Sound – Summary Notes

 When an object moves to and fro, it produces sound, i.e., sound is produced by the
vibration of an object.
 The returning back of a sound wave on striking a rigid surface is called the reflection of
sound.
 Echo: It is a sound heard after reflection from a large rigid surface such as a wall or a cliff.
 Conditions for Formation of Echoes
 The size of the reflecting surface must be large.
 Original sound should be of short duration.
 The distance between the source of sound and reflector should be at least 17.0 m.
 The intensity of sound should be sufficient so that it can be heard after reflection.
 To hear the echo of a sound clearly, the reflecting surface should be at a minimum distance
of 16.6 m  17m from the listener.
2d
 The time taken to hear an echo can be calculated by using the formula: t  , where d
v
is the distance between the observer and the obstacle, and v is the speed of sound.
vt
 The depth of a sea-bed can be calculated by the relation: d  , where v is the speed of
2
sound in water and t is the time interval a pulse being sent out and its echo being received.
 As the speed of radio waves is the same as that of light in vacuum, the distance of an object
ct
can be calculated by the relations: d  , where c is the speed of light in vacuum, t is
2
the time and d is the distance to be calculated.
 Uses of Echoes
 By bats: Bats have long used echoes for avoiding obstacles when flying in the dark.
 By dolphins: Like bats, dolphins also emit high frequency waves of sound and detect
obstacles by emitting ultrasonic waves and hearing their echoes.
 By trawler-man or fisherman: A trawler-man or fisherman sends ultrasonic waves
from ultrasonic vibrations fitted in the trawler. These vibrations when strike a fish
returns back and are received by a special receiver. The total time of the echo is
recorded and the position of the fish is then calculated.
 By SONAR (sound navigation and ranging):
In this method, ultrasonic waves are sent in all directions from the ship and are then
received after reflection.
 By RADAR (radio detection and ranging)
Like SONAR, the echo method is used in radar to find the location of an enemy
submarine or to detect the presence of an obstacle and finding its range.
 The vibrations of a body with constant amplitude and constant frequency are called the
free or natural vibrations.
 Free vibrations of constant amplitude can occur only in vacuum. Therefore, these
vibrations cannot be realized in practice.

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 The periodic vibrations of continuously decreasing amplitude are called damped
vibrations.
 When a body vibrates with a frequency other than its own natural frequency under the
influence of an external periodic force, the body is said to vibrate with forced vibrations.
 When the frequency of an applied force is equal to the natural frequency of a body, the
body readily takes up the vibrations and begins to vibrate with an increased amplitude.
This phenomenon is known as resonance. Resonance is a special case of forced vibrations.
 Condition for resonance: Resonance is possible only when the frequency of the applied
force is either equal to or is an integer multiple of natural frequency of the vibrating body.
 Pitch, loudness and quality are the three characteristics of sound.
 Loudness: It is the property by virtue of which a loud sound can be distinguished from a
faint one, both having the same pitch. It increases with amplitude or intensity.
Loudness is generally expressed in decibel abbreviated as dB. The bigger unit of loudness
is bel which is named to honour its inventor, Alexander Graham Bell.
 Factors Affecting the Loudness of Sound
 Loudness is directly proportional to the square of the amplitude. The greater the
amplitude, the louder is the sound.
 Loudness depends on the surface area of the vibrating body.
 Loudness varies inversely as the square of the distance.
 Loudness depends on the density of the medium. The greater the density of the
medium, the greater is the loudness.
 Loudness depends on the presence of resonant bodies. Resonant bodies present near
a vibrating body increase the loudness of sound.
 Pitch: It is the characteristics of a sound by which an acute or a shrill note can be
distinguished from a grave or flat note. It depends on the wavelength or frequency of the
note.
 Quality or Timbre: It is the characteristic of a sound by which two notes of the same
pitch and possibly of the same loudness emitted by two different instruments can be
distinguished from each other. It depends on the waveform of the note produced by the
instruments.
 Sounds which have a pleasant effect to our ears and are generally acceptable are called
musical sounds.
 Sound which has a troublesome effect to our ears are generally unacceptable is called
noise.
 Oscillating strings or air columns form the basis of most musical instruments.
 The relation between two waves of different wavelengths and frequencies travelling in the
same medium is f11  f 22 .
1 T
 Frequency of the fundamental note is f  , where l, T and m stand for length of
2l m
vibrating string, tension in string and mass per unit length of the string respectively.
 Relationship between intensity (I) of sound and amplitude (A)
I  A2 ,

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 Audible range of frequency for a human being is 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz.
 The sound of frequency above 20,000 Hz is called ultrasonic, while the sound of frequency
below 20 Hz is called infrasonic.

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