e litud p Am th eng l ave W

TEACHERS NOTES ON

SOUND
ANTINODES HARMONICS TENSION ANTINODES HARMONICS TENSION ANTINODES HARMONICS TENSION

WAVELENGTH RESONANCE AMPLITUDE FREQUENCY WAVELENGTH DISPLACEMENT VIBRATION

WAVELENGTH RESONANCE AMPLITUDE FREQUENCY WAVELENGTH DISPLACEMENT VIBRATION

WAVELENGTH RESONANCE AMPLITUDE FREQUENCY WAVELENGTH DISPLACEMENT VIBRATION

WAVELENGTH RESONANCE AMPLITUDE FREQUENCY WAVELENGTH DISPLACEMENT VIBRATION ANTINODES HARMONICS TENSION

WAVELENGTH RESONANCE AMPLITUDE FREQUENCY WAVELENGTH DISPLACEMENT VIBRATION ANTINODES HARMONICS TENSION

WAVELENGTH RESONANCE AMPLITUDE FREQUENCY WAVELENGTH DISPLACEMENT VIBRATION ANTINODES HARMONICS TENSION

WAVELENGTH RESONANCE AMPLITUDE FREQUENCY WAVELENGTH DISPLACEMENT VIBRATION ANTINODES HARMONICS

in association with the School of Education, Trinity College Dublin

TENSION

SOUND INVESTIGATIONS
BRIEF DESCRIPTION
This unit of work is designed to introduce basic ideas about sound using several (relatively simple) practical investigations. The students observations are used as foundations upon which to build the theory of sound. There is an emphasis on group work, and with students making predictions before they undertake the various tasks.

TIME ALLOCATION
One double period.

TEACHING ORDER
1. Set up two matched tuning forks, preferably on sounding boxes. One fork is to be the focus of the students attention, the other put some distance to one side. 2. Students make predictions as directed in the Student Notes part A (reproduced below). The surprising thing is that the sound should still be heard even after the students stop the vibration of the main tuning fork. This acts as an introduction to resonance as a phenomenon. Set students tasks as per Student Notes part B. Key ideas to come out of this task is the link between vibration and sound, extent of vibration and volume of sound. Their observations and results can be used to introduce in a qualitative way the idea of pitch and frequency of vibration, volume of sound and amplitude of vibration. (The detail is the subject of the next lesson.)

RESOURCES NEEDED
Two matched tuning forks. Variety of musical instruments and other objects, e.g. rulers, coke bottles, (indeed, anything that can be made to make a sound).

PRACTICALS
As indicated in student notes.

USEFUL WEBSITES
This site has a simple animation of vibrations from a tuning fork: http://www.physicsclassroom.com/mmedia/waves/tfl.html A 2D impression is to be found at: http://www.kettering.edu/~drussell/forkanim.html Animation courtesy of Dr. Dan Russell, Kettering University, USA.

[2]

A. DEMONSTRATION (FROM STUDENT NOTES)

Watch the demonstration with a tuning fork set up by your teacher. You will hear a tuning fork give out a sound. Below are some questions for you before the demonstration begins. Work with your partners in your group to make your predictions. You must write down your answers. 1. How would you make the tuning fork give out a sound? Why would your method work (what would happen to the tuning fork)? 2. Once the tuning fork makes a sound, how would you stop it? Now your teacher will guide you through getting the tuning fork to sound, and stop ringing. Were your predictions confirmed? Or were there any surprises? After going through the demonstration with your teacher: 1. Draw diagrams of what you saw (your teacher will assist). 2. Explain what you did and what happened.

B. INVESTIGATING WAYS OF MAKING SOUNDS

You should have various items available to you (or your group); e.g. a guitar, violin, metre rule, pencil, test-tubes in a rack, glass containing water. 1. Make each of the items make a sound. For each one, write down what you did to make the sound, and what the sound was like, e.g. high note, low note, loud, soft etc. It would be best if you draw up a table or chart in which to put your results. 2. Can you make the items change the sound they make? Try out your ideas, and draw up another table/chart in which to put your results. When you are finished you will be asked to share your findings with the rest of the class. Your teacher will help you summarise your findings.

[3]

MAKING SOUNDS
BRIEF DESCRIPTION
This topic follows on from the investigations lesson. It develops the key quantities used to describe sound waves

TIME ALLOCATION
One double period.

TEACHING ORDER
1. Ask students for main things they discovered in the investigation lesson. 2. Demonstrate the bell jar experiment to show that sound needs a medium through which to travel. 3. Demonstrate longitudinal waves on a slinky. 4. Summarise: key points as in student notes and in PowerPoint file

RESOURCES NEEDED
Bell jar apparatus. Tuning forks, sound generator (if required). Slinky.

KEY POINTS (FROM STUDENT NOTES) THESE DIAGRAMS ARE IN THE POWERPOINT FILE.
5. You need to know the meaning of speed, amplitude, frequency and wavelength when describing wave motion.
Displacement Displacement Wavelength Amplitude Time Wavelength Amplitude Time

The formula speed = frequency x wavelength. In symbols this is often written

v = f
(The symbol is the Greek letter lambda.) The standard units for measuring the speed, frequency and wavelength of a wave are:
SPEED FREQUENCY WAVELENGTH

m/s or ms-1

s-1

m 1Hz = 1s-1

The Hertz, Hz is often used as the unit for frequency; i.e.

[4]

Displacement of layers

FIGURE 1 Illustration of the movement of layers of air particles for a sound wave
Distance

Displacements plotted above (to a different scale).

These layers are displaced to the right (the positive direction).

These layers are displaced to the left (the negative direction).

The dotted lines show the positions of the layers of air as the sound wave passes. Notice that some layers remain in their equilibrium position while others are displaced to the left or the right of their equilibrium positions. These lines show the equilibrium positions of the layers of air; i.e. when no sound wave passes.

KEY PRACTICALS
Bell jar experiment showing sound needs a medium through which to travel. Use of applets to illustrate sound waves of different frequencies and wavelengths. Demonstration of longitudinal waves on a slinky.

USEFUL WEBSITES
The following sites are useful for various aspects of sound: einstein.byu.edu/~masong/HTMstuff/WaveTrans.html www.fearofphysics.com/Sound/dist.html The following site has some good applets about the wave nature of sound: surendranath.tripod.com/Applets.html (You need to click on the Applets button at top left to see the menu of choices.)

[5]

PUZZLES/QUESTIONS
1. Look at the diagram opposite. If someone spoke into the hole in the plastic cup, what would you expect to see on the screen? What would be the point of doing this experiment? (You might like to try it for yourself. You can see a video of the experiment at www.scispy.ie/Default.aspx.)
Hole cut in side Light, shiny mirror Screen

Plastic cup

Bea

r lig 2. A student thought he had understood how sound waves ht Cellophane stretched over mouth of cup pass through air. He said this: A trumpet works by pushing many layers of air out of the mouth of the trumpet. These layers travelled into our ears, so we could hear the sound. If you could see the particles of air coming from the trumpet, you would see them flying across the room as if they were thousands of tiny bullets. Write down reasons why you agree, or disagree, with the students explanation.

mo

f la s

3. What do you think is the explanation of why an explosion is always accompanied by a loud bang?

ANSWERS
1. Movement of spot of light in time with movement of the cellophane membrane as it vibrates. 2. The particles do not move far from their equilibrium positions; i.e. they do not behave like bullets of sound or particles shot out of the trumpet. 3. Sudden expansion of gas caused by the release of gases in the explosion cause huge pulse of movement of layers of air to be passed on.

[6]

SOUNDS & VIBRATIONS

BRIEF DESCRIPTION
This topic extends the students knowledge of sound to include the detail of standing waves on a stretched string.

TIME ALLOCATION
Two double periods, or perhaps one single and one double.

TEACHING ORDER
1. Revise basic terms, amplitude, frequency and wavelength. 2. Show standing wave on a stretched string and introduce terms nodes and antinodes. 3. Describe standing waves as the combination of two travelling waves. 4. Introduce the frequency of a stretched string experiment by asking students in their groups how they would find out if the frequency of vibration of a stretched string varied with its length and/or with its tension. Groups report back on their suggested methods. Use responses to focus on: (i) need to change one variable at a time, (ii) need to keep experiments simple. Discuss the standard practical set up. 5. Students carry out practical. 6. Students practice drawing graphs to show the relations (Video to be available as support.) 7. Ask students why listening to very loud music can be dangerous. Set groups the task of researching the connections between hearing loss and loud sounds (see Puzzles/Questions). and

RESOURCES NEEDED
String or rubber tubing that can used to set up a standing wave, and show reflection of a wave pulse. A slinky could also be used. Standard apparatus for investigating frequency of waves on a stretched string.

KEY POINTS (FROM STUDENT NOTES)

1. The loudness of a sound depends on the amplitude of the wave. 2. Very loud sounds can damage your hearing permanently, even not very loud sounds can cause damage over long periods. 3. The pitch of the sound depends on the frequency of the vibration. 4. In stringed instruments, the frequency, f, depends on the length of the string, L, its mass per unit length () and on the tension of the string, T. The formula is 5. In other instruments, e.g. trumpet, organ, whistle, flute, it is the length of a vibrating column of air inside the instrument that determines the pitch/frequency of a note.

[7]

6. Standing waves can be set up on strings and in columns of air. Nodes occur where there is no overall movement of the string (or air). Antinodes occur where the displacement of the string (or air) is a maximum. 7. Sound can also travel in other mediums, e.g. a metal bar, through water etc. Sound also travels as a longitudinal wave in these substances.

PRACTICALS
Investigating relation between frequency and length and tension of a stretched string.

USEFUL WEBSITES
The following site has an excellent set of animations to show fundamentals and harmonics: http://www.mta.ca/faculty/science/physics/suren/Harmonics/Harmonics.html This site has pure notes of various frequencies that can be played: http//www.fearofphysics.com/Sound/sounds.html

PUZZLES/QUESTIONS
1. Together with other members of your group, carry out research to discover the links between (i) the physics of sound and hearing loss caused, for example, when people are exposed to very loud sounds, (ii) what physicists have done to help people with hearing problems. 2. Here is a diagram of a human ear. Together with your partners in your group, find out how your ears work; i.e. how do your ears convert sound into the sort of things we recognise as music or speech. Write a brief report that you can present to the rest of the class. Your report should include (at least) the names for the parts labelled as A to E in the diagram, and what they do. 3. The intensity of a sound is measured in decibels (dB). (i) Find out the origin of the idea of measuring the intensity of sound in decibels. Hint: it has a connection with bels and telephones. (ii) What is odd about the decibel scale? For example, if a sound has an intensity of 20dB, how does it compare to a sound of intensity 10dB? (iii) Find our what happens to the intensity of a sound if its intensity changes by 3dB.

[8]

4. Here is some data obtained from a stretched string experiment. Frequency/Hz Tension/N 280 2 300 4 325 5 380 10 410 14 440 18 475 25 500 31 520 38

Plot a graph of (i) Frequency (vertical axis) against Tension, (ii) Frequency against the square root of Tension. Which plot gives a straight line graph? What does this result show? 5. Look at the chart that shows various choices for plotting frequency against length in the stretched string experiment. Which combinations would you expect to give a straight line graph? Frequency against: A. Length B. (Length)2 C. 1/Length D. 1/(2xLength)

6. Why is it important that you should not turn up the volume on an iPod or other MP3 player so loudly that other people can hear it even though you are wearing the earphones? 7. The last question was partly about noise pollution. What do you think makes a noise a form of pollution? Write down at least three types of noise pollution. What should be done to prevent noise pollution? 8. You may have heard of noise cancelling headphones. They show how a knowledge of interference of waves can be put to practical use. The idea is that the electronics inside the earphone samples the noise coming from outside. It then creates a sound that is exactly the opposite to that signal. The created sound is then added to the actual sound of the music (or speech) that the person is listening to. The outside sound and created sound should cancel one another out because of destructive interference, and just leave the music. In the diagram are waves that represent a pure note, and noise.

Pure note

Noise

Resultant

FIGURE 1 Interference of waves in noise cancelling headphones

Noise turned upside down (i.e. inverted)

Inverted noise added to resultant give the pure note

Here is your task: find out more information about noise cancelling headphones; e.g. which companies make them, how much do they cost, why would some cost more than others, what might you get extra with the more expensive models? Why is it very hard to cancel out noise completely?

[9]

ANSWERS
1. There is a vast number of possible outcomes to this task. Among the resources that have a base in physics are analogue and digital hearing aids. Also, some implants that boost hearing are all based on the application of digital electronics. 2. A = canal; B = drumskin; C = hammer; D = Anvil; E = stirrup. 3. (i) The bel and decibel was invented by the American company called the Bell Telephone Laboratory in the 1920s. The name was given in honour of Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone. That company has been responsible for an enormous range of important discoveries in physics, and their application in everyday life. (ii) The scale of the bel is known as a logarithmic scale. Such a scale measures changes in powers of ten but using whole numbers. For example, if the intensity of a sound goes up by 10, it increases by 1 bel (1B), if the intensity goes up by 100, the change is 2 bels (2B), and so on. However, increases in intensity of 10 or 100 is rather unusual, and it is much easier to use a smaller scale - the decibel, dB. Using these units means that 1B = 10dB, 2B = 20dB, and so on. (iii) The formula for calculating decibels is:

where I1 and I2 are the intensities of the two sounds. So,

To find out the value of

you have to take the antilog of 0.3.

You will find this function on a scientific calculator, or on a calculator on a PC or Mac. The result is That is, a change in 3dB means a sound has doubled (or halved) its intensity, or loudness. 4. The plot of frequency against the square root of the tension should give a straight line. Well, it is not a perfect straight line; we never get perfect results in any experiment! The straight line shows that frequency is proportional to the square root of the tension. i.e. 5. Only C and D would give straight lines. 6. If the sound output is so loud that other people can hear it, it is almost certainly means that the intensity of the sound in your ears is dangerously high. 7. Noise pollution can be thought of as sound where it is unwanted. Examples: noise from traffic, aircraft and loudly played music from houses. The solutions vary and are fairly obvious. 8. Several manufacturers of such earphones are to be found on the web. Perhaps the first to go to market was Bose (at the usual high price for their equipment). You pay for more sophisticated electronics and, e.g., comfort of the headphones. Noise can be random and it is very hard to both capture truly random signals sufficiently fast and to cancel them out by the time the pattern has been matched, the noise has changed again.

[10]

[11]

[12]