7.

Sound

Sound is produced when a body vibrates and it requires a material medium for its propagation.
Our ears are sensitive only to a limited range of frequencies, from 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz.
Sound of frequency above 20,000 Hz is called ultrasonic, while sound of frequency below 20 Hz
is called infrasonic.
The wave velocity V, frequency f and wavelength are related as V = f. The time period and
1
frequency of a wave are related as f = .
Sound is a mechanical wave & needs a material medium to propagate. It cannot travel through
vacuum.
Mechanical or elastic waves are of two kindslongitudinal waves and transverse waves.

Longitudinal waves Transverse waves

If the vibrations of medium particles are along the
direction of propagation of the wave, the wave is
called a longitudinal wave,
This has compressions and rarefactions in the
medium.
The longitudinal waves travel in solid, liquid and gas.
If the medium particles vibrate normal to the
direction of propagation of the wave, the wave
is called a transverse wave.
This forms crests and troughs in the medium,
The transverse waves travel in solids and on
the surface of liquid.

The speed of a longitudinal wave in a medium depends on elasticity and density of the
E
medium. ie V = d
The speed of sound increases with increase in temperature (since density decreases) and with
the presence of humidity in the medium but the speed of sound is not affected by change in
pressure.
When a wave travelling from medium passes to another medium speed, wavelength and
intensity of the wave change but frequency of wave does not change. The direction also
changes ( except at i=0)

Distinction between light and sound waves

Light waves Sound waves
1. These are electromagnetic waves 1.These are mechanical waves
2. The speed is very high 2.The speed is low
3. The wavelength of light waves is very small 3.The wavelength of sound waves is of the
of order of 106 m range 102 m and 10 m
4. These waves are transverse 4.In air, these waves are longitudinal

Reflection of sound waves:-

The return back of sound wave on striking a surface such as wall, metal sheet, plywood etc is
called the reflection of sound waves.
The requirement of reflection of sound waves is that the size of the reflecting surface must be
bigger than the wavelength of the sound waves.
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Echo:-
The repetition of sound ( is heard ) caused by the reflection of sound waves from an obstacle
after the original sound has ceased is known as echo.
Condition for forming an echo:-
The sensation of sound persists in our brain for about 0.1 s. To hear a distinct echo, the time
interval between the original sound and the reflected one must be at least after 0.1 s.
OR [ An echo is heard only if the distance between the person producing sound and the rigid
obstacles ( or reflector ) is long enough to allow the sound to reach the person at least 0.1 s
after the original sound is reached ].

If d is the distance between the observer and the obstacle and V is the speed of sound, then
the total distance travelled by the sound to reach the obstacle and then to come back is 2d and
the time taken is:

= = = or v =

Due to repeated reflections of at the reflecting surface, sound gets prolonged. This effect is
known as reverberation.
Conditions for hearing the echo distinctly

The minimum distance in air between the source of sound and the reflector must be 17 m. ( it
is different in different media )
The size of the reflector must be large enough as compared to the wavelength of sound wave.
The intensity of sound should be sufficient so that the reflected sound reaching the ear is
audible.
Use of echoes by bats, dolphins and fisherman:-
The sounds produced by flying bats get reflected from an obstacle in front of it. By hearing
the echoes, bats are able to detect obstacles in the dark. Hence, they can fly safely without
colliding with the obstacles. This process of detecting obstacles is called sound ranging.

Dolphins detect their enemy and obstacles by emitting ultrasonic waves and hearing their
echo. They use ultrasonic waves for hunting their prey.

A fisherman or trawler man sends a pulse of ultrasonic waves from a source into the sea and
receives the waves reflected from the shoal of fish via a detector.

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Use of echoes by sonar:-
SONAR stands for sound navigation and ranging.
It consists of a transmitter and detector. The transmitter transmits the ultrasonic sound. These
waves travel through water and after striking an underwater object (e.g. submarine, iceberg,
sunken ship), reflect and are detected by a detector.

The depth of sea can also be found Radar (radio detection and ranging) the
by sonar and the method used in this echo method is used to detect the presence
process is echo depth sounding. of an obstacles and also its range.

Medical use of echoes.

Echocardiography is used to obtain the image of human heart.
Ultrasonography is used to obtain the images of patients organs such as the liver, kidneys
etc. It helps to detect stones in the kidneys.

PART B
Free (or Natural) Vibrations
Free vibrations are the periodic vibrations of a body of constant amplitude in the absence of any
external force on it
The time period of a freely vibrating body is called free period (or natural period), and the
frequency of the freely vibrating body is called its natural frequency.
The amplitude of an isolated, freely vibrating body remains constant.
The free vibrations of a body actually occur only in vacuum because the presence of a
medium offers some resistance due to which the amplitude of vibration does not remain
constant and decreases continuously.

Examples of Free or Natural Vibrations

When the bob of a simple pendulum is displaced slightly from its mean (or resting) position,
it starts vibrating with its natural frequency which is determined by the length of the
pendulum and the acceleration due to gravity at that place.
A load suspended from a spring, when stretched (or compressed) then released, starts
m
vibrating with its natural frequency. Its period is determined by T = 2 K

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 When a tuning fork is struck against a hard rubber pad, it vibrates with its natural frequency.
The waves form longitudinal waves in air.
When we strike the keys of a piano, various strings are set in vibration at their natural
frequencies.
When an air column in flute (or organ pipe) is made to vibrate, it vibrates with its natural
frequency which is inversely proportional to the length of air column.
In an organ pipe open at both ends, different modes of vibrations are of frequencies in ratio
1 : 2 : 3 : , while in an organ pipe with one end closed, the frequencies of different
modes are in the ratio 1 : 3 : 5 :
When the strings of instruments such as the sitar, guitar and violin are plucked, transverse
vibrations of a definite natural frequency are produced in the string.
The frequency of a string vibrations depends on :
(i) the length l 1
f

(ii) The Radius r
1
f

(iii) The tension in the string T

The frequency of note produced by a string stretched between its ends is given by :
1
= Where d is the density & 2 = m is the mass of unit length of the string
2 2

The frequency of the note can be increased by:

(i) By decreasing the length of the string
(ii) By decreasing the radius of the string
(iii) By increasing the tension in the string.
(i) If a string is plucked in the middle, the string vibrates in one loop
(ii) If the string is plucked at one-fourth length, it vibrates in two lops
(iii) If the string is plucked at one-sixth length, it vibrates in three loops.
The different modes of vibration in a stretched string are of frequencies in the ratio 1 : 2 : 3
..

Frequency = f Frequency = 2f Frequency = 3f

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 Principal note First subsidiary Second subsidiary
Nature of Free ( or natural ) Vibrations
The amplitude and frequency of a freely vibrating body should remain constant.
In actual practice, this does not happen because the surrounding medium offers resistance
(or friction) to the motion. Thus, the vibrating body continuously loses energy due to which
the amplitude of motion gradually decreases.

Damped Vibrations:-

Damped vibrations are the periodic

vibrations of a body of decreasing
amplitude in the presence of resistive
force.

The amplitude of motion decreases due to the frictional (or resistive) force which the
surrounding medium exerts on the body vibrating in it. The frictional force at any instant is
proportional to the velocity of the vibrating body and it has the tendency to resist the motion.
The rate at which the energy is lost to the surroundings (or the rate of decrease of amplitude)
depends on the nature (i.e. viscosity, density etc.) of the surrounding medium and also on the
shape and size of the vibrating body.
Examples of Damped Vibrations
1. When a slim branch of a tree is pulled and then released, it produces damped vibrations.
2. A tuning fork vibrating in air produces damped vibrations as its prongs stop vibrating after some
time.

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3. A simple pendulum oscillating in air produces damped vibrations.

Differences between the free and damped vibrations

Free vibrations Damped vibrations

1. The amplitude of free vibrations remains
constant and the vibrations continue forever.
2. There is no loss of energy in free vibrations.
3. No external force acts on the body. The
vibrations are only under the restoring force.
4. The frequency of vibrations remains constant
equal to the natural frequency
1. The amplitude of damped vibrations gradually
decreases with time and ultimately the vibrations
cease.
2. In each vibration, there is some loss of energy in
the form of heat.
3. The frictional or damped forces act on the body
and oppose the motion
4. The frequency of vibrations is less than the
natural frequency.

Forced Vibrations
The vibrations of a body which take place under the influence of external force acting on it are called
the forced vibrations.
When an external periodic force is applied on a vibrating body, the body no longer vibrates with
its own natural frequency, but it gradually acquires the frequency of the applied periodic force.
The amplitude of forced vibrations remains constant.
The external applied force is called the driving force.
When the frequency of the external force is different from the natural frequency of the body, the
body oscillates with small amplitude. However, when the frequency of the external force is
exactly equal to the natural frequency of the vibrating body, the body oscillates with large
amplitude.
Examples of Forced Vibrations
1. The vibrations produced in the diaphragm of a microphone sound box with frequencies
corresponding to the speech of the speaker are forced vibrations.
2. When a guitar is played, the artist forces the strings of the guitar to produce forced vibrations.
3. All stringed instruments are provided with a hollow sound box which contains air. In these
instruments, when the strings are made to vibrate by plucking, vibrations are produced in the air
present in the sound box which is forced vibrations. Because the surface area of the air in the
sound box is large, the forced vibrations of air cause a loud sound.
Differences between the free and forced vibrations
Free vibrations Forced vibrations
1. The vibrations of a body in the absence 1. The vibrations of a body in presence of an
of any resistive force are called the free external periodic force are called the forced
vibrations vibrations.
2. The frequency of vibration depends on 2. The frequency of vibration is equal to the
the shape and size of the body. frequency of the applied force
3. The frequency of vibration remains 3. The frequency of vibration changes with change
constant. in frequency of the applied force.
4. The amplitude of vibration is constant 4. The amplitude of vibration is very small if the

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 frequency of applied force differs from the
natural frequency of the body.
Resonance : - When the frequency of an externally applied periodic force on a body is equal to its
natural frequency, the body readily begins to vibrate with increased amplitude. This phenomenon is
known as resonance.
At resonance, a loud sound is heard because the body vibrating with a very large amplitude
sends forth a large amount of energy in the medium.
The vibrations of large amplitude are called resonant vibrations.

Experiment 1: Resonance with Tuning Forks

-
When the prong of one of the tuning
forks is struck on a rubber pad, it
starts vibrating. On putting the tuning
fork A on its sound box, we find that
the other tuning fork B also starts
vibrating and a loud sound is heard.
Reason: - Due to resonance the
vibrations produced in the second
tuning fork B.
The vibrations produced in the second
tuning fork are forced vibrations, and
the sound is loud due to resonance.

Resonance with tuning forks

Experiment 2: Forced and resonant vibrations of pendulums
Forced and resonant vibrations of
pendulums
When the pendulum A is set into vibration by
displacing it to one side normal to its length,
pendulum B also starts vibrating initially with small
amplitude and in some time it acquires the same
amplitude as A. When the amplitude of pendulum B
becomes maximum, the amplitude of pendulum A
becomes minimum because the total energy is
constant. After some time, the amplitude of
pendulum B decreases and that of pendulum A
increases.
When the pendulum A is set into vibration
pendulum, the pendulums C and D vibrates with
smaller amplitude. But the pendulum B vibrates
with the same amplitude as that of A
Reason: - Due to resonance.

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Experiment 3: Resonance in air column
The vibrating source (i.e. tuning fork) is kept at the mouth
of tube A so that it works as a closed end air pipe with the
water surface in it forming the closed end (i.e. the
reflecting surface). Thus, an air column is formed in the
tube A between the water surface and its mouth. When this
air column is made to vibrate, it will vibrate with its natural
frequency which depends on the length of the air column.
Reason:- At certain level of water in tube A , a loud sound
is heard. This is the frequency of the air column becomes
equal to the frequency of the tuning fork ie the vibrations of
air column are in resonance with those of tuning fork.

Differences between forced and resonant vibrations.

Forced vibrations Resonant vibrations

1. The vibrations of a body under an external
periodic force of frequency different than the
natural frequency of the body.
2. The amplitude of vibration is usually small.
3. The vibrations of the body are not in phase with
the external periodic force.
4. These vibrations last for a very small time after
the periodic force has ceased to act.
1. The vibrations of a body under an external
periodic force of frequency exactly equal to the
natural frequency of the body.
2. The amplitude of vibration is very large.
3. The vibrations of the body are in phase with the
external periodic force.
4. These vibrations last for a long time after the
periodic force has ceased to act.

Examples of Resonance:-
Sympathetic vibrations of pendulums:
When the pendulum A is set into
vibration pendulum, the pendulums
C and D vibrates with smaller
amplitude. But the pendulum B
vibrates with the same amplitude as
that of A
Reason: - Due to resonance.

Resonance in machine parts:-

When a vehicle is driven, the piston of the engine moves in and out at a frequency depending on the
speed of the vehicle. Some parts of the vehicle may have natural frequency of vibration equal to the
frequency of the to-and-fro movement of the piston. The part of the vehicle starts vibrating
vigorously due to resonance, and a rattling sound is heard.

Resonance in a bridge:-

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 When a troop crosses a suspension bridge,
the soldiers are asked to break steps.
Reason:-
If the natural frequency of the bridge
happens to be equal to the frequency of the
steps the bridge vibrates with large
amplitude due to resonance and suspension
bridge could crumble.

Resonance in a stretched string and sound box of musical instruments and sonometer
All stringed musical instruments such as guitar, sonometer etc are provided with a sound box (ie a
hollow chamber)
Reason:- The box is so constructed that the column of air inside it, has natural frequency which is
same as that of the strings stretched on it so when the strings are made to vibrate , the air column
inside the box is set into forced vibration. Since the sound box has a large area, it sets a large volume
of air into vibration, the frequency of which is same as that of the string. So due to resonance, a loud
sound is heard.
Resonance in air column and tuning fork.
As described Experiment 3: Resonance in air column
Resonance in radio and TV receivers:-
The tuning of radio and TV receivers is based on resonance. When we want to tune a a radio or TV
receiver, we adjust the values of frequency equal to that of the radio waves which we want to receive.
When the frequencies match , due to resonance , the energy signal of that particular frequency is
received from the incoming waves.
PART C
Characteristics of Sound
Two sounds are distinguished by the following three characteristics:
1. Loudness 2. Pitch or shrillness 3. Quality or timbre

1. Loudness:-

Loudness is the property by

which a loud sound can be
distinguished from a faint one,
both having the same pitch and
quality.
The loudness or softness of a
sound is determined by the
amplitude (or intensity) of the
wave. Louder sound corresponds
to the wave form of larger
amplitude.

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 The two sound waves have the same frequency and same wave form ( or sine wave ), but they
differ in amplitude.
Loudness is not the same as intensity. Intensity is a measurable quantity, while loudness is a
sensation.
The loudness and intensity is related as L = K log I
The intensity at any point of the medium is measured as the amount of sound energy passing per
second normally through the unit area at that point. Its unit is microwatt per square metre ie
Wm2
The intensity of normal sound is nearly 10 Wm2 while minimum intensity of sound audible to
ears is 106 Wm2
Greater the energy carried by a sound wave, greater is the intensity of sound
The intensity of a sound wave in air is proportional to
(i) The square of the amplitude of vibration,
(ii) The square of the frequency of vibration and
(iii) The density of air.
Subjective nature of loudness and objective nature of intensity:- The loudness depends on the
energy conveyed by the sound wave near the eardrum of the listener. Loudness being a sensation also
depends on the sensitivity of the ears of the listener. Thus the loudness of sound of a given intensity
may differ from listener to listener. Further two sounds of same intensity but of different frequencies
may differ in loudness even to the same listener because the sensitivity of the ears is different for
different frequencies. For normal ears, the sensitivity is maximum at frequency 1 kHz. Thus loudness
is a subjective quality, while intensity being a measurable quantity, is an objective quantity for a
sound wave.

Factors affecting the loudness of sound The loudness of sound heard at a place:
1. Is proportional to the square of the amplitude.
2. Varies inversely as the square of the distance. Closer is the source, the louder is the sound.
3. Depends on the surface area of the vibrating body. Larger the surface area of the vibrating body,
louder is the sound heard.
4. Depends on the density of the medium. More the density of the medium more is the loudness.
5. Depends on the presence of resonant bodies. The presence of resonant bodies near the vibrating
body increases the loudness of sound.

When a tuning fork is sounded in air, the sound given by it is feeble, but when it is placed on a
sound box (or on table top), the sound becomes much louder.

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Reason:- The box provides large volume of air to vibrate and thereby increases the sound energy
reaching our ears.
In case of stringed instruments, a sound chamber is provided.
Reason:-To increase the volume of air in which vibrations are produced and hence loudness of sound
increases.

Units of loudness and sound level:-

The unit of loudness is phon.
The loudness of a sound in phon is the loudness in decibel (dB) of an equally loud pure sound
of frequency 1 kHz.
The sound level is usually expressed in decibel (dB). Thus the phon scale and decibel scale
both agree at frequency 1 KHz.
The loudness L is related to the intensity I as L = K log10 I. If at a frequency I1 and Io are the
intensities of two sounds of which loudness are L1 and Lo respectively, then
The difference in loudness is
L = L1 L0
I
L = K log10 I1 - K log10 I2 = K ( log10 I1 - log10 I2 ) = K log10 ( I1 )
2
12 2
If I0 is taken as the reference intensity ( = 10 Wm ) ie the minimum intensity of audible sound
intensity at frequency 1 kHz, then L is called as sound level.
Taking K = 1, the sound level is written as
I I 1 I
L = K log10 ( I1 ) bel = {K log10 ( I1 ) } 10 10 bel = {10 K log10 ( I1 ) } decibel (dB)
2 2 2
For I = Io , sound level L = 0 dB ie sound level of intensity 1012 Wm2 at 1 kHz has
loudness zero dB.
For an increase in sound level will be 10 log10 100 = 20 dB.
For an increase intensity by 100,00 times the initial value , the increase in sound level will be
10 log10 100,00 = 40 dB.
It means that for 100 times increase in intensity, the loudness gets doubled.
1
1 dB = 10th of bel
I I 1 I
Now, if L = 1 dB, then we have 10 log10 ( I1 ) = 1 or log10 ( I1 ) = or ( I1 ) = antilog (0.1) = 0.26
2 2 10 2

Thus 1 dB as the change in level of loudness when the intensity of sound is changed by 26%.

Noise Pollution
The disturbance produced in the environment due to undesirable loud and harsh sound of level
above 120 dB from various sources such as loudspeakers, sirens, moving vehicles etc. is called
noise pollution.
A constant hearing of sound of level above 120 dB can cause headache and permanent damage to
the ear/hearing in a listener.
The sound of level 10 dB to 30 dB has a soothing sensation, while the level 0 dB of loudness of
sound represents the limit of hearing.

2. Pitch or Shrillness:-

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 Pitch is that characteristic of
sound by which an acute (or
shrill) note can be distinguished
from a grave or flat note.
Pitch refers only to musical
sounds, and each musical note
has a definite pitch. If the pitch
is higher, then the sound is said
to be shrill, and if the pitch is
lower, then the sound is flat.
The pitch of a note depends on
the wavelength or frequency of
wave.

Examples of Change in Pitch

1. Instruments such as a piano, violin and guitar have several strings of different thickness under
different tensions which vibrate to produce notes.
2. In a flute, a lower note is obtained by closing some more holes so that the length of the
vibrating air column increases.
3. As the water level in a pitcher kept under a water tap rises, the height of the air column
decreases, so the frequency of sound produced increases, i.e. the sound becomes shriller. Thus, by
hearing the sound from a distance, one can get the idea of water level in the pitcher.
4. The voice of women is usually of higher pitch than that of men.

Subjective nature of loudness and objective nature of intensity:- Pitch refers to the sensation as
perceived by the listener. It may be different for a sound of a particular frequency to the different
listeners ( ie pitch is subjective ). On the other hand , frequency is a measurable quality. It depends on
the source producing the sound. It has a definite value for a given sound and it has nothing to do with
the listener. So frequency is objective quality.
3. Quality or Timbre:-

Quality or timbre of a sound is a

characteristic which distinguishes two
sounds of the same loudness and same
pitch but emitted by two different
instruments.
The quality of a musical sound
depends on the wave form.

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 The sound from an instrument does not contain a note of single frequency, but it contains a
combination of vibrations of different frequencies and different amplitudes. The vibration of
lowest frequency and maximum amplitude is called the principal (or fundamental) vibration
and vibrations of frequency integer multiples of it are called subsidiary (or secondary)
vibrations.
The resultant vibration obtained by the superposition of all these vibrations gives the wave form
of sound which we hear.
A note played on a piano has a large number of subsidiary notes, while the same note when
played on a flute contains only a few subsidiary notes. Thus, we can easily distinguish between
the sounds of a piano and a flute by their different wave forms, though they may be of exactly the
same loudness and same pitch.

Waveform of a pure note like tuning fork Waveform of a musical note like piano

The quality of a musical sound depends on the number of the subsidiary notes and their relative
amplitudes present along with the principal note.
We generally recognize a person by hearing his voice on telephone without seeing him. It is because
the vibrations produced by the vocal chord of each person have a characteristic wave form which is
different for different persons. Even one can distinguish and recognize the sounds of two different
musical sounds even if they are of same pitch and same loudness.

Factors affecting the different characteristics of sound.

Characteristics Loudness Pitch Timbre or quality
factor Amplitude Frequency Wave form

Music: It is a pleasant, continuous and uniform sound produced by regular and periodic vibrations.
For example, the sounds produced by a violin, piano, flute, tuning fork etc. are musical sounds.
Musical sound level is usually between 10 dB and 30 dB.
Noise: Sounds other than musical sounds are called noise. It is a sound produced by an irregular
succession of disturbances, and it is a discontinuous sound. For example, the sound produced when a
stone is thrown on a tin sheet is noise. Usually all sounds above 120 dB are termed noise.

Differences between music and noise:-

Music
1.It is pleasant, smooth and acceptable to the ears.
2.It is produced by the vibrations which are
periodic.
3.All the component waves are similar without any
sudden change in their wavelength and
amplitude.
4.The sound level is low (between 10 dB to 30 dB)
5.The sound level is regular.
6.Eg: The sound produced by the musical
Noise
1.It is harsh, discontinuous and non-acceptable
to the ear.
2.It is produced by an irregular succession of
disturbances.
3.The component waves change their character
suddenly and they are of short duration.
4.The sound level is high ( above 120 dB )
5.The sound level is irregular.
6.Eg: The sound produced by an aero plane, road

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 instruments roller, industrial machines etc.

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