Stage 9

Sound Waves
My physics portfolio

By Saanvi Khanna
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

01 02 03
Sound Characteristics Waveform graphs

04 05
Harmonica Can we change the sound?
01
Sound

What really is sound?

 Sound

■ Sound is created due to the

vibration of an object.
■ It travels in invisible waves, called
Sound Waves.
■ These waves travel to the ear and
vibrate the ear drum to allow us to
hear.
02
Characteristics

Let’s go a little deeper.

 CHARACTERISTICS OF SOUND

AMPLITUDE PITCH LOUDNESS

The maximum distance The measure of how The measure of the
sound particles move high or low a sound is volume of a sound
on a musical scale

FREQUENCY
The number of
vibrations per second
 Relations

Distance and Pitch and Frequency and

Loudness Vibrations Waves
The greater the distance of each The faster the vibrations, the The higher the wave’s
vibration, the louder the higher the pitch frequency, the more the
sound waves (in a set time)

Pitch and Loudness and

frequency Amplitude
The higher the frequency, The higher the amplitude, the
the higher the pitch more the loudness
03
Waveform graphs

How do we represent sound?

 Waveform graphs
The distance between two The undisturbed or
The highest displacement consecutive points on a constant position of the
above the equilibrium wave sound wave
PEAK WAVELENGTH
EQUILIBRIUM

AMPLITUDE
The maximum TROUGH
distance from the The lowest displacement
equilibrium to the underneath the equilibrium
peak/trough
What is used to
represent Waveforms?
An electronic device called an
oscilloscope is used to display
waveforms. It does so with an
embedded microphone.
04
Harmonica

The what, how and when

 The harmonica

■ Known as French Harp and Mouth Organ

■ Used in American folk, Jazz, Classical, and
Rock
■ Can be diatonic, chromatic, tremolo,
octave, orchestral, or bass.
■ Supposedly originated in Vienna
■ Christian Friedrich Ludwig Buschmann is
credited to be the inventor
 The physics behind it

When a musician blows through the

holes of a harmonica, it reaches the
reed chambers. Here, the air makes
these reeds vibrate and create sounds.
The ten (or more!) holes consist of
different reeds, in terms of their
thickness and length.
 The physics behind it

The notes in the “blow” and “draw”

are the main notes in a harmonica. It
takes a special skill to do the others,
which is called bending. It means to
lower the notes while playing it. This
requires changing tongue position,
mouth shape, and breathing pressure.
We’re altering the airflow to help
vibrate 2 reeds at once, which allows
different notes to be heard.
Do you want to h
ear the harmonica
?
Thank you!