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Sound: Sounds and Vibrations
Sound: Sounds and Vibrations
Definition: - Vibrations transmitted through an solid or a liquid or gas, with frequencies in the approximate range of
20 to 20,000 hertz, capable of being detected by human organs of hearing.
OR
PROPAGATION OF SOUND
Sound needs a medium for its propagation. It cannot propagate through vacuum but it can propagate through all
the three states of matter i.e. solid liquid and
Ex- When a person speaks, the air closer to his mouth is The sound is always produced by vibrating body. When a
pushed in the direction of sound. The air molecules get distributed gong of a bell is struck with a hammer, sound is
and start vibrating about their mean position. Such molecules produced. The gong is set into the vibrations and sound
which vibrate will disturb the nearest molecules for vibrating waves are propagated in the air. When these waves reach
them. Continue this method until the molecules starts vibration the ear, the ear drum is set into vibrations. These
which is nearer to listener. This causes the vibrations in the vibrations are communicated to brain and we get
diaphragm of the ear. sensation through the hearing.
Experiment to show that sound require a material medium for its propagation
Aim :To show that sound can travel through air but cannot travel
through vacuum
Material required: An electric bell , a big glass jar, a vacuum pump.
Method: Hang the bell inside the glass jar connected to the vacuum
pump. When the bell is switched on, the sound is heard. Now, switch
on the vacuum pump. We will observe that as the air is pumped out, the
sound becomes faint and finally disappears.
Result: sound cannot travel through vacuum.
• TEMPERATURE
• NATURE OF MEDIUM
SOLID (FASTEST) > LIQUIDS >
GASES(SLOWEST)
WIND VELOCITY
Though lightning and thunder are produced simultaneously, the flash of the lightning is seen much before
the sound of the thunder.
When a gun is fired at some distance, the flash is seen before the sound is heard.
The steam coming out from the whistle of an engine is seen before the sound is heard.
In a cricket match, the striking of the ball by the batsman is seen before hearing the sound.
Reason: The speed of sound is 330m/s in air where as the speed of light is 3 x 108 m/s , which is much
faster than the speed of sound. Hence light reaches earlier than the sound.
Test yourself
Q What is the other name of the vocal cords
Q Why cant two astronauts hear each other on the surface of the moon?
Q During a thunder storm, the sound of thunder is heard after lightning is seen. Give reason.
Q Explain in brief, how is sound produced?
Q You can easily hear the sound of an approaching train by putting your ear on the railway track well before the sound
is heard in the air. Why?
Q With the help of a diagram, Explain that sound cannot propagate through vacuum
OR
With the help of a diagram show that sound needs a material medium for propagation
Q Name the sound having frequency a) less than 20Hz b) between 20 and 20000Hz c) Greater than 20,000Hz
• Sound is always reflected back when it fall on the objects around them, these reflected sound reach to our ear
in the time less than 1/10th of a second.
• If the reflected sound and the direct sound reach to our ear in mingled form then it is slightly difficult to
distinguish between them.
• Reflected sound can only be hear when the reflecting surface is 17 meter away from the ear.
Middle ear:
• It is air filled cavities which lies just beyond the ear drum and is surrounded by a bone.
• There are three bones in the cavity. The hammer (malleus), anvil (incus) & stirrup(stapes).
• These small bones help to amplify the vibrations.
Inner ear:
• The inner ear is embedded in the bone of the skull and is filled with a liquid.
• Consists of main organ of hearing called COCHLEA, that carries the vibrations in the form pf electrical
impulses from the AUDITORY NERVE to the BRAIN
TEST YOURSELF
Q Draw a neat labeled diagram of human ear, explaining how the energy of the sound wave is transmitted to the nerves
in the cochlea
Echoes:-
The sound heard after reflection from a rigid obstacle is called an
echo.
Advantages
• Used in SONAR (sound navigation and ranging) to find the
depth of the sea.
• Bats locate prey by returning echoes.
• Dolphins also use the returning echoes to locate its prey. This
is called ECHOLOCATION
AMPLITUDE
The maximum displacement from the central position of
vibrating body is called amplitude.
SI unit of amplitude is METER.
Frequency:-
The number of cycles completed by a vibrating body in one second is called frequency.
TIME PERIOD:
The time taken to complete one vibration is called timeperiod
SI unit of time period: seconds
PITCH:
The shrillness of a sound is called pitch.
• Pitch depends upon the FREQUENCY
• IF FREQUENCY IS HIGH, PITCH IS HIGH(SHRILL
SOUND, as in females); IF FREQUENCY IS LOW, PITCH IS
LOW( FLAT OR GRAVE SOUND, as in males)
• Pitch α frequency
LOUDNESS OF A SOUND:
• Loudness means how much energy does the sound possess
Threshold of hearing:-
The faint sound which a human ear can detect is called threshold of
hearing. The threshold of hearing is similar to zero decibel.
Q Define the terms a) Frequency b) amplitude c) time period. Also give their SI units
Hearing loss
Fatigue
Q What is noise and noise pollution ? How does noise pollution affect us? How can noise pollution be reduced