FM-AA-CIA-15 Rev.

0 10-July-2020

Study Guide in Science 117- WAVES AND OPTICS Module No. 2

STUDY GUIDE FOR MODULE NO. 2

SOUND AND HEARING

MODULE OVERVIEW

Have you ever wondered what would happen if suddenly humans (and also animals) cannot hear? Maybe , we
would all be doing sign languages and could hardly understand each other. One of the most important
mechanical waves in our everyday life is the sound wave. It is a longitudinal wave. The human ear is
sensitive to vibrations so it can detect sound waves. It is very useful in spoken communication. It allows us to
sense many things in our environment, from the relaxing sound of music to the warning sound of an
approaching danger. The evolution of hearing also helped in the survival of our ancestors. Without the
benefits that hearing sounds give us, we may have a different perception of enjoying life.

We will explore all of these things in a moment, so keep reading through.

MODULE LEARNING OBJECTIVES

After going through this module, you will be able to:

1. describe how sound waves are produced,
2. calculate the speed of sound waves and Mach numbers,
3. solve problems involving sound intensity and beats,
4. explain the relevance of Doppler effect on daily life,
5. solve problems on Doppler effect,
6. describe the applications of forced vibrations and resonance in daily life, and
7. describe how sonic boom shockwaves are produced and reduced.

SOUND WAVES

Sound waves are mechanical waves produced by a vibration through a material medium - a solid, liquid, gas,
or plasma. The simplest sound waves are sinusoidal waves, which have definite frequency, amplitude, and
wavelength.

At a young age, our ears can normally hear pitches in the frequency range between 20 to 20,000 Hz, called
the audible range. As we grow older, this range of hearing shrinks, especially at the high-frequency ends.
Ordinary humans cannot hear the infrasonic (frequencies below 20 Hz) and ultrasonic (frequencies above
20,000 Hz) sound waves.

Frequency corresponds to pitch (the highness or lowness of a tone) such that high frequency equals high
pitch, and low frequency equals low pitch. The unit of frequency is hertz (Hz), after Heinrich Hertz, who
demontrated radio waves in 1886. The AM radio waves are measured in kilohertz, the FM radio waves in
megahertz, while radar and microwave oven operate at gigahertz frequency.

Quality is the characteristic timbre of a musical sound, governed by the number and intensities of partial
tones.

Partial tone is a single-frequency component sound wave of a complex tone. When the frequency of a partial
tone is an integer-multiple of the lowest frequency, it is a harmonic.

The lowest frequency is the fundamental frequency or first harmonic in a musical tone. Unlike the tones
made by musical instruments or the vowels in human speech, noise is a combination of all frequencies.

Sound waves usually travel out in all directions from the source of sound. Otherwise, you will not hear
someone calling for you if you are in the wrong direction.

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY 1

 FM-AA-CIA-15 Rev. 0 10-July-2020

Study Guide in Science 117- WAVES AND OPTICS Module No. 2

The human ear operates by sensing pressure variations in the air. A sound wave entering the ear canal exerts
a fluctuating pressure on one side of the eardrum; the air on the other side of the eardrum, vented to the
outside by the Eustachian tube, is at atmospheric pressure. The pressure difference on the two sides of the
eardrum sets it into motion.

To know more about the concepts on Sound and Hearing, read Chapter 16 of Young and Freedman (2012)
13th Edition. University Physics with Modern Physics. Addison-Wesley: San Francisco CA (pages 509 to 550).

You may also check on the following for more information on this lesson:
https://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/sound/Lesson-1/Sound-is-a-Mechanical-Wave

For interactive activities, please visit https://www.physicsclassroom.com/Physics-Interactives/Waves-and-

Sound/Beats
https://www.physicsclassroom.com/Class/sound/u11l1b.cfm

LEARNING ACTIVITY 1

Please answer the following the best way you can in five (5) sentences for 5 points each.

1. The hero of a western movie listens for an oncoming train by putting his ear to the track. Why does
this method give an earlier warning of the approach of a train than just listening in the usual way?
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________

2. When sound travels from air into water, how does the frequency, speed and wavelength of the sound
wave change? Explain.
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________

3. Symphonic musicians always “warm up” their wind instruments by blowing into them before a
performance. What purpose does this serve?
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________

4. In a popular and amusing science demonstration, a person inhales helium and then his voice
becomes high pitched and squeaky. Why does this happen? (Warning: Inhaling too much helium can
cause unconsciousness or death.)
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________

SPEED OF SOUND IN SOLIDS, LIQUIDS, AND GASES

Sound travels about 4 times faster in water than in air and about 15 times faster in steel than in air. As
compared to solids and liquids, air is a poor conductor of sound. The speed of sound is generally greater in
solids than in liquids, and greater in liquids than in gases. Sound won’t travel in a vacuum because there is
nothing to compress and expand.

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY 2

 FM-AA-CIA-15 Rev. 0 10-July-2020

Study Guide in Science 117- WAVES AND OPTICS Module No. 2

The speed of sound depends on wind conditions, temperature, and humidity. It does not depend on the
loudness or the frequency of the sound. All sounds travel at the same speed in a particular medium (refer to
the data table below).

The speed of sound = 343 m/s = 767 mi/h at standard temperature and pressure (25 ºC, 760 mm Hg). For
each degree rise in temperature above 0 ºC, the speed of sound increases by 0.6 m/s.

The equation below describes the speed of sound in a fluid (liquid or gas). It only depends on the bulk
modulus (B) and density (ρ) of the medium. Thus, the speed of sound waves traveling in air or water is
determined by this equation.

Below is the table for the speed of sound in various bulk materials.

(University Physics with Modern Physics, 13th Edition, page 516)

The speed of a longitudinal pulse in the rod is given by the equation below, with Y as the Young’s modulus.

The speed of sound in a gas is fundamentally a function of temperature T:

We note here that T is absolute temperature and R = 8.314 J/mol K.

LEARNING ACTIVITY 2

Please answer the following the best way you can for 5 points each. Show your complete solution by
indicating the given, the unknown, the formula, substitution of values, simplification and final answer. (The hint
for the final answer is enclosed in the parenthesis).

1. An oscillator vibrating at 1250 Hz produces a sound wave that travels through an ideal gas at 325 m/s
when the gas temperature is 22 0C. For a certain experiment, you need to have the same oscillator

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY 3

 FM-AA-CIA-15 Rev. 0 10-July-2020

Study Guide in Science 117- WAVES AND OPTICS Module No. 2

produce sound of wavelength 28.5 cm in this gas. What should the gas temperature be to achieve this
wavelength? (Answer: 81.4 0C)
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________

2. An 80.0-m-long brass rod is struck at one end. A person at the other end hears two sounds as a result
of two longitudinal waves, one traveling in the metal rod and the other traveling in the air. What is the
time interval between the two sounds? (Answer: 0.208 seconds)
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________

3. A ship uses a sonar system to locate underwater objects. Find the speed of sound waves in water
using and find the wavelength of a 262-Hz wave. The density of water is 1.00 x 10 3 kg/m3 and the bulk
modulus is 2.18 x 109 Hz. (Answers: v = 1480 m/s; wavelength = 5.65 m)
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________

SOUND INTENSITY

Intensity (I) is the power (P) per square meter carried by a sound wave, expressed in decibels (dB). A decibel
is 1/10 of a bel. It is named after Alexander Graham Bell.

Loudness is directly related to the sound intensity or volume.

Traveling sound waves transfer energy from one region of space to another. This time, well look at how to
express the intensity of a sound wave in terms of the displacement amplitude A or pressure amplitude p max.

The average total sound power emitted by a person speaking in an ordinary conversational tone is about 10 -5
W. A loud shout is about 3 x 10-2 W. If the sound source emits waves in all directions equally, the intensity
decreases with increasing distance r from the source according to the inverse square law.

It means that the intensity is proportional to 1/r 2. If the sound is mostly in one direction, the inverse-square law
does not apply and the intensity decreases with distance more slowly compared to 1/r 2.

Below are the formulas for intensity of a sinusoidal wave:

The ear is sensitive over a broad range of intensities, and a logarithmic intensity scale is usually used. The
intensity level of a sound wave β is defined by the equation below.

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY 4

 FM-AA-CIA-15 Rev. 0 10-July-2020

Study Guide in Science 117- WAVES AND OPTICS Module No. 2

-12 2
Here, I0 is a reference intensity, 10 W/m , near the threshold of human hearing at 1000 Hz. Recall that “log”
means the logarithm to base 10.

Table 16.2 below gives the sound intensity levels in decibels of some familiar sounds.

Also, by this time you should already be very familiar with the correct way of inputting data on your calculator.
One small mistake will be compounded and your answer will be absolutely wrong in the end.

(University Physics with Modern Physics, 13th Edition, page 521)

LEARNING ACTIVITY 3

Please answer the following the best way you can for 5 points each. For the discussion parts, discuss in five
(5) sentences, while in the problem-solving parts, please try to show your complete solution by indicating the
given, the unknown, the formula, substitution of values, simplification and final answer. (The hint for the final
answer is enclosed in the parenthesis).

1. If the pressure amplitude of a sound wave is halved, by what factor does the intensity of the wave
decrease? By what factor must the pressure amplitude of a sound wave be increased in order to
increase the intensity by a factor of 16? Explain.

_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________

2. Does the sound intensity level β obey the inverse-square law? Why?
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________

3. A sound wave in air at has a frequency of 150 Hz and a displacement amplitude of 5 x 10 -3 mm. For
this sound wave calculate the (a) pressure amplitude (in Pa); (b) intensity (in W/m 2 ); (c) sound
intensity level (in decibels). (Answers: a. 1.95 Pa; b. 4.58 x 10-3 W/m2; c. 96.6 dB)

_______________________________________________________________________________

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY 5

 FM-AA-CIA-15 Rev. 0 10-July-2020

Study Guide in Science 117- WAVES AND OPTICS Module No. 2

_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________

BEATS

Now let’s look at what happens when we have two waves with equal amplitude but slightly different
frequencies. This occurs when two tuning forks with slightly different frequencies are sounded together, or
when two organ pipes that are supposed to have exactly the same frequency are slightly “out of tune.”

Consider a particular point in space where the two waves overlap. The displacements of the individual waves
at this point are plotted as functions of time in Figure (a). The total length of the time axis represents 1
second. The frequencies are 16 Hz (blue graph) and 18 Hz (red graph).

Using superposition, add the two displacements at each instant of time to find the total displacement at that
time. The result is the graph of Figure (b). At certain times the two waves are in phase (maxima coincide and
their amplitudes add). But because of their slightly different frequencies, the two waves cannot be in phase at
all times. At certain times (like t = 0.5 s in the Figure presented) the two waves are exactly out of phase. The
two waves then cancel each other, and the total amplitude is zero.

The resultant wave in Figure (b) is a single sinusoidal wave with a varying amplitude that goes from a
maximum to zero and back. The amplitude goes through two maxima and two minima in 1 second, so the
frequency of this amplitude variation is 2 Hz. The amplitude variation causes variations of loudness called
beats. The frequency with which the loudness varies is called the beat frequency.

(University Physics with Modern Physics, 13th Edition, page 531)

The beat frequency fbeat is the difference of the two frequencies. Below is the formula.

Beats between two tones can be heard up to a beat frequency of about

6 or 7 Hz. Two piano strings or two organ pipes differing in frequency by
2 or 3 Hz sound wavery and “out of tune”.

Listening for beats is an important technique in tuning all musical

instruments. At frequency differences greater than about 6 or 7 Hz, we
no longer hear individual beats.

If you listen to a whistle that produces sounds at 1800 Hz and 1900 Hz

when blown, you will hear not only these tones but also a much lower
100-Hz tone. The engines on multiengine propeller aircraft have to be

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY 6

 FM-AA-CIA-15 Rev. 0 10-July-2020

Study Guide in Science 117- WAVES AND OPTICS Module No. 2

synchronized so that the propeller sounds don’t cause annoying beats. These are heard as loud throbbing
sounds
(University Physics with Modern Physics,
13th Edition, page 532)

LEARNING ACTIVITY 4

Please answer the following the best way you can for 5 points each. For the discussion parts, discuss in five
(5) sentences, while in the problem-solving parts, please try to show your complete solution by indicating the
given, the unknown, the formula, substitution of values, simplification and final answer. (The hint for the final
answer is enclosed in the parenthesis).

1. A large church has part of the organ in the front of the church and part in the back. A person walking
rapidly down the aisle while both segments are playing at once reports that the two segments sound
out of tune. Why?
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________

2. One tuning fork vibrates at 440 Hz, while a second tuning fork vibrates at an unknown frequency.
When both tuning forks are sounded simultaneously, you hear a tone that rises and falls in intensity
three times per second. What is the frequency of the second tuning fork?
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________

THE DOPPLER EFFECT

You may have noticed that when an ambulance approaches you, the pitch seems to drop as the car passes.
This phenomenon is called the Doppler effect. It was first described by the 19th-century Austrian scientist
Christian Doppler. When a source of sound and a listener are in motion relative to each other, the frequency
of the sound heard by the listener is not the same as the source frequency. We will consider only the special
case in which the velocities of both source and listener lie along the line joining them.

Take note carefully of the equations to compute for the f S (frequency of sound the source emits) and fL
(frequency the listener hears).

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY 7

 FM-AA-CIA-15 Rev. 0 10-July-2020

Study Guide in Science 117- WAVES AND OPTICS Module No. 2

(University Physics with Modern Physics, 13th Edition, page 533)

(University Physics with Modern Physics, 13th Edition, page 534)

We can also compute for fL for moving source and moving listener using the formula below:

LEARNING ACTIVITY 5

Please answer the following the best way you can for 5 points each. For the discussion parts, discuss in five
(5) sentences, while in the problem-solving parts, please try to show your complete solution by indicating the
given, the unknown, the formula, substitution of values, simplification and final answer. (The hint for the final
answer is enclosed in the parenthesis).

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY 8

 FM-AA-CIA-15 Rev. 0 10-July-2020

Study Guide in Science 117- WAVES AND OPTICS Module No. 2

1. If you wait at a railroad crossing as a train approaches and passes, you hear a Doppler shift in its
sound. But if you listen closely, you hear that the change in frequency is continuous; it does not
suddenly go from one high frequency to another low frequency. Instead the frequency smoothly (but
rather quickly) changes from high to low as the train passes. Why does this smooth change occur?
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________

2. On the planet Arrakis a male ornithoid is flying toward his mate at 25 m/s while singing at a frequency
of 1200 Hz. If the stationary female hears a tone of 1240 Hz, what is the speed of sound in the
atmosphere of Arrakis? (Answer: 780 m/s)
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________

3. A police car’s siren emits a sinusoidal wave with frequency f s = 300 Hz. The speed of sound is 340
m/s and the air is still. (a) If a listener L is at rest and the siren is moving away from L at 30 m/s, what
frequency does the listener hear? (b) If the siren is at rest and the listener is moving away from it at
30 m/s, what frequency does the listener hear? (Answer: a. 276 Hz, b. 274 Hz)
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________

4. Two train whistles, A and B, each have a frequency of 392 Hz. A is stationary and B is moving toward
the right (away from A) at a speed of 35 m/s. A listener is between the two whistles and is moving
toward the right with a speed of 15 m/s . No wind is blowing. (a) What is the frequency from A as
heard by the listener? (b) What is the frequency from B as heard by the listener? (c) What is the beat
frequency detected by the listener? (Answers: 5 a. 375 Hz, b. 371 Hz, c. 4 Hz)

_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________

FORCED VIBRATION AND RESONANCE

Suppose we apply a periodically varying force to a system that can

oscillate. The system is then forced to oscillate with a frequency equal
to the frequency of the applied force or driving frequency. This motion
is called a forced oscillation. By oscillation we mean a motion that
repeats itself over and over.

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY 9

 FM-AA-CIA-15 Rev. 0 10-July-2020

Study Guide in Science 117- WAVES AND OPTICS Module No. 2

A simple example of resonance is pushing a swing. The swing is a pendulum with a frequency determined by
its length. If we push the swing periodically with this frequency, we can build up the amplitude of the motion.
But if we push with a very different frequency, the swing hardly moves at all. A normal mode of an oscillating
system is a motion in which all particles of the system move sinusoidally with the same frequency.

If the frequency of the force is equal to a normal-mode frequency, the system is in resonance, and the
amplitude of the forced oscillation is maximum. If there were no friction or other energy-dissipating
mechanism, a driving force at a normal-mode frequency would continue to add energy to the system, and the
amplitude would increase indefinitely.

(University Physics with Modern Physics,

13th Edition, page 528)

But in any real system there is always dissipation of energy, or damping.

Thus, the amplitude of oscillation in resonance may be large, but it cannot be
infinite.

The sound of the ocean you hear when you put your ear next to a large
seashell is due to resonance. The noise of the outside air moving past the
seashell is a mixture of sound waves of almost all audible frequencies, which
forces the air inside the seashell to oscillate.

A more spectacular scenario is when a singer breaks a wine glass with her
amplified voice. If the singer emits a loud note with a frequency
corresponding exactly to one of these normal-mode frequencies, large-
amplitude oscillations can build up and break the glass.

(University Physics with Modern

Physics, 13th Edition, page 528)

LEARNING ACTIVITY 6

Please answer the following the best way you can in five (5) sentences for 5 points each.

1. An organist in a cathedral plays a loud chord and then releases the keys. The sound persists for a few
seconds and gradually dies away. Why does it persist?
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________

2. What is a “break step”? Why is a necessary for soldiers marching a bridge?

_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________

3. Why will a struck tuning fork sound louder when it is held against a table?
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY 10

 FM-AA-CIA-15 Rev. 0 10-July-2020

Study Guide in Science 117- WAVES AND OPTICS Module No. 2

SONIC BOOM SHOCKWAVE

You may have experienced “sonic booms” caused by an airplane flying overhead faster than the speed of
sound. We can see qualitatively why this happens from figure on the next page.

Let vs be the speed of the airplane relative to the air, so that it is always positive. The motion of the airplane
through the air produces sound. If vs is less than the speed of sound v, the waves in front of the airplane are
crowded together with a wavelength given by:

As the speed vs of the airplane approaches the speed of sound v, the wavelength approaches zero and the
wave crests pile up on each other (Figure a). The airplane must exert a large force to compress the air in front
of it; by Newton’s third law, the air exerts an equally large force back on the airplane.

There is a large increase in aerodynamic drag (air resistance) as the airplane approaches the speed of sound,
known as the “sound barrier.”

(University Physics with Modern Physics, 13th Edition, page 538)

When vs is greater in magnitude than v, the source of sound is supersonic. The equation for the Doppler
effect no longer describe the sound wave in front of the source. Figure (b) shows a cross section of what
happens. As the airplane moves, it displaces the surrounding air and produces sound. A series of wave crests
is emitted from the nose of the airplane. These crests spreads out in a circle centered at the position of the
airplane when it emitted the crest.

After a time t the crest emitted from point S1 has spread to a circle with radius vt and the airplane has moved a
greater distance vst to position S2. The circular crests interfere constructively at points along the blue line that
makes an angle α with the direction of the airplane velocity, leading to a very large amplitude wave crest
along this line. This large amplitude crest is called a shock wave (Figure c). Using laws for right triangle in
Figure (b) the angle α is given by

Here, vs is the speed of the source relative to the air and is always positive. The ratio v s/v is what we call as
Mach number. It is greater than one for all supersonic speeds. The first person to break the sound barrier
was Capt. Chuck Yeager of the U.S. Air Force, flying the Bell X-1 at Mach 1.06 on October 14, 1947.

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY 11

 FM-AA-CIA-15 Rev. 0 10-July-2020

Study Guide in Science 117- WAVES AND OPTICS Module No. 2

Shock waves are three-dimensional. It forms a cone around the direction of motion of the source. If the source
(like a supersonic jet airplane or a rifle bullet) moves with constant velocity, the angle is constant, and the
shock-wave cone moves along with the source. It’s the arrival of this shock wave that causes the sonic boom
you hear after a supersonic airplane has passed by. The larger the airplane, the stronger the sonic boom is. In
front of the shock-wave cone, there is no sound. Inside the cone a stationary listener hears the Doppler-
shifted sound of the airplane moving away.

A shock wave is produced continuously by any object that moves through the air at supersonic speed, not
only at the instant that it has broken the sound barrier. The sound waves that combine to form the shock
wave, as in Figure b, are created by the motion of the object itself, not by any sound source that the object
may carry.

The cracking noises of a bullet and of the tip of a circus whip are caused by their supersonic motion. A
supersonic jet airplane has very loud engines, but these do not cause the shock wave. A space shuttle makes
a very loud sonic boom when coming in for a landing.

Shock waves are also used to break up kidney stones and gallstones without invasive surgery, using
extracorporeal shock-wave lithotripsy. A shock wave produced outside the body is focused by a reflector or
acoustic lens so that as much of it as possible converges on the stone. When the resulting stresses in the
stone exceed its tensile strength, it breaks into small pieces and can be eliminated by passing through urine.
This technique requires accurate determination of the location of the stone, which may be done using
ultrasonic imaging techniques.

LEARNING ACTIVITY 7

Please answer the following the best way you can for 5 points each. For the discussion parts, discuss in five
(5) sentences, while in the problem-solving parts, please try to show your complete solution by indicating the
given, the unknown, the formula, substitution of values, simplification and final answer. (The hint for the final
answer is enclosed in the parenthesis).

1. A jet airplane is flying at a constant altitude at a steady speed greater than

the speed of sound. Describe what observers at points A, B, and C hear at
the instant shown in the figure on the right. Explain your reasoning.
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________

2. Does an aircraft make a sonic boom only at the instant its speed exceeds Mach 1? Explain your
reasoning.
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________

3. If you are riding in a supersonic aircraft, what do you hear? Explain your reasoning. In particular, do
you hear a continuous sonic boom? Why or why not?
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY 12

 FM-AA-CIA-15 Rev. 0 10-July-2020

Study Guide in Science 117- WAVES AND OPTICS Module No. 2

4. A jet plane flies overhead at Mach 1.70 and at a constant altitude of 950 m. (a) What is the angle of
the shock-wave cone? (b) How much time after the plane passes directly overhead do you hear the
sonic boom? Neglect the variation of the speed of sound with altitude. (Answer: a. 36.0° b. 2.23 s)
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________

SUMMARY

1. Sound is defined as longitudinal wave in a medium. Sound waves usually travel out in all directions
from the source of sound.
2. The audible range is 20 to 20,000 Hz. Above this is ultrasonic, below is infrasonic.
3. Noise is a combination of all frequencies,
4. The speed of sound varies in solids, liquids, and gases.
5. Traveling sound waves transfer energy from one region of space to another.
6. The intensity I of a sound wave is the time average rate at which energy is transported by the wave,
per unit area.
7. Sound intensity levels are expressed in decibels, abbreviated dB. A decibel is 1/10 of a bel,
8. Beats are heard when two tones with slightly different frequencies f a and fb are sounded together. The
beat frequency fbeat is the difference between fa and fb.
9. The Doppler effect for sound is the frequency shift that occurs when there is motion of a source of
sound, a listener, or both, relative to the medium.
10. The system that is forced to oscillate with a frequency equal to the frequency of the applied force or
driving frequency is called a forced oscillation.
11. When vs is greater in magnitude than v, the source of sound is supersonic.
12. A sound source moving with a speed vs greater than the speed of sound v creates a shock wave. The
wave front is a cone with angle α.

EXPERIMENT #2

EXPERIMENT 2
BEATS, FORCED VIBRATIONS, AND RESONANCE

Name: ___________________________________________ Date Performed: ______________

Score: ___________________________________________ Date Submitted: _______________

INTRODUCTION
Most, if not all of us, are fascinated with the sounds of nature: how they are created, propagated, and
heard. That is why sound engineers keep on learning how to produce more realistic sounds using available
devices. In this experiment, you will act like a sound engineer to design a mini sound hall (MMH) that will help
you enjoy more the sounds created by your mobile phones and other devices. You may want to review the
concepts on beats, forced vibrations, and resonance along with sound waves before proceeding with the
experiment.

MATERIALS
cellphone with various songs pair of scissors / cutters
glue gun / tapes / adhesives card board / wood / foam / plastic sheets /

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY 13

 FM-AA-CIA-15 Rev. 0 10-July-2020

Study Guide in Science 117- WAVES AND OPTICS Module No. 2

etc

PROCEDURE
1. In this experiment, you will design your own MMH. The size of the MMH should not exceed 10 cm x
10 cm x 10 cm. You will put your phone inside your MMH with music playing on it. The quality of
sound should be preserved while amplifying it. It could be a box, a sphere, or of any shape and
design.
2. Use your materials to create your MMH. To test whether your MMH is effective or not, play music on
your phone then put it inside the MMH. If the quality of the sound produced is muffled and so on, your
MMH is not a good one. Go on revise it. Take a picture of your final MMH and paste it below.
3. Now that you are done with your MMH, let us investigate some sound phenomena. Take note, before
doing this part of the experiment, the music should be in the same volume.
4. Using 2 phones inside the MMH, and you in a fixed position, find the relative position of the two
phones inside the MMH in which the music is :
a. loudest or best amplified;
b. less loud or more silent; and
c. abnormal to the ears.
5. Draw your results in (4), taking note of the distances for which A, B, and C are satisfied. You will need
this later.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

Answer the following questions completely and correctly:

1. Describe your MMH. How did it improve the original music from your cellphone? Explain your answer.
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________

2. Why should the sound loudness in procedure 4 the same? What would happen if it was not? Explain
your answer.
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY 14

 FM-AA-CIA-15 Rev. 0 10-July-2020

Study Guide in Science 117- WAVES AND OPTICS Module No. 2

3. Observe your drawings in procedure 5. Is the positioning coincidental or scientific? Where do the
concepts of beats, resonance, loudness, pitch, and interference come to play here? Explain your
answer.
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________

GENERALIZATION

1. How do hearing aids work?

_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________

2. Without sound superposition, how would the outside world sound like?
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________

REFERENCES

Main References: For this course, we will be using the following as our main references:
Young and Freedman (2012) 13th Edition. University Physics with Modern Physics. Addison-
Wesley: San Francisco CA

Hewitt, P. (2015) Conceptual Physics (12th Edition). Pearson Education.

Supplementary Books and Materials: The following books can be borrowed from the library and can be
used as supplementary references for the course:

Beiser, A. (2004) International Edition. Concepts of Modern Physics. Mc-Graw Hill Companies: NY
Catchillar, G. C. & Malenab, R. (2003). Fundamentals of Physics. Philippines: National Book Store.
Cutnell, John D. and Kenneth W. Johnson. 1997. Physics. 5h Edition. John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
New York.
Halliday, David et al. 2001. Fundamentals of Physics: Extended. 6 th Edition. John Wiley and Sons,
Inc. New York.
Nolan, Peter J. 1995. Fundamentals of College Physics (Student Study Guide). Wm. C. Brown
Publishers.
Resnick, Robert and Kenneth Krane. 2002. Physics. 5 th Edition. Volume 2. John Wiley and Sons.
New York.
Serway and Jewett. 2018. Physics for Scientists and Engineers with Modern Physics. 10 th Edition.
Cengage Learning Asia Pte Ltd
Tipler, Paul and Geme Mosca. 2005. Physics for Scientists and Engineers. 5 th Edition. W.H>
Freeman and Company. New York.Wilson, Jerry and Anthony Buffa. 1998. Physics. 3 rd

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY 15

 FM-AA-CIA-15 Rev. 0 10-July-2020

Study Guide in Science 117- WAVES AND OPTICS Module No. 2

Edition. Prentice-Hall. New Jersey.

Zitzewitz, Neff and Davids. 1995. Merill Physics: Principles and Problems. Glencoe/McGraw-Hill,
Merill Publishing Co.

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY 16