CHAPTER 12

SOUND

Define
1
Sound- sound is a form of energy which produces a sensation of
hearing. It is produced by vibrating objects.
2 Wave: A wave is a disturbance which travels from one point to
another.

3 Vibration: A rapid to and fro motion of an object is called vibration

Longitudinal wave: A wave in which the particles of the medium

oscillate parallel to the direction of wave propagation is called a
longitudinal wave.
Example – sound wave

4 Transverse wave- A wave in which the particles of the medium

oscillate perpendicular to the direction of wave propagation is
called
a transverse wave.
Example- light

5
WAVE LENGTH : The distance between two consecutive
compression or two consecutive rarefactions is called wavelength
(λ- Lambda). SI unit is meter (m).

6
FREQUENCY : The number of oscillations per unit second in a
wave is called the frequency of a wave.SI unit is hertz (Hz)

7
TIME PERIOD : The time taken by a particle to complete one
oscillation is called time period(T)of the wave . SI unit is second .
Frequency = 1/Time period

1
8
SPEED OF SOUND WAVE : The speed of a sound is defined as
the distance which a point on a wave ,such as a compression or
rarefaction ,travels per unit time .
SPEED = Distance /Time= λ/T
(λ = wavelength of the sound wave).
V= λν
SPEED = wavelength × frequency

9
AMPLITUDE : The magnitude of the maximum disturbance in the
medium on either side of the mean value is called the amplitude of
a wave.(A)

10
PITCH : How the brain interprets the frequency of an emitted
sound is called its pitch.
The faster the vibration of the source ,the higher is the frequency
and higher is the pitch.(Refer fig 12.9 text book)

11
LOUDNESS : It is the response of our ear for a sound of given
amplitude .If amplitude is more ,sound will be more. (Refer fig
12.10 text book)

12
QUALITY : Is that characteristics of sound which enables us to
distinguish one sound from another having the same pitch and
loudness

13
INTENSITY : The amount of sound energy passing each second
through unit area is called intensity of sound.

SPEED OF SOUND IN DIFFERENT MEDIA : Speed of sound in a

medium depends on temperature of the medium. In any medium, if
the temperature is increased, speed of sound also increases. The
speed of sound decreases when we go from solid to gaseous
state.
2
REFLECTION OF SOUND : The change in the direction of sound,
when it strikes a hard surface is called reflection of sounds.

LAWS OF REFLECTION :
1) The angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection of
sound.
2) The incident sound, the normal and the reflected sound, all lie in
the same plane.

ECHO : The repetition of the original sound heard, after the sound
is reflected from an obstacle is called an echo. To hear distinct
echo, the time interval between the original sound and the
reflected one must be at least 0.1second.

CALCULATION OF MINIMUM DISTANCE TO HEAR AN ECHO :

Speed = Distance / Time
Speed of sound in air = 344 m/s
Time = 0.1 sec
344 = Distance / 0.1
344 x 0.1 = 34.4 m
Thus for hearing distinct echoes the minimum distance of the
obstacle from the source of sound must be 34.4 /2 = 17.2 m

REVERBERATION : The repeated reflection that results in the

persistence of sound is called reverberation. To reduce
reverberation in big halls and auditorium the roofs and the halls are
covered with sound absorbent materials like compressed fiber
boards, rough plaster or draperies. The seat materials are also
made of sound absorbing properties.

USES OF MULTIPLE REFLECTION :

3
 i) In megaphones, horns, musical instruments such as
trumpets and shehanais, a tube followed by a conical
opening reflects sound to guide most of the sound waves
in the forward direction.
ii) Stethoscope is a medical instrument used for listening to
sounds produced within the body.
iii) Ceilings of concert halls, conference halls and cinema
halls are curved so that sound after reflection reaches all
corners of the hall

RANGE OF HEARING :
INFRASOUND OR INFRASONIC :Sound of frequencies below
20 Hz
AUDIBLE RANGE :Sound of frequencies between 20Hz to 20
kHz
ULTRASONIC OR ULTRASOUND :Sound of frequencies
above 20 kHz

APPLICATIONS OF ULTRASOUND :
1) Ultrasound is used to clean parts located in hard to reach
places .Objects to be cleaned are placed in a cleaning
solution and ultrasonic waves are sent in to the solution .Due
to high frequency ,the particles of dirt ,grease get detached
and the object thus gets cleaned.
2) Ultrasound is used to detect flaws or cracks in metal blocks
.The ultrasound waves are allowed to pass through metal
block to which detectors are fitted .If there is a small defect in
the metal block like a crack ,then the ultrasound waves are
reflected from such spots .Metal block if defective is indicated
by the reflected ultrasonic waves.
3) Echocardiography : It is a technique in which ultrasonic
waves are made to reflect from various parts of the heart and
form the image of the heart .
4) Ultrasonography : Ultrasonic waves are used to develop
three dimensional photographs of different parts of the
human body .This technique is called ultrasonography .It
helps the doctor to detect abnormalities ,such as stones in
the gall bladder.I t is also used to monitor the growth of a
foetus inside its mother’s womb . In this technique the
4
 ultrasonic waves travel through the tissues of the body and
get reflected from a region where there is a change of tissue
density .These waves are then converted into electrical
signals that are used to generate images of the organs.

SONAR : Sound Navigation and Ranging

Sonar is a device that uses ultrasonic waves to measure the
distance ,direction and speed of the under water objects.
A strong beam of ultrasonic waves is sent from a transmitter
mounted on the ship. These waves travel through water and after
striking the object on the seabed ,get reflected back and are
sensed by the detector .The detectors convert the ultrasonic waves
into electrical signals which are then interpreted.
If t is the time interval between the transmission and reception
of ultrasound signals , v is the speed of sound through sea water
then 2d = v × t. This method is also called echo ranging
USES ; This technique is used to determine the depth of the sea
and to locate underwater hills ,valleys ,submarine ,icebergs
,sunken ship etc

BATS USE ULTRASOUND TO CATCH A PREY: Bats search

out prey and fly in the dark night by emitting and detecting
reflections of ultrasonic waves,The high pitched ultrasonic squeaks
of the bats are reflected from the prey and return to the bats ear
The nature of reflections tells the bat where the prey is and what
it is like.

HUMAN EAR ( Refer TEXT Book Pg 172 )

TEXT BOOK QUESTIONS (TEXT BOOK Pg 174 – 175)

Ans5 Quality or timber of sound is the characteristic which helps us to

identify our friends voice .

Ans6 The speed of sound (344m/s) is much smaller than the speed of
light (3×108m/s) .So thunder is heard a few seconds after the flash
is seen.

Ans10 Yes ,sound and light follow the same laws of reflection i.e.

5
 Angle of incidence at the point of incidence is equal to the angle of
reflection .
The incident wave ,the normal and the reflected wave lie in the
same plane.

Ans11 On a hotter day ,the temperature rises which in turn increases the
speed of sound .So the reflected sound returns to the source
earlier than 0.1 seconds .Hence a distinct echo cannot be heard.

Ans12 Applications of ultrasound ; Refer notes

Ans15 Reverberation ; Refer notes

Ans16 Loudness of sound is the effect produced in the brain by the sound
of different frequencies .The loudness of sound depends on the
distance of the observer from the sound .Lesser the distance
,louder is the sound .It increases with the increase in amplitude

ANSWERS 17,18,19,21 Refer notes.

Ans22 Refer Textbook