rarh Htattu

VLD
20
MODERN DELHI PUBLIC SCHOOL

CLASS VIll (UNIT II)

CHAPTER-sOUND
Sound-It is a form ofenergy which produces the sensation of hearing in our ears.

Production of sound A vibrating object produces sound.

Example
-

When a drum is beaten, it starts vibrating and produces souna.

when a stretched rubber band is stuck, it starts vibrating and produces sound.
Vibration - It is defined as a rapid to and fro or up and down movement of a body about its mean position.

Production of sound in humans -

1) In humans sound is produced because ofvibration of vocal cords inside voice box or larynx.

Larynx is situated at the upper end ofthe windpipe. There two stretched membranes called vocal cords
attached in
are

larynx with slit between them for air to pass.

a narrow

(ii) Muscles attached to the vocal cords make the cords tight or loose. When the vocal cords are tight and
can
thin, then they produce high frequency voice and when the vocal cords are loose and thick then they produce
low frequency voice.

Musical instruments:

SL.NO. TYPE OF MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS VIBRATING PART EXAMPLE

String instruments Stretched string Guitar, Violin
Percussion instruments Stretched membrane Drums, Tabla
Wind instruments Air coloumn Flute, Shehnai
4 Reed instruments Reed metal plate Mouth-organ, Harmonium
5 Ghana Vadya Whole body Manjira, Kartaal
Propagation of sound:
When a body vibrates, then the particles ofthe medium around the vibrating body are set into
vibrations. These particles ofthe medium strike with the neighbouring particles and transfer their energy to
them. These neighbouring particles then pass on their energy to the next particle and so on, causing the
movement of energy through the whole medium resulting ina sound wave.

Wave: It is a disturbance that moves through a medium and the particles ofthe medium set neighbouring
particles into vibratory motion by gaining energy from it.

Sr. Mechanical waves Non-Mechanical waves

No.
Require material medium for their Do not require material medium for
propagation. their propagation.
Cannot travel in vacuum. Can travel in
vacuum.
3 Can be transverse or longitudinal in Transverse in nature.
nature.
4 eg. Sound waves, Water waves eg. Light wave.
Longitudinal Wave Tronsvere Wivo
to
tnergy mnovesconslantly
the ng'hm whle tlhe medid
oves left and iqht

-Wvenqth

VNMONOMAAMMANAMM / coaintnum

Compression
Rarefaction

Transvrse Wave
Sna l ongiludinal Wa
Partuclo: «t nedum do to a d iro
'srt«le et medturr do to and tro
to
P: dic i:lar
d n t i n ct wave irat:sti.

Ihes conpord

- **
****

regions in the medium where the particles are closer (density of medium particles
Compressions are

maximum).
Rarefactions are regions in the medium where the particles are spread out (density of medium particles
minimum).

Properties of sound waves:

Sound wave is a longitudinal wave. It cannot travel through vacuum. So, it is mechanical wave too.
Speed of sound depends on the nature of medium. Speed of sound is fastest in solids and least in gases.
Sound waves transfer energy from one particle to another. It does not transfer any matter.

Sound energy decreases as the distance between the source and listener increases.

Speed of sound (340 m/s) is less than the speed of light (3 x

10 m/s). Hence lightning is seen earier and
thunder is heard later during thunderstorm.

Propagation of Sound in different media:

Solids: The doctor checks us using the stethoscope. He can hear the sound from within our body
because sound travels through solids.
Liquids: In fact, this is how aquatic animals communicate with each other.
Gases/air: This is the reason why we are able to hear a person standing near us speak.
of the
Bell jar experiment: A bell jar has a ringing alarm clock inside the jar. As the air 15 pumpeund is
sealed bell jar, the noise of the alarm clock fades, thus demonstrating that the propagation O
mediated by the air. In vacuum (absence medium), the sound waves cannot
of any travel
 To mins

Switch
Coi

Bell-jar
Eleccal bll

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Factors affecting speed of sound:

Temperature of the medium: At higher temperature, the speed of sound is higher, while at lower
temperature, the speed decreases.
State of matter: The speed of sound is maximum in solids (5920m/s.in steel), lesser in liquids
(1480m/s in water) and minimum in gases (330m/s in air),
Reason: It is because in solids the molecules are closely packed ascompared to that of liquids and
gases. So the vibrations are transferred faster in the molecules ofsolids than in liquids and gases.

Graphical representation of sound wave

Compression
****** ********** Wavelength

distance

Rarefaction

1 Amplitude
The maximum displacement ofthe vibrating body or medium particles from its mean position is known
as its amplitude.

I tIt is represented by 'A'.

SI unit is metre (m).

Time period:
2 The time taken by a vibrating body or the particles of the medium for completing one oscillation or
vibration is called the time period.
I t is represented by "T.
S I unit is Second (s).
Time period = Time taken to complete vibrations (t)/ Numbers of vibrations (n)
.e. T t/Un
 wyinde

Frequency:
second is known as its frequency.
The number of vibrations made by the vibrating body in one

It is represented by f .
The SI unit of frequency is the Hertz (Hz) or s'.
T 1/f and f= 1/T=n/t
Time period and frequency are reciprocals of each other.

Wavelength:
or thee
compressions between two consecutive rarefactions
The distance between two consecutive or

length of a single wave is called wavelength.

l t s symbol is .
. Its S.l. unit is metre (m).

5 Wave velocity:
the to complete one oscillation.
lt is the ratio of distance travelled by the wave to the time taken by wave

Its symbol is v.
lts S.I. unit is m/s.
oscillation =%
Distance travelied by the wave in one
Time taken to complete one oscillatiorn T =

Hence v T
Or v f i.e. wave velocity =
frequencyX wavelength

Audible sound:

by human beings is called audible sound.

The sound which can be heard
Range : 20Hz to 20,000Hz

Inaudible sound:

human be ings is called inaudible sound.

T h e sound which cannot be heard by
Infrasonic sound and Ultrasonic sound
They are of two types less than 20OHz.
oInfrasonie sound These are the sound waves with frequencies
-
Eg Vibrations produced during earthquake, voleanie ernuptions and oseillating pendulum
Animals like whales, elephants and rhinoceros can hear mtrasonie sound waves.
 Utrasonic so und These are the sound waves with
-

E.g-Animals ike dogs (up to 50,000Hz), bats frequencies more than 20,000Hz.
ultrasonic sound waves. (up 1,20,000 Hz), rats, dolphins can
to
hear
Application Galton's whistle used for training
-

20,000 Hz. This is done dogs sound of

produces frequency greatcr than
to send signals to the dogs without the knowledge of any person loCated
nearby.
haracteristics of sound

sound can be characterized by the loudness, pitch and

quality.
Loudness:

Loudness of sound is the measure of sound

Loudness or softness of a sound energy reach ing the ear
per second.
a sound that is loud and
depends its upon amplitude.
When the amplitude is high, it will produce
when the amplitude is low, it will
Loudness of sound is measured in decibel produce a sound that is soft.
(dB). Human ear can hear sound of loudness up to 80d3.

Diagramn

AA ot i faznt) Sound
117C

Anphtud

I oud SKund

Pitch:
Pitch denotes the shrillness or flatness of a sound.
The pitch of sound (Shriliness or flatness) depends on the frequency of vibration. Sound
with greater
frequency is shriller and has higher pitch. SOund with lower frequency is less shrill and of lower pitch
Example
1. A woman's voice generally has a high pitch than a man's voice. This is
frequency of a woman's voice is higher. because the
2 A drum produces lower frequency sound which is less shrill or lower pitch, while a
sound whistle
produces higher frequency which is shriller or higher pitch.
 fturb,n

Wave shape for a 1:in pitehed s u n d

.
tstuurt.tnde

AAAAAAAAA"
W C h a p e tor a high pilchod ound

3. Quality (Timbre):
The quality ofa sound is that property by virtue of which two sounds ofthe same pitch and loudness produced
by the two diferent musical instruments or people can be distinguished. The quality of sound is determined by
its waveforms.

Musical sounds and noise: Sounds can be classified as musical sounds and noise.

Musical sound: A sound which is pleasant to hear is called musical sound. They are produced by
regular and periodic vibrations. The sounds produced by musical instruments like violin, flute, piano etc.
are pleasing to the ear.
Noise: Loud and harsh sound is called noise. They are unpleasant to hear. They are produced by
irregular and non-periodic vibrations. Sounds such as thunder, large number of people talking at the
same time inside a room, sound oftraffic are unpleasant to hear.

Noise pollution: The disturbance caused by undesirable loud sound of different kinds is called noise pollution.

Sources of noise pollution:

The sources of noise pollution include road traffic, jet planes, trains, construction sites, factories, uses of
loudspeakers, lighting ofcrackers during festivals, and noise from radio and television at high volume.

Harmful effects of noise pollution:

Sudden exposure to high noise level can cause temporary or permanent loss of hearing by damaging the
cardrum.
It causes headache and inability to concentrate on work.
High noise levels can also lead to nervous tension and increase of blood pressure.
Loud music during night disturbs our sleep.

Measures to reduce noise pollution:

Vehicles should be fitted with more effective silencers.

Restricting the use of loudspeakers or amplifiers in public places.
Using sound absorbing materials like curtains and rugs inside the home.
TV or radio should be played at low volumne.
Minimum use of vehicle horns.
 Plantation of trees along the road sides and around
Awareness campaign to make buildings. Trees absorb sound.
control noise pollution.
people aware about the harmful effects of noise
pollution and measures to

Human ear

Three tiny ear bones

Pinna" Hammar Anvil Stirup

Sound Áuditory
nerve
waves
Ear Goes to
enter
canal drum brain)
here
Cochlea

Outer ear Middle ear 1nnerear

Outer ear- Pinna, Ear canal, Ear drum

Middle ear - Three interlocked bones

Inner ear-Cochlea, Auditory nerve

Parts of the human ear Structure and function

Pinna It is the part of the ear which we can see and
feel
It collects the sound vibrations from the
surroundings.
Ear canal It transfers the sound vibrations collected by pinnato
ear drum.
Ear drum I t separates the outer ear from the middle ear.
It is a thin stretched membrane which starts
vibrating when the vibrating air molecules
strikeit.
interlocked bones (Hammer, Anvil, Stirrup) Vibrating ear drum makes the interlocked
Three
bones vibrate.
These bones amplify the sound and transmit it
to the inner ear.
It is a coiled tube which converts the
Cochlea
vibrations into electrical signals.
amplified
It sends the electrical signals from cochlea to
Auditory nerve brain.
The brain interprets the sound.

Care for ears:

Never insert any pointed object in the car as it can damage the cardrum and make a person deaf
Clean your outer ear with a clean towel and inner ear with cotton buds.

Never hit anyone hard on his/ her ear.