Module 1: SOUND
OVERVIEW
You learn much about the world around you through sounds. You communicate with
other people by means of the sound of speech. Some diseases may be diagnosed through
ultrasound waves.
Some animals like monkeys and birds communicate with each other through sound.
Sometimes they able to detect the presence of their enemies even at far distances through
sound. The explosion of a firecracker from a very far place which can hardly be heard by a
human ear can cause a dog to run and look for a place to hide. Dogs and cats have h earing
abilities keener than that of humans and reaches far into the ultrasound region. A sleeping
cat can hear a mouse 45 m away, while a cat that is awake can recognize a mouse 60 m away.
Sound can interpret by the listener in different ways. To old folks, rock music is noise,
but to teenagers like you, it is something enjoyable.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
• Explain how sound waves are produced.
• Compare the speed of sound waves in gases, liquids, and solids.
• Explained how sound waves traveled.
LET US EXPLORE
NOISE POLLUTION ---A SOURCE OF HEARING DAMAGE?
If you are living in a city, you are constantly surrounded by noise. Noise can affect a
person psychologically. It can cause one to become irritable or anxious. Noise with an
intensity level above 120 dB is considered as a pollutant in our environment. Exposure to
loud sounds for a long period can cause temporary hearing loss. Continuous exposure to
amplified rock music and noised produced by machineries in factories and other industrial
establishments has been strongly implicated as a source of hearing damage. The human ear
has a built-in muscular control in the middle ear to limit damage to the ear by sustained loud
sounds, but the ear cannot react rapidly enough to protect itself against sudden bursts of
short but very loud sounds like gunshots or bomb explosion.
Course 1
Module 1: SOUND
Activity 1
Research on internet about the name of a particular drug, who have been found to be
one cause of permanent hearing loss to small children.
NATURE OF SOUND WAVES
Sound waves are compressional waves produced by longitudinal vibrations of
molecules in gases and other media. Vibration of molecules refers to the oscillation of
molecules as a disturbance travels through a medium. This vibratory motion produces
sensation that reaches our ears and is interpreted by our brain. Sound waves that travels in
air meet our eardrums. The vibrations of the air force our eardrums o vibrate.
Activity 1.1
Can sound waves also travel in other media like solids and liquids?
The capacity of matter to transmit sound depends upon its property called elasticity.
Elastic solids are good media for transmitting sound. Solids that do not possess much
elasticity like cloth, rubber, plastics and sponge are poor media for sound transmission.
Liquids in general are better conductors of sound than gases. If two hard objects are
struck together underwater, the sound heard by a person also under water is louder than
when heard with air as the medium through which the sound travels.
THE VELOCITY OF SOUND
An observer standing at a distance from a gun will see the flash of light before hearing
the gunshot. Similarly, thunder is heard a few seconds after the flash of lightning is seen.
These facts are proofing that sound travel more slowly than light. It has been found that the
velocity of sound varies in different media. Velocity depends upon the elasticity and density
of the medium. In general, the more elastic the medium, the higher the sound’s velocity. The
velocity of sound is greater in a solid medium than in a liquid or gas because the elasticity of
solids is much greater than that of liquids and gases.
Course 2
Module 1: SOUND
Material v (m/s)
Air (0ᵒC) 331
He (20ᵒC) 1 005
H (20ᵒC) 1 300
Water 1 440
Seawater 1 560
Iron and steel Approx. 5 000
Glass Approx. 4 500
Aluminum Approx. 5 100
Hardwood Approx. 4 000
The above table shows the velocity of sound in various media. Although these values
depend somewhat on temperature, it has been found that the change in velocity due to a
change in temperature is more significant in gases. In air the velocity of sound increases
approximately 0.6 m/s for every 1ᵒC increase in temperature.
The speed of sound in ideal gases is represented by the equation
v = 331 + 0.60 T eq.1
where
v = velocity of sound
T = temperature
INTENSITY AND LOUDNESS
When a bell rings and you ask someone how intense the sound produced is, the
person will most likely answer you according to how loud it sounds. Usually a sound that
seems to be very loud is described as very intense. This is a qualitative way of describing
sound on the part of the listener. The quantitative description of sound intensity is done
using sound level scale called the decibel scale.
Sound intensity is the amount of energy flowing each second through a unit area
perpendicular to the direction of propagation.
ULTRASOUND WAVES
The human ears are unable to detect sound waves of all frequencies. It can only
respond to frequencies in the range of 20 to 20 000 Hz. This is called the audible range. This
range varies from one individual to another. In general as the person grows older, the high-
frequency limits is reduced to 10 000 Hz or less.
Sound waves of frequencies above 20 000 Hz are called ultrasonic waves. These
waves also reach the human ear but are not detected. Dogs can hear sounds as high as 50
000 Hz, and bats as high as 100 000 Hz.
Course 3
Module 1: SOUND
Ultrasonic waves play a very important role in the field of medicine today. They are
used to probe human internal organs instead of X rays. One specific application of these
waves is in the examination of the uterus of a pregnant woman.
REFLECTION OF SOUND WAVES
A sound wave turns back or is reflected when it strikes against another body, such as
a building, cliff or wooded hillside. This reflected wave is called an echo. The reflecting
surface must be at least 17 meters away from the source for the echo to be distinct from the
original sound. A repeated or multiple echo may be created if the sound wave strikes parallel
reflecting surfaces at different distances.
Activity 1.2
Give other applications of sound waves reflection.
Reflected sound waves can also cause discomfort or inconvenience to listeners.
Echoes caused by the reflection of sound from smooth, curved walls or ceilings are
sometimes undesirable because they can increase the intensity if sound in certain parts of
the room. In some cases, the principal problem is due to reverberation----a repeated
reflection of sound waves. If it is too great, three or four of the speaker’s words may be still
be ringing in the listener’s ears while a fifth is being spoken. This cause confusion and
difficulty in understanding. This acoustical defect may be corrected in rooms and auditoriums
by converting flat surfaces into rough and irregular ones. This may be accomplished by the
placement of beams or windows and sound-absorbing materials on the wall like heavy
draperies and rugs on the floor.
REFRACTION OF SOUND WAVES
Sound travels with constant speed in all directions in a stationary medium of constant
density. When a sound wave passes from one medium to another of different density, the
sound will not spread out uniformly. The speed will be greater in some parts which will result
to a change in the direction of the sound. The path of the sound wave is bent away from its
normal straight line. This bending is called refraction.
“the velocity of sound in air increases as the temperature rises”.
DOPPLER EFFECT:
[Link]
Course 4
Module 1: SOUND
LET US WRAP UP
Sound is a vibratory motion transmitted through air or another medium.
Sound cannot travel through a vacuum.
The velocity of the sound in air increases by 0.6 m/s for every 1ᵒC increase in
temperature.
The loudness of sound is measured in terms of intensity. Intensity is the energy that
travels in a given area perpendicular to the direction of the energy flow per unit time.
The pitch of sound is measured in terms of frequency; the lower the pitch, the lower
the frequency.
Sound waves may be composed of group of sinusoidal waves of different frequencies.
They may have the same fundamental frequency but still differ in quality due to the presence
of different overtones.
The ear is a device for detecting sounds whose frequencies range from 20 to 20 000
Hz. Sound waves above 20 000 Hz are called ultrasonic waves and those below 20 Hz are
called infrasonic waves.
The Doppler effect refers to the change in the frequency of the sound due to the
motion of either the source or the observer. If the source and the observer are approaching
each other, the frequency is higher; if they are moving apart, the frequency is lower. The
observer at rest hears a higher frequency sound if the source is moving toward him.
LET US ASSESS
1. How can we increase the intensity of sound?
2. How can we prevent reverberation in any rooms?
3. Why is liquid a better sound transmitter than gas and solid better than liquid?
4. Why sound is not transmitted through a vacuum?
5. Differentiate between music and a noise.
Course 5
Module 1: SOUND
ANSWER KEY
Activity 1
Yes
Activity 1.2
1. Determining ocean depths
2. Altitude of an airplane
REFERENCES
1. Navaza, Delia C. 4th edition Physics copyright 2012
2. Sansiteban, Celeste Joan C. Breaking through Physics c.2011
3. 4th Edition Physics by Wilson Buffa
Course 6