Chapter 12: General Wave properties II - Sound

Objectives:

1. Show an understanding that sound can be produced by vibrating sources and a

medium is required for the transmission of sound.
2. Describe the longitudinal nature of sound waves in terms of the processes of
compression and rarefaction.
3. Relate loudness of a sound wave to its amplitude and pitch to its frequency.
4. Describe how the reflection of sound may produce an echo, and how this may be
used for measuring distances.
5. Describe and explain how ultrasound is used, e.g. including sonar and medical
scanning of soft tissue.

12.1 What is Sound?

energy that is transferred from one point to another as a

1. Sound is a form of _________
longitudinal
__________________ wave.

medium
vibrating sources placed in a _________.
2. Sound is produced by _________

3. Propagation of Sound:
(i) Sound waves are longitudinal thus the direction of vibration of the particles is
parallel
_________ to the direction of the wave.
compressions and ____________.
(ii) Sound travels in air by forming a series of ____________ rarefractions
(iii) Compressions of air particles are formed when layers of air are pushed
_________
close together
__________________ higher than the surrounding.
and the density is _________
(iv) Rarefactions of air particles are formed when the air layers are pulled
_________
apart and the density is lower than the surrounding.
_________
4. Pressure-distance graph:

(i) amplitude A of a sound wave is the _________

The ____________ maximum pressure change.
(ii) The wavelength distance between the centres of
_____________ of the sound wave is the _________
consecutive compressions
___________________________ rarefractions
or _________.

(i)

(i)

(ii) (ii)

5. Displacement-distance graph:

(i) The graph is drawn for a particular instant in time. The positive direction is usually
assigned in the same direction as the wave propagation.
zero displacement are either the centres of ____________
(ii) Particles with ___________________ compressions or
rarefractions
____________.
12.2 Transmission of Sound

1. Compressions and rarefactions are required for sound to be produced and they can only
solid
medium which can be ____________
be formed if there is a ____________ fluid
and ____________.

2. Thus, sound waves require a medium

________________________ for transmission i.e.
sound waves cannot travel in a vacuum
________________________________________________.

bell jar experiment

3. This can be verified by the ____________________________________.

to battery
• When the ___________________
sealed bung
is on and the _______________ is
_____, you will ________ the bell.
electric bell hammer
• When the ____________ is
switched ____, the sound of the
seal
bell becomes ________________
to vacuum pump until you ________________ it.

4. Sound waves travel at different speeds in different media.

gas < speed of sound in ________<
➢ Speed of sound in ______ liquid solid
speed of sound in ________

5. Determination of Speed of Sound in Air:

(i) known distance D apart
Two persons are positioned at a ________________________.
(ii) fires a starting pistol
Person A ___________________.
start the stopwatch
(iii) Person B will ___________________ sees the flash
when he ___________________ and
stop the stopwatch
___________________ hears the sound
when he ___________________. Record the time interval
___________________
as t.
speed = distance/time = d/t
(iv) Hence, the speed of the sound can be calculated by ________________________.

very fast
Assumption: The assumption made is that light travels ___________________, hence
time taken for the light to travel is zero
the ___________________.
 Improvement to reduce error due to wind: repeat experiment with Persons A and B
exchanging positions The average of the two timings is (t1+ t2)/2.
___________________. The
___________________ will be ___________________.

Questions:

1. Can sound waves travel from the Earth to the Moon? Explain.

2. A ruler is clamped at the edge of a table with a short length of the ruler projecting out of
the edge. Explain how the vibrating ruler produced compressions and rarefactions in the
surrounding air.
12.3 Reflection of Sound

reflected
1. Echoes are formed when a sound is ___________off hard __________________
_________, flat surfaces
such as a large wall or a distant cliff.

2. An echo
___________________is the repetition of a sound due to the
reflection
___________________of sound.

measure distances such as the depth of a sea or locate shoals of

3. Uses of echoes: ___________________
fish.

4. In calculations involving echoes, the total distance travelled by the sound is always
twice the distance between the source and the reflecting surface, due to its
___________________
reflection.

2  depth of sea
speed of sound in sea =
timetaken

Questions
1. A boy standing 170 metres from a tall building makes a loud clap. He hears the echo after
1.0 s. Calculate the speed of sound in air using the given information.

2. A student hears thunder 8 seconds after seeing lightning. She estimates that the lightning
is 2.7 km away. Calculate the speed of sound in air using the given information.

3. A sound wave of frequency 250 Hz travels in air at a speed of 330 m/s. Calculate the
wavelength of this wave.
12.4 Loudness and Pitch

1. Loudness:
amplitude the vibration.
(i) The loudness of a sound depends on the ______________of
larger the amplitude of vibration, the __________
(ii) The __________ louder the sound.
decibel (dB)
(iii) It is measured in __________.

Loud sound Soft sound

2. Pitch:
the frequency of the vibration
(i) The pitch of a note depends on ______________________________.
higher the frequency of a note, the __________
(ii) The __________ higher the pitch.

Higher Pitch Lower Pitch

Questions
1. The diagrams show oscilloscope traces of sounds picked up by microphones. The
oscilloscope controls are set in the same position for all the traces. Which trace shows
the sound that is both loud and low pitched?

A C

B D

2. A child plays a note on her recorder. She then plays a louder and higher pitched note.
How do the amplitude and frequency of the second sound compare with the first?
Amplitude of 2nd sound Frequency of 2nd sound
A smaller lower
B smaller higher
C larger lower
D larger higher

3. The diagram shows an oscilloscope trace of a sound picked up by a microphone. On

the same diagram, draw a trace for a sound that is twice as loud and of lower pitch.
12.5 Ultrasound

1. The range of frequencies which a person can hear is known as the

range of audibility or range of audible frequencies
__________________________________________________.

2. For the human ear, the __________ 20 Hz

lower limit of audibility is approximately __________ and the
upper limit
____________________ 20000 Hz
is __________.

infrasound
3. Humans cannot hear low frequency sounds (______________) and high frequency
ultrasound
sounds (_______________).

frequencies above the upper limit of the human range of audibility is known as
4. Sound with ________________________________________
ultrasound
__________.

5. Uses of Ultrasound:
(i) Ultrasound in quality control:
check for cracks or cavities in concrete slabs and metal pipes
__________________________________________________________________.

(ii) Ultrasound in medical applications: used to examine the development of a foetus

______________________________.
(preferred over X-rays as it does not harm the foetus due to its lower energy)