SOUND

There are two types of waves:

Transverse wave – e.g. Light waves

Longitudinal wave – e.g. Sound waves
To produce longitudinal wave by using spring, one student can hold
spring while another student can move spring forward and backward
as shown below. So the vibration of the spring is parallel to the
direction of wave travels.
Example of longitudinal wave: Sound waves.
Compression
Compression is the region where the particles are close together
and has high pressure.

Rarefaction
Rarefaction is the region where the particles are further apart and
has low pressure.
Important Properties of Waves
1. Property 1: Amplitude ….
2. Property 2: Frequency.....
3. Property 3: Wavelength....
4. Property 4: Time Period. ...
5. Property 5: Wave Speed….
Amplitude
The amplitude of a wave is the distance from the centre of the wave to
the highest or lowest point OR we define it as maximum displacement of
the wave from its rest position.

Wavelength (λ)
The wavelength of a wave is the distance between two successive crests
or troughs OR from one point on a wave to same point on the next wave.
OR the distance of one complete wave.

Time Period (T)

The time taken for one complete oscillation to occur is called the Time
Period. It is denoted by T. Its unit is seconds.
Frequency(f )
Frequency is the number of vibrations or the number of occurrences of a
repeating event per unit of time. The frequency is measured in terms of
Hertz.

Wave Speed(v)
Wave speed is defined as the speed at which a wave travels. It is related
to wavelength, frequency and time period.
It is given by the formula v = fλ

where v is the velocity of the wave, f is the frequency of the wave, and λ
is the wavelength.
Sound waves on oscilloscopes
An oscilloscope is a
device used to display a
sound wave.

The screen displays a

graph of how the
amplitude of the sound
wave varies with time.
Loudness
The loudness of a sound increases with the
amplitude of the sound wave.

quiet

loud
Loudness
The loudness of a sound wave depends upon the amplitude of the
wave.
A sound wave with a larger amplitude contains more energy and
is therefore louder.
Pitch
The pitch of a musical note increases with frequency.

low pitch high pitch

Examples:
Concert pitch A = 440 Hz; Top C = 523 Hz

Doubling the frequency increases the pitch by one octave.

Therefore the ‘A’ above top C will have frequency 880 Hz.
Pitch
The pitch of a sound wave depends on the frequency of the
wave.
Sound of higher frequency (shorter wavelength) has a higher
pitch.
Quality or timbre
The quality or timbre of a musical note is what makes one
musical instrument sound different from another.

Despite different instruments producing a note of the same

loudness and pitch, the shape of the wave will be different.
Sound quality (timber)
The quality of the sound depends on the shape of the waveform.
Example Question
Diagram below shows how the displacement of water
wave varies with time. The wavelength of the wave is 8.0
cm.

(a) State the amplitude of the wave.

Ans: 2 mm

(b) Calculate the frequency of the wave.

Ans: = 2Hz

(c) Calculate the speed of the wave.

Ans: V = f λ = 2 × 8 = 16 cm/s
Question
The diagram opposite shows
the appearance of a sound
wave on an oscilloscope.
Draw a second diagram
showing the appearance of a
sound wave of lower pitch but
greater loudness.
Measuring frequency using an oscilloscope
time
The time taken between peaks on period
an oscilloscope trace is equal to
the time period, T of the sound
wave.
frequency = 1 / period
f=1/T
example:
if T = 0.05s
f = 1 / 0.05
frequency = 20Hz
Question
The distance between peaks on an
oscilloscope trace is 4cm. If the 4 cm
oscilloscope time scale is set at
1ms/cm calculate the frequency of the
sound.
1ms/cm means that the trace covers
1cm in one millisecond (0.001s)
time period, T = 4cm x 1ms/cm
= 4ms (0.004s)
f=1/T
f = 1 / 0.004
frequency = 250Hz
Audible frequencies

Human ear can only hear sounds with a frequency of

between 20Hz to 20 000Hz (20Hz to 20kHz).

This frequency range is called range of audible

frequencies.
Ultrasound
The sounds above the range of audible frequency range of
humans (20Hz to 20 kHz) are called ultrasounds. We cannot
hear such sounds of these frequency.

Infrasonic sound :
Sounds having frequency less than 20 Hz are known as
infrasonic sounds. We cannot hear such sounds of these
frequency.
Bat uses ultrasound to find insects and other things in
front of it. It send out ultra sound pulses and use its
specially shaped ears to pick up the reflections.
Speed of sound wave
Sound can travel through solids, liquids, and gases.

Speed of sound varies with the medium through which it

travels.

Sound travels faster in solids (concrete 5000m/s),

then in liquids (1400m/s in pure water) and
then in gases (330m/s in air).

High speeds in solids are due to the strong force of attraction

between molecules. Speed of sounds also depends on
temperature.
Choose appropriate words to fill in the gaps below:
Sound is a ___________
longitudinal wave that in air consists of a series of
compressions and _____________.
rarefactions

Sound travels fastest through _______

solids but does not travel at
all through a __________.
vacuum

A ____________
reflected sound wave is called an echo. Sound also
undergoes ___________.
refraction
On average, humans can hear sound frequencies from
__________
20 Hz to ____________.
20 000Hz

WORD SELECTION:
rarefactions refraction vacuum 20 Hz solids
longitudinal reflected 20 000 Hz