes to equal distances AB and AC from its central position. ‘The maxim distance to which the bob of «erating pendulum goes from its central position is called amplitude of vibrations (or amplitude of oscillations). In Figure 9b), the distance AB is the amplitude of vibration of this simple pendulum, Since the distance AB is equal to distance AC, so we can also say that distance AC is the amplitude of vibration of this pendulum. From this discussion we conclude that: The maximum displacement of a vibrating object from its central position is called the amplitude of vibrations. In other words the maximum displacement of an esclating object from it central postion i called amplitude of oscilations. ‘The amplitude actually tells us how far the vibrating object is displaced from its central position. We can. increase the amplitude of vibrations of a simple penclulum by raising the height from which the pendulum ‘bob is initially released, Similarly, we can decrease the amplitude of vibrations by releasing the pendulum bob from a smaller height. 2. Time-Period of Vibrations ‘One complete to-and-fro movement of the pendulum bob is called one vibration (or one oscillation). ‘The time token by pendulum bob to complete one vibration (or ne oscillation) is called Ue time-period of ponduluon. For example, in Figure %(), the time taken by the pendulum bob to travel from position B to position C, and back to B, will be the time-period of this pendulum. In general, we can say that : The time taken by a ‘vibrating object to complete one vibration is called its time-period. In other words, the time fake by art ‘oscillating object to complete one oscillation is called its time-peried. The unit of measuring, time-period is ‘second’ ‘The time taken by one vibration (or one oscillation) of a simple pendulum is very short and hence ‘eannot be measured accurately. So, to find the time taken by one vibration (or time-period), we measure the time taken by alarge number of vibrations. Dividing the ‘total time’ by the ‘total number of vibrati ‘we get the time for one vibration (or time-period) of the pendulum. For example, we can measure the time for, say 20 vibrations of the pendulum by using a stop watch. Now, dividing this ‘time’ by 20" will give us244) m AWARENESS SCIENCE FOR EIGHTH CLASS. the time taken by one vibration. That is, it will give us the time-period (of vibration) of pendulum. For a siven pendulum, the time-period is the same every time. The time-period of a pendulum depends only fn the length of pendulum. It does not depend on amplitude of vibrations. 3. Frequency of Vibrations ‘The number of vibrations made per second by a vibrating body is called the frequency of vibration. “Per second” means in ‘one second’. So, we can also say that: The number of vibrations made in one second is called the frequency of vibration. In other words, the munbyr of escllations made i one second is called the frequency of oscillations. The unit of frequency of vibrations (or oscillations) of a vibrating abject is hertz, That is, frequency is measured in hertz (which is written in short form as Hz), When an object makes 1 vibration per second (or 1 oscillation per second), its frequency is said to be 1 hertz. And if an ‘object makes 10 vibrations per second, then its frequency will be 10 hertz. The frequency actually tells us how fast the vibrating object repeats its motion. We can inerease the frequency of a simple pendulum by reducing the length ofits thread, And we can decrease the frequency of a simple pendulum by increasing the length of its thread. To find the frequency of a simple pendulum, we measure the time taken by the pendulum to make a large number of vibrations. Dividing the ‘number of vibrations’ by the ‘time taken’ we get the number of vibrations made in one second. This will give us the frequency of the pendulum. For example, we can measure the time for, say 20 vibrations of the pendulum by using a stop watch. Now, dividing ‘20" by the ‘time taken’ will give us the number of vibrations made in one second. This will be the frequency of the pendulum, The calculation of frequency of a pendulum will become more clear from the following example, Sample Problem. A pendulum makes 15 oscillations in 5 seconds. What is the frequency of the pendulum ? Solution. The number of oscillations made by a pendulum in 1 second is called its frequency. Now : In 5 seconds, pendulum makes = 15 oscillations So, In 1 second, pendulum makes = 1 oscillations = 3 oscillations Thus, the frequency ofthis pendulum is 3 oscillations per second or 3 hertz Please note that the frequency of vibrations (or oscillations) of a simple pendulum is very low. So, a vibrating simple pendulum prodiices a sound having very low frequency. And the very low frequency sound produced by a vibrating simple pendulum cannot be heard by our ears. An object must vibrate at 2 frequency of at least 20 hertz tobe able to produce audible sound (which can be heard by our ears). We will now give the relation between time-period and frequency. Relation between Time:Period and Frequency ‘We have just studied that time-period isthe time required to make 1 vibration’ and “frequency isthe numberof vibrations made in 1 second’. This means that time-period is equal tothe reciprocal (or inverse) of frequency, That is: Time period = ley Javon between the Time per an Preueny’ of vations (rslaton), We il This is the now use this rel ‘Sample Problem. What is the time-period of a pendulum which is vibrating with a frequency of 10 hertz? 1 Solution. We know that ‘Time-period = Frequencysounn = [2a5) = 01 second ‘Thus, the time-period of this pendulum is 0.1 second, CHARACTERISTICS OF SOUND : LOUDNESS, PITCH AND QUALITY ‘A sound has three characteristic properties by which it can be recognised. These are loudness, pitch and quality. Two musical sounds may differ from one another in one or more of these properties. We will now discuss the three characteristics of sound in somewhat detail. Let us discuss loudness first. 1. Loudness Sounds are produced by vibrating objects. If more energy is supplied to an object by plucking it or hitting it more strongly, then the object will vibrate with a greater amplitude and produce a louder sound. ‘Thus, the loudness of sound depends on the amplitude of vibrations of the vibrating object. Grealer the amplitude of vibrations, louder the sound will be. For example, when a sitar string is plucked lightly, then it vibrates with a small amplitude and produces a faint sound (or feeble sound). On the other hand, when a sitar string is plucked hard, then it vibrates with a large amplitude and produces a very loud sound. This thas been shown in Figure 10. In Figure 10(0, the sitar string is vibrating with a small amplitude, so it eatg = SNS enghce my st = (@) Soul apie of vtation (0) Lange ample of vibation Paint sound Lend soned Figure 10, Loudness of sound depends on the amplitude of vibrations of sitar sting produces a faint sound. On the other hand, in Figure 10(b), the sitar string is vibrating with a large amplitude, so it produces a loud sound. ‘ACTIVITY ‘We can demonstrate the dependence of loudness of sound on the amplitude of vibrations of the sound: producing object by performing an activity as follows : Take a stainless steel tumbler and a stainless steel + | —veod Es YY @ o © Figure 1. Sound making tel tumbler vibrates (back and forth) and pushes away the thermocol bal, The displacement of| thermoco balls measure ofthe amplitade of vibrations of the tumbler246] m AWARENESS SCIENCE FOR FIGHTH CLASS (spoon. Also tle a small thermocol ball toa thread and suspend this thermocol ball touching the tim of steet tumbler as shown in Figure 11a) {a) Strike the steel tumbler gently atthe rim with a spoon (to make it vibrate). We will observe that the |tumbler procluces a feeble sound and, at the same time, the suspended thermocol ball is pushed away to a small distance by the vibrations of the tumbler [see Figure 11 (bi. Since the thermocol ball is pushed away [by a smal distance, this means that the tumbler is vibrating with a small amplitude. Thus, when the amplitude of vibrations of steel tumbler is smafl, the sound produced is feeble (less loud). (b) Now strike the steel tumbler hard at the rim with the spoon. We will observe that the tumbler produces a very loud sound and, atthe same time, the suspended thermocol ball is pushed away to a large distance by the vibrations of the tumbler [see Figure 11()). Since the thermocol ball is pushed away by a large distance, this means that the tumbler is vibrating witha large amplitude, Thus, when the amplitude of | vibrations of steel tumbler is lage, the sound produced is very loud. From the above discussion we conclude that the loudness of sound depends on the amplitude of vibrations of sound producing objects. When the amplitude of vibrations is large, the sound produced is oud. On the other hand, when the amplitude of vibrations is small, the sound produced is feeble (or faint) Actually, the loudness of sound is directly proportional to the square of amplitude of vibrations (of sound producing object). This means that () If the amplituce of vibrations is doubled (made 2 times), then the loudness will become four times because (2)? = 4) (i) And if the ampli sf iran sald (rad sen lode wl bone ae uth [because (y H 4 ‘The loudness of sound is expressed in the unit called decibel. The symbol of decibel is 4B. The softest sound which humans can hear is said to have a loudness of 0 dB (zero decibel). The loudness of sounds coming from some of the common sources of sound around us are given below : Sound Lowiness 1, Normal breathing tan 2. Whispering wap 3. Normal conversation wan 4 Buy street 70ab 5. Average factory soab 6. Very noisy factory 100 dB 7. Loud music in disco 1048 8. Ajet acroplane taking off 13048 Ata loudness of above 80 dB, the sound becomes physically painful. And at about 140 dB level, sound hurts too much, 2. Piteh Pitch is that characteristic of sound by which we can distinguish between different sounds of the ‘same loudness. For example, we can distinguish between a man’s voice and a woman's voice even without seeing them. This is because the man’s voice and a woman's voice differ in their pitch (or shriliness). A man’s voice is flat, having a low pitch whereas a woman's voice is shrill, having. a high pitch. ‘The pitch of a sound depends on the frequency of vibration (of the sound producing object). In fact, the pitch of a sound is directly proportional (0 its frequency. Lf the frequency of vibration is low, the sound, produced has a low pitch. On the other hand, if the frequency of vibration is high, the sound produced has a high pitch. A man’s voice has a low frequency, so it has a low pitch, A woman's voice has highsouno « [247 frequency, s0 it has a high pitch. The voice of a small baby has a higher frequency than the voice of even a woman, $0 the pitch of a baby’s voice is higher than that of a woman. Thus, the sounds of low frequency are said to have a low pitch while the sounds of high frequency are said to have a high pitch. ‘A sound having high frequency (or high pitch) is said to be shrill. The voice of a woman has a higher frequency (or higher pitch) than that of a man due to which the voice of a woman is shriller than that of a man. The voice of man having low frequency (or low pitch) is said to be deep (or flat). The voice of a small baby has a higher frequency (or higher pitch) than that of a woman due to which the voice of a small baby is even more shrill than that of a woman. It is the frequency of vibration of the sound producing ‘object which determines the pitch (or sheillness) of a sound. As the frequency of vibration of an object increases, the pitch (or shrillness) of sound produced by it also increases. When we go from a man to a ‘woman and then a small baby, the frequency of vibration of their vocal cords increases due to which the pitch (or shriliness) of their voice increases, When we switch on a table fan, we can hear the increase in the pitch of sound produced as the speed of rotation of fan (or frequency of rotation of fan) increases. ‘The membrane of a drum vibrates with a low frequency, therefore, a drum produces a low-pitchedl ‘sound (see Figure 12). On the other hand, the air ina whistle vibrates with high frequency due to which baa igure 12. The beating of drum produces a low= Figure 13. The blowing of whistle produces a igh pitehed sound (having low fequeney) pitched sound (having high frequency), the whistle produces a sound having a higher pitch (than that of a drum) (see Figure 13), The sound produced by a whistle is said to be shrill. A bird (say, a crow) makes a high-pitched sound (having a high frequency) whereas a lion makes a low-pitched roar (having a low frequency), The roar of lion is, however, very loud whereas the sound produced by a bird is comparatively quite feeble. We can show the relation between the frequency and pitch of a sound producing object (or vibrating object) by performing a simple activity as follows, ACTIVITY. ‘We take a metal ruler and place it near the edge of a table in stich a way that a large part of the ruler projects out of the table top [see Figure 14(a)), The other end of ruler is pressed firmly on the table with our hhand. We now press the free end of ruler downwards with our other hand and then let it go. The free end of ‘ruler starts vibrating and produces a low pitch sound. Metal Metal get tH pS re f @) Figure 14. vibrating rules,1248) m@ AWARENESS SCIENCE FOR EIGHTH CLASS Let us now decrease the vibrating length of the ruler which is projecting out of the table [see Figure 14(b)). We again press the free end of the ruler and then let it go. The ruler now starts vibrating faster and produces a high pitch sound. Thus, when we decrease the length of the vibrating ruler, it vibrates faster and the pitch of sound procluced by it becomes higher. Infact, shorter the projection of vibrating ruler, higher is the pitch of sound produced by it, Actually, as we go on decreasing the length of the vibrating part of the ruler the frequency of is vibrations goes on increasing, Andl this increase in frequency of vibrations, leads {0 the production of higher pitched sounds. 3. Quality We can distinguish between the sounds (or notes) produced by a sifar and a flute even without seeing these musical instruments. This is because the sounds produced by a sitar and a flute differ in quality. Similarly, we can distinguish between the sounds (or notes) produced by singers like Mohammad Rafi and Mukesh by listening to their songs on radio, even without seeing them. This is also because the sounds produced by Mohammad Rafi and Mukesh differ in quality. We can now say that : Quality is that characteristic of sound which enables us to distinguish between the sounds produced by different sound producing objects (like different musical instruments or different singers) even if they are of same loudness and pitch, Thus, the sounds produced by different musical instruments like site, flute, piano, violin, guitar, veena, shehnai, harmonium, trumpet and tabla, ete. can be distinguished by their quality (even if they are of the same loudness and pitch). Similarly, the sounds (or notes) produced by different singers can be distinguished by their quality. The quality of sound produced by different musical instruments or different singers is different because they produce sound waves of different shapes, Please note that the ‘quality’ of sound is also known as ‘timbre’. AUDIBLE AND INAUDIBLE SOUNDS Whenever an object vibrates, sound is produced. For example, when a simple pendulum vibrates, a sound is produced. But the sound produced by a vibrating simple pendulum is not heard by us. This is because the frequency of vibration of a simple pendulum is very low. It may be 2 or 3 hertz only. And our ears cannot hear sounds of such low frequencies. We say that itis an inaudible sound (which cannat be heard by us), From this example we conclude that all the vibrating objects do not produce audible sound. ‘An object must vibrate atthe rate of atleast 20 times per second to be able fo pruce audible sound. In other words, ‘an object must vibrate with a frequency of at least 20 hertz to be able to produce audible sound. The sounds having too low frequencies which cannot be heard by human ear are called infrasonic sounds (or just infrasonics). Thus, the sounds of frequencies less than 20 hertz are called infrasonics. The infrasonic sounds cannot be heard by human beings. Rhinoceros can produce infrasonic sounds having frequencies less than 20 Hz, They can also hear infrasonic sounds. If the frequency of a sound is less than 20 hertz, it cannot be heard by us; and if the frequency of a sound is more than 20,000 hertz, even then it cannot be heard by us. The human ear can hear sounds which have frequencies between 20 hertz and 20,000 hertz, Thus, the range of audible frequencies of sound for human hearing is from 20 hertz to 20,000 hertz. This means that the lower limit of frequency of human hearing (or audible sound) is 20 hertz and the upper limit of frequency of human hearing (or audible sound) is 20,000 hertz. The upper limit of frequency of human hearing 20,000 hertz can also be written as 20 kilohertz, that is, 20 kHz. ‘The sounds having too high frequencies which cannot be heard by human ear are called ultrasonic sounds (or just ultrasonics). Thus, the sounds of frequencies greater than 20,000 hertz are called ultrasonics. The ultrasonic sounds cannot be heard by human beings. For example, a sound having a very hhigh frequency of 40,000 hertz is ultrasonic sound which cannot be heard by human beings. ‘The human beings can neither produce ultrasonic sound nor can they hear ultrasonic sound. But there are some animals which can produce ultrasonic sounds as well as hear ultrasonic sounds. Forexample, bat is an animal which screams at a very high frequency, much beyond the limit of our hearing. In other ‘words, bat produces ultrasonic sound during screaming (sce Figure 15). We cannot hear the screams of a bat because its screams consist of ultrasonic sound having a frequency of more than 20,000 hertz (which is beyond our limit of hearing) ‘The bats can also hear ultrasonic sounds. Some other animals. like dogs, monkeys, deer and leopards can also hear ultrasonic sounds (which cannot be heard by human beings). Since dogs can hear ultrasonic sounds, therefore, some dog. ‘owners use special high frequency whistles which only dogs can hear. The crime-branch police also uses special high frequency whistles which produce ultrasonic sounds, to give commands to their dogs. The sounds having too high frequency (greater than 20,000 Hz) which cannot be heard by human beings is also called just ‘ultrasound’. For example, a sound of frequency 100,000 hertz is an ultrasound. Due to its very high frequency, ultrasound has a greater penetrating power than ordinary sound. The ultrasound is reflected just like ordinary sound waves and produces echoes. But the echoes produced by ultrasound cannot be heard by our ears, they can only be detected by special equipment. These days, ultrasound is used for a large number of purposes. Some of the important uses of ultrasound are given below () Ultrasound is used as a diagnostic tool in medical investigate inside of the human body. i Ultrasound is used to study the growth of foetus (develoy baby) inside the mother's womb (see Figure 16) (i) Ultrasound is used in the treatment of muscular pain and a disease called arthritis (which is inflammation of joins). (io) Ultrasound is used to measure the depth of sea (or ocean). Its also Figure 1S. Bats can produce ulirasomi sounds ss well as hear ulirasoni sounds, lence to ===s Used wy loate underwater objec lke shiporec, submarines = td shot fh ee Pee ote that the. akrasund equipment works at sound ieaijeanciea highs tran 20000 118 Another poles be waned ear o.) igure 16. An wirasound scan ofa speed of infasonic sound waves as wel as ultrasonic sound waves isthe Figure 16. An ais same as that of audible sound waves. We will now discuss noise and NOISE AND MUSIC We hear different types of sounds in our daily life. Some of these sounds are unpleasant to hear whereas other sounds are pleasant to hear. The unpleasant sounds around us are called noise. Noise is produced by the irregular vibrations of the sound producing source (see Figure 17). Some of the examples of noise are as follows : Running of mixer and grinder in the kitchen produces noise ; Blowing of horns of Figure 17. Nose (unpleasant sound) consists of regular and spiky sound waves. motor vehicles (like cars, buses and trucks, et.) causes noise ; Bursting of crackers produces noise ; Barking of dogs produces noise ; Shattering of glass produces noise ; Taking off, landing and flying of aeroplanes causes noise. The various sounds coming from a construction site (where a building is under construction)1250) m AWARENESS SCIENCE FOR EIGHTH CLASS. i also noise. If in a classroom, all the students start talking together loudly, the sounds thus produced will ‘be called noise. We do not enjoy hearing the unpleasant sounds of noise. A noisy sound causes discomfort to the ears. ‘The sounds which are pleasant to hear are called musical sounds (or music). Musical sounds (or ‘musie) are produced by the regular vibrations of the sound producing source (see Figure 18). Some of the ‘examples of musical sounds (or music) are as follows : The strings of a sitar make regular vibrations, Figure 1, Music peasant sound) cosas of repular getly curving sound waves, 0 a sitar produces muscial sound, The sound produced by a harmonium is also a musical sound. In fact, all the musical instruments like slr, ene, gua, violin, plano, hte, shebna, aba, dhol and mridanga, ‘c) produce musical sounds. The speakers of radio, stereo-systems and television also produce musical sounds (or music). When a person sings a melodious song, he (or she) also produces musical sounds. We ‘enjoy the musical sounds produced By the musical instruments or singers because they give pleasant sensation in our ears. If, however, a musical sound becomes too loud, it would become noise. Thus, music can sometimes become noise. This happens when very loud music is played ata disco and when a band plays loudly during a marriage procession MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS ‘We all hear music everyday from radio and television. The various sounds produced in music are called ‘notes in English and ‘saa’ in Hindi. The arrangement of sounds of different frequencies called ‘notes’ (or swara) ina way tha is pleasant to hear is called music. When We sing a song, we modulate (or alter) our voice to produce these musical notes of ‘swwra. The instruments which make musical sounds are called musical instruments. Some of the common musical instruments are: Sitar, Vena, Violin, Guitar, Tanpura, Piano, Harmonium, Shen, Flute (Basu), Nadasusram, Tabla, Mridangant, Cymbals (Manjira) and Jaltoran. There are mainly four types of musica instruments @ Stringed musical instruments, di) Wind musical instruments, (ii) Membrane musical instruments, and (Go) Plate type musical instruments ‘We will now discuss these four types of musical instruments in somewhat det 4 with the stringed! musica instruments. 1. Stringed musical instruments produce musical sounds by the vibrations of stretched strings (or stretched wires). A sting isa pice of thin wire. na stringed ‘musical instrument, hin metal strings (thin metal wires) are fixed tightly between two points When the stretched string of a musical instrument is plucked or bowed with the fingers of our hand, the string starts vibrating and produces sound, A slringed musical instrument has usually many strings. These strings are fixed tightly on a large sounding box (which s usually made of wood). Th the sounding box increases the loudness of sound produced by vi ‘The examples of stringed musical instruments are: Sitar, Veena, Violin, Tanpura, Santoor, Guitar, Plano and Ektara. Sitar is shown in Figure 19. When we pluck the eae ng of a musical instrument lke star, the sound that we hear is not ony that of the string. In fact, the whole musical instrument is forced to vibrate and itis the sound of the vibrations ofthe whole body of the musical instrument that we hear, Figure 19. Siar. ail, one by one. Let ussouno = [251 2. Wind musical instruments produce musical sourds by the vibrations of air columns inside them. Blowing air scaled wind. In a wind musical instrument, 9 «column of ar enclosed in a wooden tube (or metal tube) vibrates and produces musical sound. We have to pump air (usually from our mouth) into the wind instrument to make it work and produce sounds. Some of the wind musical instruments are: Shela, Flute (Bensur, Nadassraram and Trumpet, Harmonium isa keyboard ind musical instrument. Awind musical instrument called leis shows in Figure 20. 3. Membrane is a thin sheet of skin. Membcane type musical instruments produce sounds by the vibrations of thin stretched membranes (or stretched skins), Ina membrane type musical instrument, a thin membrane fixed tightly over a hollow ‘wooden drum vibrates and produces sound. We have to strike the stretched membrane Pitare 20. Flac ‘ofthe instrument with our hands ox with ticks to make it vibrate : tnd produce sound, The examples of membrane type musical inattiments are: Meldangem, Table, Dotak, Dram ted Dhapl weer ‘A membrane type musical instrument called mridagom is shown in Figure 21, Please note that sehen we aie the membranes of mmidangam, the sound that we hear $s not only that of the membranes but of the whole body of the mifangant (which forced to vibrate). Mrdangam, tabla and diole, et, are actually rhythm instruments (or ta instruments) which are usually used alongwith other musical instruments. 4 Pate type musical instruments produce musical sounds by the vibrations of thick plats (or objets made of plate). The plate type musical instruments are simply beaten (or struck) to produce ruil sounds. The eymbals nanjira isa plate type musical instrument (see Figure 22). The cymbals consist oftwo concave brass plats, When the two metal plates of cymbals are struck together, they make a ringing rssca sound. The bell used in performing pooja or that in temples i also a plate type musical instrument. The bell isa hollow metal vessel ‘which emits musical sound when struck with a hammer fixed inside i Noot (or matka is also a plate type musical instrument which makes sound when struck. Ghataw and tartal are also plate type musical instruments, Jebferag is also a kind of plate type igure 22. Cymbals Mena. instrument. The ‘aarany’ instrament consists of a number of cups containing diferent amounts of water. When the ‘cups containing water are struck with two sticks ina proper way, then musical sounds ace produced ce Figure 23). The frequency (or pitch) of the sound Produced in jelorang is adjusted by putting, the Appropriate amount of water in each cup. The cup containing. minimum water produces the sound of lowest frequency (or lowest pitch). As the amount of water in the cups goes on increasing, the frequency o& Pitch) ofthe sound produce alo goes on increasing So, the cup having maximum amount of water will Cie contnig teen ans watt produce sound of highest frequency (or highest pitch), igre 28-The Yatarony' musical instrument. Figure 21. Mridangam1252) m AWARENESS SCIENCE FOR EIGHTH CLASS. NOISE POLLUTION Sounds that are Joud and unnecessary are called noise, The presence of loud, unwanted and isturbing sounds in our environment is called noise pollution. Some of the major sources of noise pollution in the environment around us are as follows (The motor vehicles (like cars, buses and trucks, etc.) running on the road produce noise pollution by blowing homs and sounds of their engines. (ii) The bursting of crackers on various social and religious occasions produces noise pollution, (ii) The various machines in factories make loud sounds and eause noise pollution. (io) The take off, landings, and flying of aeroplanes produces noise pollution, (©) The playing of loudspeakers and bands at marriages and other social functions causes noise pollution. (o)) The construction of buildings produces a lot of noise pollution in the surroundings. ‘The Major Sources of Noise Pollution in the Homes are the Following () The loud playing of radio, stereo-systems and televisions (at high volume) produces noise pollution, (ii) Some kitchen appliances (like mixer and grinder) cause noise pollution. (il) The use of desert coolers and air conditioners produces noise pollution Harms of Noise Pollution Excessive loud noise is harmful to us, The presence of excessive noise in the surroundings may cause many health-related problems, The various harms of noise pollution (or loud noise) are as follows (i) Loud noise can cause great harm to our ears. Constant loud noise reduces the hearing power of our ‘ears. Loud noise can even damage the ears permanently and cause deafness. (ii) Loud noise can cause a person to lose concentration in his work or studies (ii) Loud noise can cause an ailment called hypertension (high blood pressure). (io) Loud noise ean cause irritation andl headache. (©) Loud noise during nighttime disturbs our sleep. Continued lack of sleep is bad for health Measures to Control Noise Pollution ‘Noise pollution should be controled to prevent its harmful effects on human beings and other living things. We can control the noise pollution to some extent by taking the following measures, (We should not play radio, stereo-systems and television too loudly. (ii) The horns of motor vehicles should not be blown unnecessarily, (ii) The bursting of crackers should be avoided, (io) The noise-making factories and airports should be shifted away from the residential areas of the city. (0) Loudspeakers should be played at low volume during marriages and other social functions, No loudspeakers should be allowed to be used late in the night. (i) Trees should be planted along the roads and around buildings to reduce the noise pollution from the roads and other activities from reaching the residents of the area, Suppose our parents are going to buy a house. The property dealer says that two houses are available for sale : ane house on the roadside and another house three lanes away from the road. We should suggest ‘our parents to buy the house which is three lanes away from the busy road, This is because being away from the busy road will reduce noise pollution caused by heavy traffic on the road, This will make us live ‘comfortably in the house. Hearing impairment (Damaged Hearing) Hearing impairment means that person has damaged hearing ability and cannot hear properly. There {are many reasons why some people have hearing problems. Some people are born with poor hearing, The