Abstract

This research is about the audibility of sound. There are many factors will affecting the
audibility of sound like distance, type of material as a reflector and so on. We will conduct an
experiment which is about the effect of the type of materials based on audibility of sound. In
the experiment, we will use different type of material such as cloth, cardboard, wooden board
and egg tray. We carry out the experiment to identify which material is the most suitable to be
used in our school hall. Besides, we will determine which material is the good reflector and
good absorber of sound. We will use the noise meter to measure the intensity level of sound.

Introduction
2.1 Theory
Sound is a vibration that propagates as a typically audible mechanical wave of pressure and
displacement, through a medium such as solid, water, and air. Sound wave are longitudinal
waves propagated in the form of compression and rarefaction in air. During propagation,
waves can be reflected, refracted or attenuated by the medium. We always need a public
address system (PA system) to amplify sound so that the audiences can listen to every
announcement clearly.There are some factors affecting the audibility of sound like distance,
frequency, amplitude, type of material as a reflector and so on. Intensity of sound is defined
as the energy per second incident on a unit area perpendicular to the direction of sound
propagation. The intensity level of sound can be measured by using decibel meter or just by
ear. Frequency is the number of cycles per second the sound wave itself produces, and it
determines the pitch of the sound we hear. Frequency is measured in hertz. The range of
human hearing goes from 16 to 20,000 Hz, with 16 being the lowest detectable pitch, and
20,000 is the highest. Wavelength is the distance between the start and the end of a sound
wave cycle. Amplitude is the perceived loudness of the sound.
Reflection of Sound
Reflection is the change in direction of a wavefront at an interface between two different
media so that the wavefront returns into the medium from which it originated. Common
examples include the reflection of light, sound and water waves. The law for reflection is the
same as that of light, ie., the angle of incidence of a sound wave equals the angle of
reflection, just as if it were produced by a 'mirror image' of the stimulus on the opposite side
of the surface. The sound waves that travel towards the reflecting surface are called the
incident sound waves. The sound waves bouncing back from the reflecting surface are called
reflected sound waves. For all practical purposes, the point of incidence and the point of
reflection are the same point on the reflecting surface.
A perpendicular drawn on the point of incidence is called the normal. The angle which the
incident sound waves makes with the normal is called the angle of incidence, "i". The angle

which the reflected sound waves makes with the normal is called the angle of reflection, "r".

Application of Sound Absorptive Materials:

Acoustical material plays a number of roles that are important in acoustic engineering such as
the control of room acoustics, industrial noise control, studio acoustics and automotive
acoustics. Sound absorptive materials are generally used to counteract the undesirable effects
of sound reflection by hard, rigid and interior surfaces and thus help to reduce the reverberant
noise levels (Beranek Leo L., 1960; Bruce, 1981). They are used as interior lining for
apartments, automotives, aircrafts, ducts, enclosures for noise equipments and insulations for
appliances (Knapen and Lanoye, 2003; Youn Eung Lee, Chang Whan Joo, (2004). Sound
absorptive materials may also be used to control the response of artistic performance spaces
to steady and transient sound sources, thereby affecting the character of the aural
environment, the intelligibility of unreinforced speech and the quality of unreinforced
musical sound Frank Fahy, (2001). Combining absorptive materials with barriers produces
composite products that can be used to lag pipe or provide absorptive curtain assemblies. All
noise control problem starts with the spectra of the emitting source. Therefore, sound
absorbing materials are chosen in terms of material types and dimension, and also based on
the frequency of sound to be controlled Francisco Simon and Jaime Pfretzschner, (2004)
Sound Absorption
Sound absorption is the capability of a surface, or building material, to absorb sound instead
of reflecting it. Sound waves will continue to bounce around a room for a time after they are
created if the majority of surfaces in a room is reflective. Surfaces that absorb sound better
will not allow for reflections to bounce around as much, and will deaden the sound wave
more quickly. Many common building materials, such as gypsum board, wood, concrete,
brick and tile, are fairly reflective and do not absorb much sound. Softer materials, such
as carpet, foam padding, and fiberglass insulation, are far better at absorbing sound.
The use of absorptive materials can be helpful in controlling sound. Fiberglass insulation is
very absorptive and can be used where sound control is a concern. Thick carpet with padding
is also very absorptive, and acoustical ceiling tiles are designed to absorb rather than reflect
sound. Even in cases where these options are not viable, absorptive materials can be added to
finished rooms in other ways: furniture with thick cushioning is extremely absorptive, as are
thick and heavy curtains and drapes. Items such as these can be added or arranged in ways
that will allow for greater sound absorption. Acoustical baffles with absorptive materials can
be purchased for use in areas where sound is a major concern, and most are designed to be
unobtrusive and visually nondescript so as to allow for installation without drastically altering
the aesthetics of a room.

2.2 Problem Statement

In school hall, there is a public address system(PA system). However, the PA system does not
function well all the time. During assembly, there are always some students who cannot listen
to all the messages or announcement conveyed by teachers and principals clearly especially
those who sit at the back. This always causes some miscommunication. These is the sale
reasons that we are carrying out this experiment to improve our PA system so that we can
produce good quality sound without interference by reflection.

2.3 Objective
The objective of this experiment is to study how the type of materials will affect the
audibility of sound.

3.0 Methodology
The theme of the project (2014/2015) is given as Sound Wave.The title of the project is To
Investigate on How Does The Type of Material Affect the Audibility of Sound.The project is
planned from November of 2014.After preparing for all the elements which are required to
complete this experiment, the experiment is carried out on
.The experiment is started at
in the physics laboratory of the school, SMK RAJA PEREMPUAN PERAKand the
experiment is completed at
.After that, the report about the
experiment is
written and handed it on

Materials and apparatus

1. one wooden board
2. one piece of cardboard
3. one piece of cloth
4. one egg tray
5. two pieces of manila card
6. one speaker
7. one surface on a car plat
8. one pendrive (frequency generator)

9. one noise meter apps

10. one cellophane tape
11. one protractor

To investigate on How Does The Type of Material Affect The Audibility of Sound we need to
prepare some type of material such as egg tray, wooden board, cloth and cardboard. The
apparatus is set up as shown in the figure. Two piece of manila card is placed at an angle of
30 and cellophane tape is used to fixed the position. The angle of incidence and angle of
reflection is kept constant. After that, a surface on a car plat is placed in the middle of the
manila card. A speaker is placed in one end of the manila card and the other end of the manila
card is placed a noise meter. Next, we started the experiment by using the wooden board. We
turned on the speaker with constant volume and the sound intensity level is recorded by the
noise meter. The steps is repeated by using other materials like egg tray, cardboard and cloth
by increasing the frequency of 100Hz, 200Hz, 300Hz, 400Hz, 500Hz, 600Hz, 700Hz, 800Hz
and 900Hz.

Observation and Discussion

100
90
80

sound intensity level,dB

70
60
50

wooden
board

40

egg tray
30

cloth

20

cardboar
d

10
0
100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

Frequency,Hz

The graph is shows the relationship between the sound intensity level and the type of material
as reflectors with different frquency. The type of material that causes the highest sound
intensity level is wooden board. It has the highest reading for every frequency. This implies
that wooden board is a good reflector of sound and bad absorber. This is because wooden
board has hard surface compare to other material that we had use. Egg tray has the lowest
reading on sound intensity level because egg tray is a bad refletor of sound and good
absorber. This is because egg tray is a porous sound-absorbent materials will be anything that
can transmit sound through themselves and then absorb the sound, converting it into a small
amount of friction energy. These can be items such as carpet, heavy draperies and open-cell
foams. Any item that will allow air to pass into it and then be absorbed by a cellular structure
will make a good sound absorber. Therefore, wooden board and egg tray are not suitable to
use as reflector in our school hall. For the cardboard and cloth have approximate same
reading on sound intensity level. These material are more suitable to use as reflector at our

school hall. This is because the cardboard and cloth have the moderate reading on sound
intensity level.

Conclusion
Based on the experiment, we know that different type of materials will reflect different sound
intensity level. We have chosen cloth as the reflector for our school hall. This is due to its
moderate abilities of reflection and absorption .We would like to suggest some changes on
this experiment like the experiment should be done in a wider empty quite room without any
obstacle to reflect the sound. Besides that, we shold fix the thickness of each material at 1cm.
By during those changes, we belive that the reading of sound intensity level will be more
accurate for the next experiment. In future, we will carry out the experiment like investigate
the relationship between the frequencies of sound with sound intensity level.

References