9TH CLASS www.ignitephysics.

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Sound
Exercise: 1 (page: 86)
1. How does the sound produced by a vibrating object in a medium reach your ear?
A. (i) When an object vibrates, it forces the neighbouring particles of the medium to vibrate.
(ii) These vibrating particles then force the particles adjacent to them to vibrate.
(iii) In this way vibrations produced by an object are transferred from one particle to another till it
reaches the ear.
2. Explain how sound is produced by your school bell.
A. (i) When the school bell is struck with a hammer, the hammer hits the gong again and again that
causes compressions and rarefactions in the air.
(ii) These vibrations travel in the air in the form it starts vibrating and as a result sound is produced in
the bell.
3. Why are sound waves called mechanical waves?
A. Mechanical wave- Waves that require a medium (solid, liquid or gas) to travel are known as
mechanical waves. ... So, sound waves are longitudinal. Also, it cannot travel through a vacuum and
requires a medium (solid, liquid, or gas) to travel. Thus, a sound wave is called a mechanical wave.
4. Suppose you and your friend are on the moon. Will you be able to hear any sound produced by your
friend?
A. The moon has no atmosphere at all. It is all vacuum. Since sound cannot travel through a vacuum,
therefore we cannot hear the sound produced by our friend.
Exercise: 2 (Page: 92)
1. Which wave property determines (a) loudness, (b) pitch?
A. (a) The amplitude of a wave determines its loudness.
(b) The frequency of the wave determines the pitch.
2. Guess which sound has a higher pitch: guitar or car horn?
A. The frequency of sound produced by guitar is higher than that of car horn. Hence, the pitch of guitar
is higher than that of car horn.
Exercise: 3 (Page: 92)
1. What are wavelength, frequency, time period and amplitude of a sound wave?
A. Wavelength: The distance between two consecutive compressions (C) or two consecutive
rarefactions (R) is called the wavelength.'(Lambda)'
Frequency: The number of complete oscillations per unit time is called the frequency'(Neu)'.
Time period: The time taken by the wave for one complete oscillation of the density or pressure of the
medium is called the time period, 'T'.
Amplitude: The magnitude of the maximum disturbance in the medium on either side of the mean value
is called the amplitude of the wave. It is usually represented by the letter 'A'.
2. How are the wavelength and frequency of a sound wave related to its speed?
A. The frequency of the sound is directly proportional to its velocity.
The wavelength of the sound is directly proportional to its velocity.
So the relation between the velocity, frequency and wavelength of the sound is given as -
V=μ×λ
Where V is the velocity,
“μ” is the frequency and “ λ “ is the wavelength of the sound.
This means the speed is equal to the product of wavelength and frequency of the sound wave. This
equation is also called the ‘wave equation’ and applicable to all types of wave.

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9TH CLASS www.ignitephysics.net PHYSICAL SCIENCE

3. Calculate the wavelength of a sound wave whose frequency is 220 Hz and speed is 440 m/s in a
given medium.
A. Frequency (μ) is = 220 Hz
Speed (V) is = 440 m/s
V=μ×λ
V is the velocity, μ is the frequency and λ is the wavelength
440 m/s = 220Hz × λ
220Hz × λ =440 m/s
λ = 440/ 220 = 2m
Wavelength (λ) = 2m
4. A person is listening to a tone of 500 Hz sitting at a distance of 450 m from the source of the sound.
What is the time interval between successive compressions from the source?
A. Frequency (μ) = 500Hz, Time period, T= ?
Frequency =1Time period
T =1/ μ
T =1/500 = 0.002 sec
Thus, the time interval between successily compressions from the source is 0.002 s.
Exercise: 4 (Page:94)
1. Distinguish between loudness and intensity of sound.
A.
Loudness Intensity
(i) Loudness is that sensation of hearing the (i) The amount of sound energy passing each
where sound ranges from quite to loud. second through unit area is called the intensity
(ii) It is correlated with the sound wave (ii) Intensity is the energy transfer rate per unit
amplitude. area.
(iii) The unit of loudness is decibel. (iii) Intensity of sound is measured in watt/
meter2
(iv) Loudness depends on the responsiveness of (iv) Intensity of sound is independent of any
the human ears. hearing sensitivity.
(v) Loudness of sound may vary for different (v) Intensity of sound is the same for everyone.
people.
(vi) The loudness of sound is just a response (vi) The intensity of sound is a physical quantity.
perceived by the human ear.
Exercise: 5 (Page: 94)
1. In which of the three media, air, water or iron, does sound travel the fastest at a particular
temperature?
A. The sound travels the fastest in a solid medium. Out of air, water and iron, iron is a solid, therefore,
sound travels fastest in iron.
Exercise: 6 (Page: 96)
1. An echo is heard in 3 s. What is the distance of the reflecting surface from the source, given that the
speed of sound is 342 m/s?
A. Given
Speed of sound, v = 342m/s
Time taken for hearing the echo, t = 3s
Distance travelled by the sound = v x t = 342 × 3 = 1026m
In 3 s sound has to travel twice between reflecting surface and source. Hence the distance of the
reflecting surface from the source = 1026m / 2 = 513m

R Sailaja – S.A (P.S) – SPSR NELLORE

9TH CLASS www.ignitephysics.net PHYSICAL SCIENCE

Exercise: 7 (Page: 98)

1. Why are the ceilings of concert halls curved?
A. (i) Concert halls are very big, so the sound might not reach every corner of the hall.
(ii) So, ceilings of concert halls are made curved so that after reflecting, it reaches all parts of the hall.
(iii) A curved ceiling acts as a large concave soundboard and reflects sound down onto the audience
sitting in the hall.
Exercise: 8 (Page: 101)
1. What is the audible range of the average human ear?
A. The audible range of sound for human beings extends from about 20 Hz to 20000 Hz (one Hz = one
cycle/s).
2. What is the range of frequencies associated with (a) Infrasound? (b) Ultrasound?
A. (a) Range of frequencies associated with infrasound is less than 20Hz.
(b) Range of frequencies associated with ultrasound is higher than 20,000 Hz.
Exercises:
1. What is sound and how is it produced?
A. Sound is a form of energy which produces a sensation of hearing in our ears. Sound is produced by
vibration. When a body vibrates, it forces the neighbouring particles of the medium to vibrate. This
creates a disturbance in the medium, which travels in the form of waves. This disturbance, when
reaches the ear, produces sound.
2. Describe with the help of a diagram, how compressions and rarefactions are produced in air near a
source of sound.
A.

When an object vibrates, it forces the particles of medium around it to also vibrate
(i) As the object moves forward, it pushes and compresses the air in front of it creating a region of high
pressure. This region is called a compression.
(ii) As the object moves backward, it creates a region of low pressure. This region is called a rarefaction.
(iv) As the object vibrates (moves backward and forward), a series of compression and rarefaction is
created in the air.
3. Why is sound wave called a longitudinal wave?
A. Sound wave is called longitudinal wave because it is produced by compressions and rare fractions in
the air. The air particles vibrate parallel to the direction of propogration.
4. Which characteristic of the sound helps you to identify your friend by his voice while sitting with
others in a dark room?
A.(i) Quality of sound is that characteristic which helps us identify a particular person.
(ii) Sound produced by two persons may have the same pitch and loudness, but the quality of the two
sounds will be different.
5. Flash and thunder are produced simultaneously. But thunder is heard a few seconds after the flash
is seen, why?
A. (i) Thunder and lightning occur simultaneously. It is known that the speed of light in air is [3×108 m/s],
while the speed of sound in air is [330 m/s].
(ii) Because the speed of light is significantly greater than the speed of sound, the flash is observed well
before the sound of thunder during a lightning event.

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9TH CLASS www.ignitephysics.net PHYSICAL SCIENCE

6. A person has a hearing range from 20 Hz to 20 kHz. What are the typical wavelengths of sound
waves in air corresponding to these two frequencies? Take the speed of sound in air as 344 m/s
A. Speed of sound in air v = 344 m/s ; Frequency v = 20 Hz ; Wavelength λ = ?
From, Velocity = wavelength × frequency
344 m/s = λ × 20 Hz
λ = 344 / 20 ; λ = 17.2
λ = 17.2 m / 1000
[For v = 20 KHz or 20000 Hz]
λ = 0.0172 m
This is, the wavelengths of sound corresponding to the range from 20 Hz to 20 KHz are 17.2m and
0.0172m respectively.
7. Two children are at opposite ends of an aluminium rod. One strikes the end of the rod with a stone.
Find the ratio of times taken by the sound wave in air and in aluminium to reach the second child.
A. Consider the length of aluminium rod = d
Speed of sound wave at 25° C, (Al) = 6420 m/s
Time taken to reach other end
T (Al) = d/ V (Al) = d/6420
Speed of sound in air, V (air) = 346 m/s
Time taken by sound to each other end,
T air = d/ V (air) = d/346
Therefore, the ratio of time taken by sound in aluminium and air,
T (air)/ T(Al) = 6420 / 346 = 18.55
8. The frequency of a source of sound is 100 Hz. How many times does it vibrate in a minute?
A. Frequency of sound = 100Hz.
Number of vibrations in 1 minutes (60 second) = 100 ×60=6000
9. Does sound follow the same laws of reflection as light does? Explain.
A. Yes, sound also follows the same laws of reflection as light does.
Their laws are:
(i) The direction of incidence sound, The direction of reflected sound, and the normal place at the point
of incidence are all on the same plane.
(ii) The angle of incidence and the angle of reflection are equal.
10. When a sound is reflected from a distant object, an echo is produced. Let the distance between
the reflecting surface and the source of sound production remains the same. Do you hear echo sound
on a hotter day?
A. (i) The speed of sound increases on a hotter day (when the temperature is high) and it requires a
larger distance from the reflecting surface for the echo to be hard.
(ii) Since the distance between the reflecting surface and the source of sound remains the same, no
echo can be heard on a hotter day.
11. Give two practical applications of reflection of sound waves.
A. (i) Reflection of sound is used to measure the speed and distance of underwater objects. This method
is called SONAR.
(ii) Working of a stethoscope – the sound of patient’s heartbeat reaches the doctor’s ear through
multiple reflections of sound.
(iii) Ultrasonography: It is the most used diagnostic imaging technique or therapeutic application of
ultrasonic sound in the present century. It uses the technique of reflection of ultrasound to create an
image of internal body structures such as muscles, joints, internal organs, presence of blood clots and
many more.

R Sailaja – S.A (P.S) – SPSR NELLORE

9TH CLASS www.ignitephysics.net PHYSICAL SCIENCE

12. A stone is dropped from the top of a tower 500 m high into a pond of water at the base of the
tower. When is the splash heard at the top? Given, g = 10 m/s2 and speed of sound = 340 m/s
A. (a) Time taken by stone to reach from the top of tower to water surface (t1)
(b) Time taken by sound from water surface to top of the tower (t2)
To find time taken by stone to reach from the top of tower to water surface is calculated by 2nd
equation of motion,
h = ut + 1/2 gt2
Height of tower (h) =500 m
Speed of sound (v) =340 m/s
Acceleration due to gravity (g) = 10 m/s2
Initial velocity (u) = 0
h = ut + 1/2 gt2
500 = 0 × t1 + 1/2 × 10 × t12
5 × t12= 500
t12= 500/5 =100
t1 = √100 = 10 sec
To find time taken by sound from water surface to top of the tower is calculated by
Time = distance/velocity
t2 = 500/340 = 1.47 sec
Total time = t1 + t2 = 10 + 1.47 =11.47 sec
Time at which splash is heard at the top of tower is 11.47 sec.
13. A sound wave travels at a speed of 339 m/ s. If its wavelength is 1.5 cm, what is the frequency of
the wave? Will it be audible?
A. Speed of sound = v= 339 m/s
Wavelength = λ = 1.5cm = 1.5/100 = 0.015m
Now,
Speed of sound = Wavelength x Frequency
Frequency = Speed of sound/ Wavelength = v/λ = 339/0.015 = 22600 Hz
Frequency of sound is 22,600 Hz.
The audible range of human ear is 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz.
Since the frequency of sound is greater than 20,000 Hz, it won't be audible.
14. What is reverberation? How can it be reduced?
A. Original sound and reflected sound wave tend to combine, we get to hear one, prolonged sound
wave is called reverberation
A reflection of sound, arriving at the listener in less than 0.1s after direct sound is called reverberation
The reverberation can be reduced by covering the ceiling and walls of the enclosed space with sound
absorbing materials, such as fibre board, loose woollens, etc.
15. What is loudness of sound? What factors does it depend on?
A. Loudness is defined as a measure of the response of the ear to the sound.
Loudness of sound depends upon the amplitude of the sound. More the amplitude, more loud the
sound.
16.How is ultrasound used for cleaning?
A. (i) Ultrasound is generally used to clean parts located in hard-to-reach places, like, spiral tube, odd
shaped parts, electronic components, etc.
(ii) Objects to be cleaned are placed in a cleaning solution and ultrasonic waves are sent into the
solution.
(iii) Due to the high frequency, the particles of dust, grease and dirt get detached and drop out. The
objects thus get thoroughly cleaned.

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9TH CLASS www.ignitephysics.net PHYSICAL SCIENCE

17. Explain how defects in a metal block detected using ultrasound.

A. (i) In construction of big structures like buildings, bridges, machines and also scientific equipment.
(ii) The cracks or holes inside the metal blocks, which are invisible from outside reduces the strength of
the structure.
(iii) Ultrasonic waves are allowed to pass through the metal block and detectors are used to detect the
transmitted waves.
(iv) If there is even a small defect, the ultrasound gets reflected back indicating the presence of the flaw
or defect

R Sailaja – S.A (P.S) – SPSR NELLORE