Chapter – 10
SOUND
Test Your Learning Outcome
(Page no. 145)
1. What do you know about sound?
Ans. Sound is a form of energy that travels in waves and is produced by vibrations. It
requires a medium (solid, liquid, or gas) to travel and can be heard when these
vibrations reach our ears and are interpreted by our brain.
2. What are vibrations in a body?
Ans. Vibrations are rapid,to-and-fro or back-and-forth movements of an object around
a central position.
3. How a vibrating body produces sound which reaches our ears?
Ans. A vibrating body creates disturbances in the surrounding medium (like air) by
causing the particles of the medium to vibrate as well. These vibrations travel as waves
through the medium and reaches our ears.
4. How do the following animals produce sound?
(a) Birds: Birds produce sound wth the help of syrinx, a special kind of voice
box,placed at the end of their bifurcating wind pipe.
(b) Bees: Bees produce the buzzing sound by the rapid vibration of their wings during
flight.
(c) Mosquitoes: Similar to bees, mosquitoes also produce high-pitched buzzing sound
by the rapid vibration of their wings during flight.
(d) Human beings: Humans produce sound through the vibration of vocal cords located
in the larynx (voice box). Air passing through the vocal cords causes them to vibrate
which produces sound.
5. Is the speed of sound the same through all the media?
Ans. No, the speed of sound is not the same through all the media. It depends upon
the compactness of molecules within the medium. Sound travels fastest in solid , then
in liquid and least in air.
6. How would you learn that sound travels through solids?
We could learn that sound travels through solids by performing a simple experiment:
1. Placing our ear against one end of a long solid object, such as a wooden table or a
metal pipe.
2. Have someone gently tap or scratch the other end of the object.
3. We will hear the sound clearly through the solid material, demonstrating that sound
waves can travel through solids.
(Page no. 148)
1. Describe in brief the sound producing system of vocal cords.
Ans. The sound-producing system of vocal cords involves the larynx, also known as
the voice box. Within the larynx are two vocal cords stretched across the length of the
voice box with a very little space between them. When air from the lungs passes
through the vocal cords, it causes them to vibrate, producing sound.
2. Which part of our ear receives sound waves from the air around?
Ans. The external ear receives sound waves from the air around and direct them to
the eardrum, also known as the tympanum.
3. What may happen if tympanum is absent from the ear?
Ans. If the tympanum (eardrum) is absent from the ear, sound waves would not be
effectively transmitted to the inner ear and sound cannot be heared.
4. How does sound reach our own ears when we speak or sing?
[Link] ear is connected to the back of the mouth cavity through a tube called
‘Eustachian tube’. Some of the vibrations produced by our vocal cords while speaking
reach the middle ear through this tube and we hear our own voice.
5. Is zero point, 'mean position' and 'central position' of a pendulum the same for a
pendulum?
Ans. Yes, the terms zero point, mean position, and central position are all same used
to describe the same position of a pendulum i.e. when it is in rest position.
6. Would it be correct to say that amplitude is 1/4th of an oscillation?
Ans. No, it is not correct because amplitude is 1/4th the total distance covered in one
oscillation, not 1/4th of an oscillation.
7. How much is 1 oscillation?
Ans. 1 oscillation refers to one complete to-and-fro movement of a vibrating body from
its mean position, to one extreme, to the other extreme, and back to the mean position.
8. Define Time period.
Ans. Time period is defined as the time taken to complete one full oscillation or
vibration. It is the reciprocal of frequency.
9. What is the S.I. unit of frequency?
[Link] S.I. unit of frequency is Hertz (Hz).
(Page no. 152)
1. How does quality of sound help us in identifying the source of sound?
Ans. Every sound produced has its own quality. Timbre (Laya and Taal) of each
particular voice is different due to minor differences in frequency , loudness and pitch.
2. How amplitude of sound waves is related to the loudness of sound?
Ans. The amplitude of a sound wave is directly related to the loudness of the
sound; larger the amplitude, louder the sound, and a smaller amplitude produce a
softer sound.
3. How are 'frequency', 'Pitch' and 'shrillness' of sound related to one another?
Ans. Frequency, pitch, and shrillness are all related as frequency determines the pitch
of a sound, and a higher frequency results in a higher pitch and a more shrill sound.
4. Which of the following sound is at a higher pitch: (a) Sound from a table, (b) sound
from a flute?
Ans. The sound from a flute (b) is at a higher pitch.
5. What are infrasonic and ultrasonic sounds?
Ans. Infrasonic sounds are sounds with frequencies below 20 Hz while ultrasonic
sounds are sounds with frequencies above 20,000 Hz or 20kHz.
6. How and why dogs sense trouble earlier than man?
Ans. Dogs can sense trouble earlier than humans because they can hear both
infrasonic as well as ultrasonic sounds and they have a more sensitive sense of smell
which help them to detect changes in the surrounding. Humans are not capable of
hearing such sounds.
7. What helps a bat in finding its way in dark?
Ans. Bats produce ultrasound which bounce back after hitting the surrounding
obstacle. They sense their way to-and –fro with the help of this echo.
8. Name one:
(a) a stringed instrument – Guitar
(b) a percussion instrument – Tabla
(c) a wind instrument - Flute
9. Quote an example of the music system in which increasing or decreasing column of
vibrating air is used to produce musical notes.
Ans. An example of a music system in which increasing or decreasing a column of
vibrating air is used to produce musical notes is a flute. In this instruments, the length
of the air column within the instrument itself is adjusted to change the pitch of the notes
produced.