S2/3 BGE Physics Course 1

Unit 1 - Waves and Radiation

2. Sound

Summary Notes
Topic 2 – Sound
Sound is a wave which transfers energy from one place
to another. It is most easily detected via our ears and
the hearing mechanism inside our head. This is a very
important sense that we often take for granted.

Sound is produced by the vibrations of particles through

solids, liquids and gases.
However sound cannot travel through a vacuum as
there are no particles to pass the vibrations along.

The vibrations are a result of some kind of movement.

e.g.
 a hammer striking a bell.
 a ruler held at the end of a desk being
twanged.
 a drum stick being hit off the skin of a drum.
 a guitar string being plucked.

Some opera singers have been known to break wine

glasses by singing. The sound energy that they produce
can make the glass vibrate so much that it shatters.
Speed of Sound in Air Experiment
 The hammer hit a metal plate next to microphone 1

 The sound reaches microphone 1 and the electronic

timer starts

 When the sound reaches microphone 2 the

electronic timer stops

 The electronic timer measures the time that it takes

the sound to travel from microphone 1 to
microphone 2

 The distance between microphone 1 and

microphone 2 is measured by a ruler

 Speed of sound = distance from mic1 to mic 2

time from mic1 to mic 2

To improve the accuracy of the experiment to find the

speed of sound in air, it is recommended that the time is
recorded five times.
Then the calculated experimental value can be
compared with the accepted value of 340ms-1 from the
data sheet.
Longitudinal Waves
Sound waves are longitudinal. This means that the
particles in a sound wave are vibrating parallel or anti-
parallel to the direction that the wave is travelling in.

This can be shown with a slinky.

The two diagrams above show the waveform in two

parts, compression and rarefaction.
Compression involves the waves being very close
together and rarefaction the waves are far apart. This
pattern continually repeats itself through a longitudinal
wave.
i.e. Compression, Rarefaction, Compression,
Rarefaction, Compression, Rarefaction etc etc
Frequency
Frequency is defined as the number of waves that pass
a point per second and it is measured in Hertz (Hz).
Frequency is the equivalent Physics term for the musical
term pitch.
When boys go through the journey of puberty their
voices often change from being high pitched to low
pitched, which they take into adulthood.

Frequency Calculations

f = frequency in Hertz (Hz).

N = Number of waves produced.
t = time in seconds.
Ex 1
If 30 waves pass a point in 6 seconds, then calculate the
frequency of the waves.
N = 30 waves f = N = 30 = 5Hz
t = 6 seconds t 6
f=?
Ex 2
A wave generator produces 960 waves in 4 minutes.
Calculate the frequency of the generator.
N = 960 waves f = N = 960 = 4Hz
t = 4 minutes = 240 seconds t 240
f=?

Ex 3
Calculate how many waves a 50Hz sources produces in 90
seconds.
N=? N = f x t = 50 x 90 = 4500 waves
f = 50Hz
t = 90 seconds

Ex 4
Calculate how long it would take a 30Hz source to produce 240
waves.
N = 240 waves t = N = 240 = 8 seconds
f = 30Hz f 30
t=?
Amplitude of a sound wave
The amplitude is a measure of the energy contained in a
wave. This can be displayed on an oscilloscope.
High amplitude waves are tall and low amplitude waves
are small.

Low amplitude and

Low frequency

Low amplitude and

High frequency
Frequency

High amplitude and Low

frequency

High amplitude and High

frequency
The range of human hearing
Humans can hear frequencies of sound in the range
between 20Hz and 20,000Hz.

Loudspeaker

Signal Generator

In the experiment, the teacher gradually increases the

frequency of the sound emitted from the loudspeaker by
adjusting the signal generator. When the pupils start to
hear the sound, this is the lower end of the audible
frequency range.
This continues until the pupils can no longer hear the
sound. The last frequency of sound that the pupils can
hear is the higher end of the audible frequency range.
The older an adult is, the lower the frequency they can
hear at the higher end of the audible frequency range.
(Approximately 16,000Hz)
Mammals all have different audible frequency ranges.
A dog whistle for example has a frequency range
between 25,000Hz and 50,000Hz. Dogs can hear this
whistle while humans cannot.
Ultrasound
Ultrasound involves frequencies of sound greater than
20,000Hz.
There are several applications in medicine and in
industry for ultrasound.
Ultrasound in Medicine

A very narrow beam is fired in short pulses through the

body of the mother. Echoes are produced as the waves
pass from one type of tissue to another, e.g. from
muscle to bone. When the echoes are received the spot
on the screen glows brightly. As the ultrasound probe
moves along the skin a series of bright spots are
produced and this eventually builds up into an image of
the unborn baby.
X-rays are not used to examine unborn babies, as they
can damage or kill living cells and tissue.
Ultrasound can also be applied to shattering kidney
stones so that they can pass out of the body, and they
can be used to check on foot and knee injuries.
Ultrasound in Industry

Ultrasound (sonar) is used by fishing boats to locate and

find the depth of the fish before putting out their nets.
Ultrasound is also used in non-destructive testing to
detect flaws in materials such as propellers on an
aircraft.

Sound Levels
Sound level is measured in decibels (dB) with a sound
level meter or indicator or a decibel meter.

These instruments are very important in the workplace

to protect the hearing of the workers, as they could be
subjected to loud sounds over a period of time. Health
and Safety regulations are very strict, as everyone has
the right to work in a safe environment.
 A list of typical sound levels is shown below.
Sound Sources Sound Level (dB)
Threshold of Hearing 0
Leaves rustling in the distance 10
Quiet bedroom at night 30
Average Home 50
Conversation at 1m 60
Vacuum cleaner at 1m 70
Kerbside of a busy road 80
Disco at 1m from loudspeaker 100
Threshold of Pain 140

Ear Protectors
Ear protectors or ear defenders are used to protect your
hearing, not your ears.

An activity that can An activity that can damage

damage your hearing your ears

Airport landing staff and pneumatic drill operators wear

ear protectors in their daily jobs. The ear protectors
absorb sound energy before it reaches the hearing
mechanism of the worker involved.
 Noise Cancellation Headphones

A microphone on the outside of the headphones picks

up background sounds, which turns them upside down
or inverts. This inverted signal is fed into the
loudspeaker in the headphones, which will cancel out
the background sound that the person would hear if they
were wearing ordinary headphones.

Sound waves produced from

A
the background sounds.

Inverted sound waves

B
produced by the headphones

Destructive Interference between

C wave A and wave B to produce
wave C. This results in noise
cancellation.