CLASS IX

CHAPTER - SOUND

Definition of Sound
Sound is a wave created by vibrating objects and
propagated through a medium from one location to
another.

If a tree falls in a forest, and there is no

one there to hear it, does it make a sound?

Sound is a physical
disturbance in a medium.

Based on our definition, there IS

sound in the forest, whether a
human is there to hear it or not!.

A person to hear it is not required. The

medium (air) is required!

What type of waves are sound waves?

Review: Sound is a mechanical wave

The sound wave is transported from

one location to another by means of
particle-to-particle interaction.
If the sound wave is moving through
air, then as one air particle is displaced
from its equilibrium position, it exerts
a push or pull on its nearest neighbors,
causing them to be displaced from
their equilibrium position.
Since a sound wave is a disturbance
that is transported through a medium
via the mechanism of particle-toparticle interaction, a sound wave is
characterized as a mechanical wave.

Check your understanding:

A sound wave is different than a light wave in that a
sound wave is:
a. produced by a vibrating object and a light wave is not.
b. not capable of traveling through a vacuum.
c. not capable of diffracting and a light wave is.
d. capable of existing with a variety of frequencies and a
light wave has a single frequency.

When a tuning fork vibrates, it creates areas of high pressure

(compressions) and low pressure (rarefactions). As the tines of
the fork vibrate back and forth, they push on neighboring air
particles. The forward motion of a tine pushes air molecules
horizontally to the right and the backward retraction of the
tine creates a low-pressure area allowing the air particles to
move back to the left.

Graphing a Sound Wave

Sound as a pressure wave

The variation of pressure with distance is a useful way to represent a

sound wave graphically. But remember sound is actually a longitudinal
wave.

Check your understanding

A sound wave is a pressure wave; regions of high pressure
(compressions) and low pressure (rarefactions) are
established as the result of the vibrations of the sound
source. These compressions and rarefactions result
because sound
a. is more dense than air and thus has more inertia.
b. waves have a speed that is dependent only upon the
properties of the medium.
c. can be diffracted around obstacles.
d. vibrates longitudinally; the longitudinal movement of
air produces pressure fluctuations.

Frequency of Sound
The vibrating object that creates sound could be the
vocal cords of a person, the vibrating string of a guitar
or violin, the vibrating tines of a tuning fork, or the
vibrating diaphragm of a radio speaker.
As a sound wave moves through a medium, each
particle of the medium vibrates at the same frequency.
This makes sense since each particle vibrates due to the
motion of its nearest neighbor.
And of course the frequency at which each particle
vibrates is the same as the frequency of the original
source of the sound wave.

Frequency of Sound Example

A guitar string vibrating at 500 Hz will set the
air particles in the room vibrating at the same
frequency of 500 Hz, which carries a sound
signal to the ear of a listener, which is
detected as a 500 Hz sound wave.

The frequency of sound

We hear frequencies of sound as having different
pitch.
A low frequency sound has a low pitch, like the
rumble of a big truck.
A high-frequency sound has a high pitch, like a
whistle or siren.
In speech, women have higher fundamental
frequencies than men.

Frequency of Sound
The human ear is capable of detecting sound waves with
a wide range of frequencies, ranging between
approximately 20 Hz to 20 000 Hz.
Any sound with a frequency below the audible range of
hearing (i.e., less than 20 Hz) is known as an infrasound.
Any sound with a frequency above the audible range of
hearing (i.e., more than 20 000 Hz) is known as an
ultrasound.

What about animals?

Dogs can detect frequencies as low as
approximately 50 Hz and as high as 45000 Hz.
Cats can detect frequencies as low as
approximately 45 Hz and as high as 85 000 Hz.

Frequency and music

Certain sound waves when played (and heard) simultaneously

will produce a particularly pleasant sensation when heard.
Such sound waves form the basis of intervals in music.
For example, any two sounds whose frequencies make a 2:1
ratio are said to be separated by an octave and result in a
particularly pleasing sensation when heard. That is, two
sound waves sound good when played together if one
sound has twice the frequency of the other.

Loudness

Intensity
Intensity: the rate at which a waves energy
flows through an area
Sound intensity depends on
Amplitude
Distance from source
Measured in decibels (dB)

Loudness is sort of like intensity,

but
Loudness is Subjective! (This means it depends on the
person who is hearing it.)
Loudness is a personal, physical response to the
intensity of sound.
As intensity increases, so does loudness, but loudness
also depends on the listeners ears and brain.

Intensity is caused by the Amplitude of

the vibration
Example:
A vibrating guitar string forces surrounding air molecules to be
compressed and expanded.
The energy that is carried by the wave is imparted to the
medium by the vibrating string.
The amount of energy that is transferred to the medium is
dependent on the amplitude of vibrations of the guitar string.
If more energy is put into the plucking of the string, then the
string vibrates with a greater amplitude. The greater
amplitude of vibration of the guitar string thus imparts more
energy to the medium, causing air particles to be displaced a
greater distance from their rest position.

The Decibel Scale:

The decibel (abbreviated dB) is the unit used to
measure the intensity of a sound. The decibel
scale is a little odd because the human ear is
incredibly sensitive. Your ears can hear
everything from your fingertip brushing lightly
over your skin to a loud jet engine . In terms of
power, the sound of the jet engine is about
1,000,000,000,000 times more powerful than
the smallest audible sound. That's a big
difference!

The Decibel Scale

On the decibel scale, the smallest audible sound
(the threshold of hearing) is 0 dB.
A sound 10 times more powerful is 10 dB.

A sound 100 times more powerful than near total

silence is 20 dB
A sound 1,000 times more powerful than near total
silence is 30 dB.

Intensity (Loudness) is measured in decibels:

Source

Intensity
Level

# of Times
Greater Than TOH

Threshold of Hearing
Rustling Leaves
Whisper
Normal Conversation
Busy Street Traffic
Vacuum Cleaner
Large Orchestra
Walkman at Maximum Level
Front Rows of Rock Concert
Threshold of Pain
Military Jet Takeoff
Instant Perforation of Eardrum

0 dB
10 dB
20 dB
60 dB
70 dB
80 dB
98 dB
100 dB
110 dB
130 dB
140 dB
160 dB

100
101
102
106
107
108
109.8
1010
1011
1013
1014
1016

Check your understanding

A mosquito's buzz is often rated with a
decibel rating of 40 dB. Normal conversation
is often rated at 60 dB. How many times more
intense is normal conversation compared to a
mosquito's buzz?