REVISION MATERIAL

SOUND
LECTURE 1

RELATION BETWEEN SPEED OF SOUND, TIME OF HERING ECHO AND DISTNCE OF

REFLECTING BODY

If t is the time at which an echo is heard, d is the distance between the source of sound and the reflecting
body and V is the speed of sound. The total distance traveled by the sound is 2d.

2𝑑
Speed of sound, 𝑉=
𝑡

𝑉𝑡
or 𝑑=
2

There are two type of reflections in sound waves

 Echo  Reverberation
When the sound reflected from a distance obstacle When there is multiple reflection of a sound in a
is heard after the original is ceased then that sound small hall the sound is heard for little longer
is called Echo duration such phenomenon is called reverberation

Ehco is heard when the sound is reflected from To reduce reverberation, the rood and walls of the
hills, mountain peaks, edge of forest very large hall hall are covered with a sound absorbing materials
like rough plaster and thick curtains.

Conditions for Formation of an Echo :

(i). The minimum distance between the source of sound and the reflecting body should be 16.7 metres.
(ii). The wavelength of the sound should be less than the height of the reflecting body.
(iii). The intensity of sound should be sufficient so that it can be heard after reflection.

Condition for hearing a distinct echo:

If d is minimum distance required for hearing an echo when persistence of hearing is 0.1 second. The
velocity of sound (at room temperature) is 344 m/s.
vt 344 1 34.4
So, d     17.2m
2 2 10 2

17.2 metre is the minimum distance of hearing echo

Uses of Echo:
1. Echo is used in SONAR (Sound Navigation and Ranging) to find the depth of seas or distance of
submarines.
2. In concert halls, echo is desirable to some extent, because it enhances the sound and produces a
pleasing effect.
3. Bats use the principle of echolocation to avoid hitting against obstacles in their path.

Factors affecting the fundamental frequency of a string instruments

The frequency of a string instrument depends on following factors

1
(i) Length: frequency decreases with increase in length. 𝑓∝ 𝑙

(ii)Tension: frequency increases with increase in tension. 𝑓 ∝ √𝑇

1
(iii) Mass: frequency increases with decrease in mass. 𝑓 ∝ √𝑚

Topics

 Reflection of sound
 Types of vibration
o Resonance
 Vibration in stretched string

CPQ Day 1

Q.1. A boy stands 60 m infront of a tall wall and claps. The boy continues to clap
every time an echo is heard. Another boy finds that the time taken between the
first and fifty-first clap is 18 s. Calculate the speed of sound.
Q.2. What is meant by echo? What are the necessary conditions for hearing an echo?
Q.3. (i) Draw a graph between displacement and the time for a body executing
free vibrations. (ii) Where can a body execute free vibrations?
Q.4. (i) State one important property of waves used for echo depth sounding.
(ii) A radar sends a signal to an aircraft at a distance of 30km away and receives it
back after 2 x 10-4 second. What is the speed of the signal?
HPQ Day 1

Q.1. (i) What are damped vibrations?

(ii) Give one example of damped vibrations.
Q.2. In the diagram below, A, B, C, D are four pendulums suspended from the
same elastic string PQ. The length of A and C are equal to each other
while the length of pendulum B is smaller than that of D. Pendulum A is set in to
a mode of vibrations.

(i) Name the type of vibrations taking place in pendulums B and D?

(ii) What is the state of pendulum C?
(iii) State the reason for the type of vibrations in pendulum B and C.

Q.3. A person is standing at the sea shore. An observer on the ship which is anchored
in between a vertical cliff and the person on the shore fire a gun. The person on
the shore hears two sounds, 2 seconds and 3 seconds after seeing the smoke of
the fired gun. If the speed of sound in the air is 320 m/s then calculate:

(i) the distance between the observer on the ship and the person on the shore.
(ii) the distance between the cliff and the observer on the ship.

HPQ DAY 2

Q.1. A certain sound has a frequency of 256 hertz and a wavelength of 1.3 m.
1. Calculate the speed with which this sound travels
 2. What difference would be felt by a listener between the above sound and
another sound travelling at the same speed, but of wavelength 2.6 m?
Q.2. A pendulum has a frequency of 4 vibrations per second. An observer starts the
pendulum and fires a gun simultaneously. He hears the echo from the cliff after 6
vibrations of the pendulum. If the velocity of sound in air is 340 m/s, find the distance
between the cliff and observer.
Q.3. Two pendulums C and D are suspended from a wire as shown in the figure
given below. Pendulum C is made to oscillate by displacing it from its
mean position. It is seen that D also starts oscillating.

(i) Name the type of oscillation, C will execute.

(ii) Name the type of oscillation, D will execute.
(iii) If the length of D is made equal to C then what difference will you notice in the
oscillations of D?
(iv) What is the name of the phenomenon when the length of D is made equal to C?
LECTURE 2

Topics

 properties of sound waves

o loudness
 effect of amplitude
 effect of resonating body
 effect of vibrating surface area
 effect of humidity
o pitch
o quality

CPQ DAY 1

Q.1. It is observed that during march-past we hear a base drum distinctly from a distance
compared to the side drums.(i) Name the characteristic of sound associated with the
above observation. (ii) Given a reason for the above observation.
Q.2. The stem of a tuning fork is pressed against a table top. Answer the following
questions:
(a) Would the above action produce any audible sound.
(b) Does the above action cause the table to set into vibrations?
 (c) If the answer above is yes, what type of vibrations are they?
(d) Under what conditions does the above action lead to resonance?
Q.3. Explain why musical instruments like the guitar are provided with a hollow box?

HPQ DAY 1

Q.1. If the amplitude of a wave is doubled, what will be the effect on its loudness?
Q.2. The ratio of amplitude of two waves is 3:4. What is the ratio of their: (i) Loudness?
(ii) Frequencies?
Q.3. (i) State the safe limit of sound level in terms of decibel for human hearing.
(ii) Name the characteristic of sound in relation to its waveform.

HPQ DAY 2

Q.1. What is loudness of sound? What factors does it depend on?

Q.2. Displacement distance graph of two sound waves A and B, travelling in a
medium, areas shown in the diagram below.

Study the two sound waves and compare their: (i) Amplitudes (ii) Wavelengths

Q.3. (i) Name the waves used for echo depth sounding.
(ii) Give one reason for their use for the above purpose.
(iii) Why are the waves mentioned by you not audible to us?