CH-08

WAVES
WAVES
 A wave is an oscillation accompanied by a transfer of energy that
travels through a medium (space or mass). Waves exist in different
forms.
a) MECHANICAL WAVES.
b) TRANSVERSE WAVES.
c) LONGITUDINAL WAVES.
MECHANICAL WAVES
 A mechanical wave is a wave that is an oscillation of matter, and
therefore, transfers energy through a medium. A mechanical
wave requires an initial energy input. Once this initial energy is
added, the wave travels through the medium until all its energy is
transferred.
For example, if we drop a small object in water, the waves produced
are Mechanical Waves. When a small object is dropped in water, it
provides initial vibration for the propagation of waves. Since, these
waves are spherical in nature, so these waves are also called
“SPHERICAL WAVES.”
 There is another type of waves called “PLANE WAVES”. Plane Waves
are the waves which are propagated by inserting a straight object in
water. When a straight object is dipped into a tank of water, parallel
waves spread across the surface of water and these waves are called
“PLANE WAVES.”
TRANSVERSE WAVES
 Transverse waves contain two types of motions, one is vertical and
other is horizontal. The vibration that causes the wave to produce is
vertical as a result, the wave travels in horizontal direction. These
types of waves are called “TRANSVERSE WAVES.”
If we tie one end of the rope and give vibration vertically at the
other end which is free, then we observe a wave in the rope
travelling horizontally towards the tied end. This is an example of
Transverse Wave.
 Transverse waves consist of CRESTS and TROUGHS.

 CREST: A crest is a point on the wave where the displacement of the

medium is at a maximum.
• TROUGH: Trough is just opposite to Crest. Trough is that point on the
wave where the displacement of the medium is at minimum.
LONGITUDINAL WAVES
 The waves travelling in the direction of propagation are called
“LONGITUDINAL WAVES”. Longitudinal waves, also known as "I
waves“ are waves in which the displacement of the medium is in the
same direction as, or the opposite direction to, the direction of travel
of the wave. Mechanical longitudinal waves always require a medium
for their propagation without medium, they won’t propagate. That’s
why, we can’t hear the sound in the space because there is no
medium for its propagation. As we know that,

“SOUND WAVES ARE LONGITUDINAL WAVES”

 Longitudinal waves consist of Compression and Rarefaction.

 COMPRESSION: A compression is a region in a

longitudinal wave where the particles are closest together.

 RAREFACTION: Rarefaction is just opposite to compression. It is a

region where particles are furthest apart.
 FREQUENCY: Frequency is defined as
the total number of waves passing in a
unit time (1 sec). Its unit is Hertz (Hz)
where, 1 Hz is equal to one wave per
second. It is denoted by (f).
Human ear can hear the sound
having the frequency ranging from
20Hz to 20,000Hz.

• AMPLITUDE: The amount of

displacement in which a particle is
vibrating is called Amplitude.

• WAVELENGHTH: Wavelength is the

distance between two consecutive
crests or troughs. It is denoted by (λ)
and its unit is meter (m). The
wavelength of a wave can be calculated
by the formula,
𝑣 = 𝑓λ
SOUND
SOUND
 Vibrations that travel through the air or another medium and can be
heard when they reach a person's or animal's ear.
 Sound produced by continuous and regular vibrations, as opposed to
noise.
 Sound waves are longitudinal waves so they require a medium for
propagation. Without medium, they won’t propagate.
SPEED OF SOUND
 Sound travels much more slower than light (3 × 108 𝑚/𝑠).
 The velocity of sound is about 760 miles/hr or 340m/s.
 The speed of sound is affected by temperature. The lower the
temperature, the lower the velocity of sound. There is a formula by
which, we can calculate the speed of sound at different
temperatures.
𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑 = 𝛾𝑅𝑇
Where,
γ = Ratio of specific heats of the gas.
R = Gas constant.
T = Gas temperature (always in Kelvin).
MACH NO.
 The ratio of the speed of a body to the speed of sound in the
surrounding medium.
Speed of sound determines the nature and formation of shock
waves. Because of this, aircraft speed is often compressed in relation to
the speed of sound.
𝑉𝑎𝑖𝑟𝑐𝑟𝑎𝑓𝑡
𝑀𝑎𝑐ℎ 𝑁𝑜. =
𝛾𝑅𝑇

 Mach 1 is equal to the speed of sound. Mach 0.65 is 65% of the

speed of sound (subsonic), and Mach 1.35 is 35% faster than the
speed of sound (supersonic) and generate shock waves.
 SOUND PITCH: The sensation of a frequency is commonly
referred to as the pitch of a sound. A high pitch
sound corresponds to a high frequency sound wave and a
low pitch sound corresponds to a low frequency sound wave.
INTERFERENCE
 When two or more waves meet, they react, this phenomenon is called
the “INTERFERENCE”. When two identical waves arrive at the same
point together so that there crests and troughs are co-incident, they
will combine to form a wave twice the amplitude. This is called
“CONSTRUCTIVE INTERFERENCE”.
When two same waves arrived so that the crest of one wave
coincided with the trough of the other wave, the two waves cancel out
each other and produce no wave. This is called “DESTRUCTIVE
INTERFERENCE”. As the result of Destructive Interference, a wave is
formed looks like standing at one position also called “STANDING
WAVE”.
DOPPLER’S EFFECT
 An increase (or decrease) in the frequency of sound, light, or other
waves as the source and observer move towards (or away from) each
other. The effect causes the sudden change in pitch. The
phenomenon is called “DOPPLER’S EFFECT”, noticeable in a passing
siren.
WAVELENGTH CALCULATION
 For an approaching object such as a car or an aircraft, the
approaching sound’s wavelength will depend on the speed of
approaching object.

 The wavelength of an approaching source is found by using formula:

𝑣 − 𝑣𝑠
λ=
𝑓𝑠
• For a receding source the formula will be:

𝑣 + 𝑣𝑠
λ=
𝑓𝑠
FREQUENCY CALCULATION
 The frequency for an approaching source can be calculated by the
formula:
𝑣
𝑓𝑟𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑦 𝑜𝑏𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑒𝑑 = 𝑓
𝑣 − 𝑣𝑠 𝑠
• The frequency for a receding source can be calculated by the
formula:
𝑣
𝑓𝑟𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑦 𝑜𝑏𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑒𝑑 = 𝑓𝑠
𝑣 + 𝑣𝑠

 The frequency of an approaching source will be higher and so the

pitch of the sound will be higher.