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Chapter - Sound
Definition
Sound is a form of mechanical energy which produces sensation of hearing.

Conditions for Hearing Sound


1. Vibrating body which transfer its energy to the surrounding.
2. Material Medium which pick up the energy & propagate it.
3. Receiver so as to receive the sound energy.

Vibration
The to & fro motion of the particles of a medium about their mean position at regular interval of
time is called vibration or oscillation.

Wave
A wave is a vibratory disturbance is a medium which carries energy from one point to another
point without there being a direct contact between the two points.

Types of Waves
1. Mechanical Wave
2. Electromagnetic Wave

Mechanical Wave:Longitudinal Waves


A wave in which the particles of the medium vibrate back & forth in the same direction in which
the wave is moving is called a longitudinal wave.
A compression is that part of a longitudinal wave in which the particles of the medium are
close to one another than they normally are & there is a momentary reduction in the volume of
the medium. A compression is a region of high pressure.
A rarefaction is that part of a longitudinal wave in which the particles of the medium are
farther apart & there is a momentary increase in the volume of the medium. A rarefaction is a
part of low pressure.

Transverse Waves
A wave in which the particles of the medium vibrate up and down at right angle to the
direction in which the wave is moving is called a transverse wave.
An elevation or hump in a transverse wave is called crest. It is the highest part.
The depression or hollow in a transverse wave is called trough. It is the lowest part.

Electromagnetic Waves
Those waves which dont require a material medium for their propagation. E.M. Waves are
produced by accelerating charged particles which travel at very high speed.
Example light wave, radio waves, micro waves etc.

Characteristics of Sound Wave

Wavelength
The minimum distance in which the sound wave repeat itself is called wavelength.
Or
In sound wave, the combined length of a compression and an adjacent rarefaction is called its
wavelength.
Or
In a sound wave, the distance between the centers of two consecutive compressions (or two
consecutive rarefactions) is also equal to its wavelength.
The SI Unit of Wavelength is metre(m).

Amplitude
The loudness of sound is determined by the amplitude of its wave. The more is the amplitude the
louder is the sound and the less is the amplitude the sound will be soft.

Time-Period
The time taken to complete one vibration is called time-period. The time-period of a wave is
denoted by the letter T. Its SI unit is second(s).

Frequency
The number of vibrations per second is called frequency. Its SI unit is hertz.

Velocity of Wave
The distance travelled by a wave in one second is called velocity of the wave. Its SI unit is m/s.

Sound cannot travel through Vacuum


A material medium is necessary for the transmission of sound. Sound cannot travel through
vacuum. This can be shown by the following experiment.
1. A ringing electrical bell is placed inside an airtight glass jar containing air as shown in
Figure. We can hear the sound of ringing bell clearly. Thus, when air is present as medium
in the bell jar, sound can travel through it and reach our ear.
2. The bell jar containing ringing bell is placed over the plate of a vacuum pump. Air is
gradually removed from the bell jar by switching on the vacuum pump. As more and
more air is removed from the bell jar, the sound of ringing bell becomes fainter and
fainter. And when all the air is removed from the bell jar, no sound can be heard at all.
Thus, when vacuum is created in the bell jar, then the sound of ringing bell placed inside
it cannot be heard. This shows that sound cannot travel through vacuum.

Sonic Boom
Many objects such as some aircrafts, bullets and rockets, etc., travel at speeds which are
greater than the speed of sound in air. They are said to have supersonic speed. Thus, the term
supersonic refers the speed of an object which is greater than the speed of the sound. Due to its
very high speed, a supersonic aircraft produces extremely loud sound waves called shock
waves in air. The shock waves produced by a supersonic aircraft carry a great amount of
energy. The tremendous air pressure variations caused by the shock waves produce a loud burst

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of sound called sonic boom. Thus sonic boom is an explosive noise caused by the shock waves
from an aircraft which is travelling faster than the speed of sound.

Reflection of Sound
The bouncing back of sound when it strikes a hard surface is called reflection of sound.
Sound is reflected as same way as light. The laws of reflection of light are obeyed during the
reflection of sound. Laws of reflection of sound are:1. The incident sound wave, the reflected sound wave, and the normal at the point of
incidence, all lie in the same plane.
2. The angle of reflection of sound is always equal to the angle of incidence of sound.

Experiment
Take a smooth drying board & put it vertically on a table. At right angle to the board fix a
wooden screen on each side of the screen place a long, narrow, metallic tubes. These tubes are
making some angles with each other. Put a clock near the end of one tube. The sound wave
pass through the tube are reflected by the drying board. The reflected sound waves enter the
second tube & heard by the ear place in front of 2nd tube.
Angle i = angle r

Application of reflection of sound


1. Megaphone:- A megaphone is large, cone-shaped device for amplifying and directing
the voice of a person who speaks into it. A megaphone is also known as sound-hailer or
speaking tube. One end of megaphone tube is narrow and its other end is quite wide.
When a person speaks into the narrow end of the megaphone tube, the sound waves
produced by his voice are prevented from spreading by successive reflections from the
wider end of the megaphone tube. During successive reflections, the amplitude of sound
waves adds up due to which the loudness of sound increases. Due to this the sound of
the voice of the person can be heard over a longer distance.
2. Stethoscope: - Stethoscope is a medical instrument device used by the doctors for
listening to the sounds of heart & lungs of the patient. Stethoscope consists of 3 parts:a. Chest Piece which contains diaphragm. Diaphragm amplifies the sound.
b. Two ear pieces which the doctor puts in his ear.
c. A rubber tube which joins the chest piece to the ear piece & transmits the sound.

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The doctor puts the ear piece into his ears & places the chest piece over the part of the body
which is to be examined. The sound reaches the doctors ear by multiple reflection of sound
wave.
3. Sound Board: - The soundboard is a concave board which is placed behind the speaker
in large halls or auditoriums so that his speech can be heard easily even by the persons
sitting at a considerable distance. The soundboard works as follows: The speaker is made
to stand at the focus of the concave soundboard. The concave surface of the
soundboard reflects the sound waves of the speaker towards the audience. Due to this,
sound is distributed uniformly throughout the hall and even the persons sitting at the back
of the hall can hear his speech easily. Thus the soundboard works on the principle of
multiple reflection of sound.

Echo
Echo is the repetition of sound due to the reflection of original sound by a large & hard obstacle.

Conditions for Production of an Echo


1. Time Gap between the original sound & the reflected sound
We can hear the two sounds separately if the time gap between these two sounds is more than
0.1 seconds. The time interval of 0.1 seconds is known as persistence of hearing. This means the
impression of any sound heard by us remains for 0.1 seconds in our brain. If any sound enters our
ear before 0.1 Seconds then the second sound will not be heard by us. Therefore the echo will
be heard if the original sound reflected by an obstacle reaches after 0.1 seconds.

2. Distance between source of sound & the obstacles.


Speed of sound = 334 m/s (at 20 Celsius)
Distance travelled =?
Time taken = 1/10 sec = 0.1 s
Now, putting these values in the above formula, we get

So, Distance travelled = 344 X 0.1 s


= 34.4 metres
Echo will be heard if the minimum distance between the source of sound & the obstacle is 33.4 /
2 = 17.2 metres far.

3. Nature of the obstacle


The reflecting surface or the obstacle must be rigid such as a cliff, a hill, a mountain range or a
building etc.

4. Size of the obstacle


Echo can be produced if the size of the obstacle is quite large.

5. The wavelength of the sound wave should be less than the height of
reflecting body.
6. The intensity of sound should be sufficient so that it can be heard
after reflection.

Reverberation
The persistence of sound in a big hall due to repeated reflections from the walls, ceiling and floor
of the hall is called reverberation.
Some of the methods used for reducing excessive reverberations in big halls and auditoriums are
as follows:1. Panels made of sound absorbing materials are put on the walls and ceiling of big halls
and auditoriums to reduce reverberations.
2. Carpets are put on the floor to absorb sound and reduce reverberations.
3. Heavy curtains are put on doors and windows to absorb sound & reduce reverberations.
4. The material having sound-absorbing properties is used for making the seats in a big hall
or auditorium to reduce reverberations.

Frequency Range of Hearing in Humans


The range of frequency from 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz is known as the frequency range of hearing in
human.
The sound range below 20 Hz is known as infrasonic sound or infrasound.eg whales, elephants
and rhinoceroses produce infrasound.
The sound range above 20,000 Hz is called ultrasonic sound or ultrasound.eg bats, monkeys,
deer, cats, dolphins, porpoises and leopard can hear ultrasound.

Ultrasound
The sounds having too high frequency which cannot be heard by human beings are called
ultrasonic sound or ultrasound. The ultrasound is reflected just like ordinary sound waves and
produces echoes. Due to its very high frequency, ultrasound has a much greater penetrating
power than ordinary sound.

Applications of Ultrasound
1. Ultrasonic waves are used to establish ship to ship communication.
2. Ultrasonic Waves are used to determine the depth of the sea with the help of a sonar.
3. Ultrasonic waves are used to clean the hidden parts of an instrument. The instrument or
device is placed in a liquid whose parts are to be cleaned. The ultrasonic waves are
passed through this liquid. These waves forces the dirt or impurity out from the parts of the
instruments.
4. Ultrasonic waves are used for welding plastics. Two plastic surfaces are placed against
each other and then ultrasonic waves are passed. These waves produces heat energy
& binds the two plastic surfaces together.

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5. Ultrasonography: - The technique of obtaining pictures of internal organs of the body by
using echoes of ultrasound pulses is called ultrasonography. By this method different
body parts are analyzed or diagnosed.
6. Ultrasonic waves are used to kill bacteria in milk so that milk can be preserved for long
time.
7. Ultrasonic waves are used to find faults or cracks in metals.

8. Ultrasonic waves are used for making dish washing machines. In these machines water &
detergent are vibrated with ultrasonic vibrators. The vibrating particles rub against each
other & clean them.
9. Ultrasonic waves are used to remove fog from runway of airport. An intense beam of
Ultrasonic waves produces heat energy & liquid droplets in air become heavy & settle
down.
10. Ultrasonic waves are capable of mixing two immiscible liquids such as oil & water
homogenously. This property is used for manufacturing photographic films.
11. Ultrasonic waves are used in treatment of muscular pains.

Sonar
The word SONAR stands for SOund Navigation And Ranging. It is an apparatus which is used for
finding depth of sea or to locate underwater things like shoals of fish, shipwrecks and enemy
submarines.
It is based on the principle of relfection of sound.

Determination of Depth of Sea


The sonar fitted towards the bottom of the ship sends a strong beam of ultrasonic sound wave
from the transmitter. On striking the bottom of the ocean the ultrasonic wave is reflected upward
towards the ship. The reflected wave is received by a suitable receiver.
The time taken by the ultrasonic wave to go from the ship to the bottom of the sea &
then back to the ship is noted. The velocity of sound in water is measured. Then the value is
placed in following formula

Reasons for using ultrasonic waves in sonar


1. Ultrasonic sound waves have very high frequency due to which they can penetrate
deep into sea.
2. Ultrasonic sound waves cannot be confused with engine noises or other sounds made by
the ship.

Human Ear

Our Ear is a kind of device which helps to hear sound produced around us.
A human ear has 3 parts
1. Outer Ear Or External Ear
2. Middle ear
3. Inner Ear
Outer Ear: - It consists of a flap like structure called ear pinna.
Ear pinna is connected to ear canal & at the end of ear canal lies a circular membrane
which is very sensitive in nature called ear drum.
The Ear pinna collects the sound waves & then transfer to ear canal. When these sound
waves strike the ear drum it vibrates in a specific order.
Middle Ear: -It consists of chain of 3 bones
1. Malleus
2. Incus
3. Steppes

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On one side these bones are connected to ear drum & to the other to the inner ear. When the
ear drum vibrates the bones in the middle ear also starts vibrating. Bones also magnify the
vibrations of the ear drum.
A tube connects middle ear to the throat & is commonly called air canal which regulates
the atmospheric pressure on both the sides of ear drum & protect it.
Inner Ear: -Inner ear consists of two parts. Cochlea & semi-circular canal. Both are filled with
liquid.
Cochlea is a spiral tube lined with sensory receptors which are connected to the sensory
nerves. The sensory nerve is connected to the brain.
When the vibrations of middle ear enters the cochlea, the fluid also starts vibrating. These
vibrations are picked up by the sensory receptors & then converted into electrical signals. These
electrical signals then travels through the sensory nerves to the brain. The brain interprets the
sound.
The semi-circular canal helps us to balance in 3 ways. The feeling of up, down and
sideways.

Characteristics of Sound
A Sound has 3 characteristics: loudness, pitch and quality (timbre).

Loudness
The loudness of sound is determined by the amplitude of its wave. The more is the amplitude the
louder is the sound & less is the amplitude the sound will be soft.

Pitch
The property by which our brain can distinguish between the deep sound & the sharp sound is
called pitch.
The pitch of the sound is determined by the frequency of sound.
If the frequency of the sound is more, pitch will be higher & the sound is likely to be shrill.
If the frequency of the sound is low the pitch will be low & the sound is likely to be bass.

Timbre or Quality of Sound


Quality is that characteristic of musical sound which enables us to distinguish between the
sounds of same pitch & loudness produced by different musical instruments.
The Quality of a musical sound depends on the shape of sound wave produced by it.

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