CHAPTER 1: SOUND AND ENERGY

Topic: SOUND
What is sound?
- Sound is a series of waves (sound waves) caused by vibrations.

- Sound waves travel as a series of compressions and rarefactions through the air.
They are longitudinal waves.

PRODUCTION OF SOUND

● Sound is produced by the vibration of particles.

● Air molecules are compressed and expanded to form regions of:

COMPRESSION and RAREFACTION

FACTS:
1. Sound waves travel through solids, liquids and gases.
2. The speed of sound is different through different materials.
3. Sound travels faster through a solid because the particles are more densely
packed together.

Does sound need particles to travel?

Yes, sound NEEDS particles to travel.

Sound CANNOT travel through a vacuum pump. It CANNOT travel through
SPACE as there are no particles.
ECHOES:

- Sound waves can be reflected by LARGE and HARD SURFACES like

buildings, walls and cliffs.

- Echo is a reflected sound wave from the surface.

SEEING THE SOUND

Signal generators can produce signals over a range of frequencies and of varying
amplitudes.

The oscilloscope allows us to study the frequency and loudness of a sound.

Amplitude is the maximum displacement of the equilibrium position.

The crest is the highest point in a sound wave.

The trough is the lowest point in a sound wave.