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Cambridge O/Level Physics

2022

SOUND
LESSON NOTE

Mrs. Sakunika Perera

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Sound Waves

 Sound is produced due to a vibration in a material.

 Sound does not travel in vacuum because there are no particles to carry energy.
 The wave type sound is longitudinal.
 Sound waves consist of areas of high and low pressure called compressions and
rarefactions, respectively.

 Approximate range of audible frequencies for the healthy human ear as 20 Hz to

20 000 Hz.

Longitudinal waves

 Particles oscillate forward and backward which is parallel to the direction of wave
travel
 Compression – particles move towards each other and make a high pressure
region
 Rarefaction – particles move away from each other and make a low pressure
region
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Speed of Sound
 The fastest speed of sound is found in solids and slowest in air.
 Particles are tightly packed in solids so vibrations can be passed quickly.
 Approximate speed range of sound in air is 300-350 m/s.

Determination of the Speed of Sound in Air

Sample experiment 1

distance

 Two people are at a distant apart (about 200m –400m).

 One person fires a gun into the air.

 The time keeper starts a stopwatch when he sees the flash from the gun and
stops the stopwatch as he hears the gun shot.

 Use the equation speed = distance , speed of sound can be calculated.

Time
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The accuracy of this practical can be increased by

 Averaging -This can be easily done my asking many people to record the time
and consider their average rather than repeating the entire activity.

 Using more sensitive timers

 Concentrating well on recording time

 Having significant distance between the two people

Sample experiment 2

 The timer is set to ON automatically when the plate is hit by the hammer.

 The timer will OFF when the microphone detects the sound.

 The recorded time is the time that the sound took to travel the distance d.

 Speed of sound = d / recorded time

 This method is more accurate as there is no human reaction.

Features of Sound

Loudness –
 Depends on the amplitude of the wave. Higher the amplitude higher the
loudness

 Louder sound has more energy than quieter (softer) sound.

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Pitch –
 Depends on the frequency (number of waves per unit time) of the wave. Higher
the frequency higher the pitch

 Young healthy person has a hearing range of 20Hz- 20000 kHz.

Lower

Quality (Timbre)

This is the characteristic of sound which allows the ear to distinguish sounds of the
same pitch and loudness.
Eg. Similar musical notes (i.e. same pitch) sounds different on different instruments
because they have different quality

Echo
Echo is a reflection of sound that arrives at the listener with a delay after the direct
sound.

d
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speed of sound = 2d
t
where ‘t’ is the time taken for the echo.

Ultrasound
Sound waves with frequencies higher than the upper audible limit of human hearing
(above 20 000 Hz).

Uses of ultrasound

 Medical imaging

 Breaking down kidney stones and stones elsewhere in the body

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 Ships use Sonar equipment o find the depth of sea or detect fish.

 Cleaning

 Quality Control

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