🔊 SOUND — COMPLETE NOTES
1. What is Sound?
Sound is a form of energy that produces the sensation of hearing in our ears.
Sound is produced by vibrating objects.
Example: When a tuning fork vibrates, it produces sound.
A vibrating guitar string produces sound.
Key Point
> Vibration → Sound
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2. Production of Sound
Sound is produced when an object vibrates.
Examples:
Vocal cords vibrate → sound is produced.
Guitar strings vibrate → sound is produced.
Drum membrane vibrates → sound is produced.
Bell vibrates → sound is produced.
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3. Propagation of Sound
The movement of sound from one place to another is called propagation of sound.
Sound needs a medium to travel.
Mediums
1. Solids – wood, iron, etc.
2. Liquids – water, oil, etc.
3. Gases – air, etc.
⚠️ Sound cannot travel through vacuum because there are no particles to transmit the
vibrations.
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4. How Does Sound Travel?
When a vibrating object moves:
Vibrating source → particles of medium vibrate → neighbouring particles vibrate → sound
reaches our ears
Sound generally travels through a medium as a longitudinal wave, in which particles vibrate
back and forth in the direction of wave travel.
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5. Compression and Rarefaction
In a longitudinal sound wave, there are alternating regions of:
Compression
A region where particles are closer together and pressure is higher.
Rarefaction
A region where particles are farther apart and pressure is lower.
Sound wave:
Compression → Rarefaction → Compression → Rarefaction
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6. Sound in Different Mediums
Sound travels at different speeds in different materials.
Generally:
Solids > Liquids > Gases
For example, sound travels much faster through steel than through air.
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7. Characteristics of Sound
The main characteristics of sound are:
🔹 Loudness
Loudness tells us whether a sound is loud or soft.
It mainly depends on the amplitude of vibration.
Greater amplitude → louder sound
Smaller amplitude → softer sound
Unit: decibel (dB)
🔹 Pitch
Pitch tells us whether a sound is shrill/high or deep/low.
It depends on frequency.
Higher frequency → higher pitch
Lower frequency → lower pitch
🔹 Quality (Timbre)
Quality helps us distinguish between sounds having the same pitch and loudness but
produced by different sources.
Example: We can distinguish the sound of a flute from that of a guitar.
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8. Frequency
The number of vibrations made by an object in one second is called its frequency.
Unit: Hertz (Hz)
Formula:
Frequency = Number of vibrations ÷ Time
or
f = N/t
where:
f = frequency
N = number of vibrations
t = time
Example
If an object makes 200 vibrations in 2 seconds:
f = 200 ÷ 2 = 100 Hz
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9. Time Period
The time taken to complete one vibration is called the time period.
Unit: second (s)
Formula:
T = 1/f
where:
T = time period
f = frequency
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10. Amplitude
The maximum displacement of a vibrating particle from its mean position is called amplitude.
Greater amplitude generally means a louder sound.
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11. Audible and Inaudible Sound
Humans can normally hear sounds having frequencies approximately between:
20 Hz and 20,000 Hz (20 kHz)
Infrasonic Sound
Sound with frequency below 20 Hz.
Examples:
Some elephant sounds
Some earthquakes and other natural phenomena
Ultrasonic Sound
Sound with frequency above 20,000 Hz.
Examples:
Bats use ultrasonic sounds for navigation.
Ultrasonic waves are used in some medical and industrial applications.
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12. Human Voice
Sound is produced in humans by the vibration of the vocal cords in the voice box (larynx).
Tighter/shorter vocal cords generally produce higher-frequency sounds.
Looser/longer vocal cords generally produce lower-frequency sounds.
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13. Musical and Noise Sounds
Musical Sound
A sound that has a regular and pleasant pattern of vibrations is generally called a musical
sound.
Examples:
Flute
Piano
Guitar
Noise
An unwanted or unpleasant sound is called noise.
Examples:
Vehicle horns
Loud machinery
Unnecessary loudspeakers
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14. Noise Pollution
The presence of excessive or unwanted sound in the environment is called noise pollution.
Sources
Vehicle horns
Construction work
Loudspeakers
Machines
Firecrackers
Effects
Lack of sleep
Difficulty concentrating
Stress and irritation
Hearing problems with excessive exposure
Prevention
Avoid unnecessary honking.
Keep loudspeakers at reasonable levels.
Maintain machines properly.
Plant and protect trees.
Use sound barriers where appropriate.
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15. Reflection of Sound
When sound strikes a hard surface and bounces back, it is called reflection of sound.
Hard surfaces such as walls can reflect sound effectively.
Echo
An echo is a distinct repetition of sound heard after reflection from a distant surface.
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16. Uses of Ultrasound
Ultrasound has many important applications:
Medical imaging (ultrasonography)
Detecting cracks in materials
Cleaning some delicate objects
SONAR and underwater detection
Breaking some kidney stones into smaller pieces in medical treatment
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17. SONAR
SONAR stands for:
Sound Navigation and Ranging
It uses sound waves, especially ultrasonic waves, to detect objects and measure distances
underwater.
Basic principle:
Sound sent → reflected from object → echo received → distance calculated
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18. Important Formulae
Quantity Formula Unit
Frequency f = N/t Hz
Time period T = 1/f s
Frequency f = 1/T Hz
Wave speed v = fλ m/s
Where λ (lambda) represents wavelength.
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⭐ Quick Revision
Sound is produced by vibrations.
Sound requires a medium to travel.
Sound cannot travel through a vacuum.
Sound travels as a longitudinal wave in air.
Compressed regions are called compressions.
Spread-out regions are called rarefactions.
Frequency is measured in hertz (Hz).
Loudness mainly depends on amplitude.
Pitch depends on frequency.
Human audible range is approximately 20 Hz–20 kHz.
Below 20 Hz → infrasonic.
Above 20 kHz → ultrasonic.
Unwanted sound → noise.
Excessive unwanted sound → noise pollution.
SONAR uses reflected sound waves to detect underwater objects.