Lecture 2

Waves and Sound (part 1)

1
 Outline
• Types of Waves: Transverse and Longitudinal
• Periodic Waves
• The Speed of Wave in a String
• Producing a Sound Wave
• Using a Tuning Fork to Produce a Sound Wave
• Speed of Sound
• Sound Intensity
• Decibel
2
 Wave Motion
• A wave is the motion of a disturbance
• Mechanical waves require
– Some source of disturbance
– A medium that can be disturbed
– Some physical connection or mechanism though
which adjacent portions of the medium influence
each other
• All waves carry energy and momentum

3
 Types of Waves – Traveling Waves

• Flip one end of a long rope

that is under tension and
fixed at the other end
• The pulse travels to the right
with a definite speed
• A disturbance of this type is
called a traveling wave

4
 Types of Waves – Transverse

• In a transverse wave, each element that is disturbed

moves in a direction perpendicular to the wave
motion

5
 Types of Waves – Longitudinal

• In a longitudinal wave, the elements of the medium

undergo displacements parallel to the motion of the
wave
• A longitudinal wave is also called a compression wave

6
 Other Types of Waves
• Waves may be a combination of transverse
and longitudinal
• Water waves are partially transverse and
partially longitudinal

7
 Periodic Waves
Periodic waves consist of cycles or patterns that are
produced over and over again by the source.

In the figures, every segment of the slinky vibrates in

simple harmonic motion, provided the end of the
slinky is moved in simple harmonic motion.

8
 In the drawing, one cycle is shaded in color.

The amplitude A is the maximum excursion of a particle of

the medium from the particles undisturbed position.

The wavelength  is the horizontal length of one cycle of the

wave.

The period T is the time required for one complete cycle.

The frequency f is related to the period and has units of Hz,

or s-1. 1
f  9
T
 Speed of a Wave
• Velocity v = Frequency ƒ  Wavelength λ
– Is derived from the basic speed equation of distance/time
• This is a general equation that can be applied to many
types of waves

10
Example 1:

AM and FM radio waves are transverse waves

consisting of electric and magnetic field disturbances
traveling at a speed of 3.00  108 m/s. A station
broadcasts AM radio waves whose frequency is 1230 
103 Hz and an FM radio wave whose frequency is 91.9 
106 Hz. Find the distance between adjacent crests in
each wave.

Answer: AM – 244 m, FM – 3.26 m

11
Example 2:

A wave traveling in the positive x-direction is pictured

in Figure. Find the amplitude, wavelength, speed, and
period of the wave if it has a frequency of 8.00 Hz. In
figure below, x = 40.0 cm and y = 15.0 cm.

Answer: 0.150 m, 0.400 m , 3.20 m s–1, 0.125 s12

 Speed of a Wave on a String
• The speed on a wave stretched under some
tension, F

– m is called the linear density, m and L are denoted

as mass and length of the wire.
• The speed depends only upon the properties
of the medium through which the disturbance
travels
13
 Example 3:

Transverse waves travel on each string of an electric

guitar after the string is plucked. The length of each
string between its two fixed ends is 0.628 m, and the
mass is 0.208 g for the highest pitched E string and
3.32 g for the lowest pitched E string. Each string is
under a tension of 226 N. Find the speeds of the
waves on the two strings.

Answer: 826 m s–1, 207 m s–1

14
Example 4:

A uniform string has a mass M of 0.0300 kg and a length L of

6.00 m. Tension is maintained in the string by suspending a
block of mass m = 2.00 kg from one end.
(a) Find the speed of a transverse wave pulse on this string.
(b) Find the time it takes the pulse to travel from the wall to the
pulley. Neglect the mass of the hanging part of the string.

Answer: (a) 62.6 m s–1, (b) 0.0799 s 15

 Interference of Waves
• Two traveling waves can meet and pass through
each other without being destroyed or even
altered
• Waves obey the Superposition Principle
– When two or more traveling waves encounter each
other while moving through a medium, the resulting
wave is found by adding together the displacements
of the individual waves point by point
– Actually only true for waves with small amplitudes

16
Constructive Interference

17
Destructive Interference

18
 Reflection of Waves –
Fixed End
• Whenever a traveling wave reaches
a boundary, some or all of the wave
is reflected
• When it is reflected from a fixed
end, the wave is inverted
• The shape remains the same

19
 Reflected Wave – Free End
• When a traveling wave reaches a
boundary, all or part of it is
reflected
• When reflected from a free end,
the pulse is not inverted

20
 Sound Waves
Sound waves are longitudinal waves

21
 Producing a Sound Wave
• Any sound wave has its source in a vibrating
object
• Sound waves are longitudinal waves (also
known as mechanical or pressure wave
because compressed and stretched) traveling
through a medium
• A tuning fork can be used as an example of
producing a sound wave

22
 Using a Tuning Fork to Produce a
Sound Wave
• A tuning fork will produce a
pure musical note
• As the tines vibrate, they
disturb the air near them
• As the tine swings to the right,
it forces the air molecules near
it closer together
• This produces a high density
area in the air
– This is an area of compression
23
 Using a Tuning Fork, cont.
• As the tine moves toward
the left, the air molecules
to the right of the tine
spread out
• This produces an area of
low density
– This area is called a
rarefaction

24
 Using a Tuning Fork, final

• As the tuning fork continues to vibrate, a succession of

compressions and rarefactions spread out from the fork
• A sinusoidal curve can be used to represent the
longitudinal wave
– Crests (maximum points) correspond to compressions and
troughs (minimum points) to rarefactions
25
 Categories of Sound Waves
• Audible waves
– Lay within the normal range of hearing of the human ear
– Normally between 20 Hz to 20 000 Hz
• Infrasonic waves
– Frequencies are below the audible range
– Earthquakes are an example
• Ultrasonic waves
– Frequencies are above the audible range
– Dog whistles are an example

26
 Speed of Sound, General

• The speed of sound is higher in solids than in gases

– The molecules in a solid interact more strongly
• The speed is slower in liquids than in solids
– Liquids are more compressible

(fluid) (solid)

27
 Cont.
𝑣 𝑖𝑠 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑, 𝜌 𝑖𝑠 𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑜𝑏𝑗𝑒𝑐𝑡
𝐵 𝑖𝑠 𝐵𝑢𝑙𝑘 𝑀𝑜𝑑𝑢𝑙𝑢𝑠, 𝑌 𝑖𝑠 𝑌𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑔 𝑀𝑜𝑑𝑢𝑙𝑢𝑠
𝜕𝑃
𝐵 = −𝑉 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑃 𝑖𝑠 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑉 𝑖𝑠 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒
𝜕𝑉
𝜕𝑃
𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒
𝜕𝑉
tensile 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑛
𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑙𝑒 stress 𝐹 Τ𝐴0
𝑌= =
𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑙𝑒 strain ∆𝐿Τ𝐿0
tensile 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠
𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝐹 𝑖𝑠 𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑔𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑛 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑜𝑏𝑗𝑒𝑐𝑡, 𝐴0 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐿0 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒
𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑔𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑐𝑟𝑜𝑠𝑠 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑜𝑏𝑗𝑒𝑐𝑡, ∆𝐿 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒
𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑜𝑏𝑗𝑒𝑐𝑡.
28
 Cont.
𝑌𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑒𝑙 = 265.73 𝐺𝑃𝑎, 𝜌𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑒𝑙 = 7750 𝑘𝑔𝑚−3
𝑌 265.73 × 109
𝑣𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑒𝑙 = = = 5856 𝑚𝑠 −1
𝑝 7750

𝐵𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 = 2.10 𝐺𝑃𝑎, 𝜌𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 = 1000 𝑘𝑔𝑚−3

𝐵 2.10 × 109
𝑣𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 = = = 1450 𝑚𝑠 −1
𝑝 1000

𝐵𝑎𝑖𝑟 = 1.42 × 105 𝑃𝑎, 𝜌𝑎𝑖𝑟 = 1.29 𝑘𝑔𝑚−3

𝐵 1.42 × 105
𝑣𝑎𝑖𝑟 = = = 331 𝑚𝑠 −1
𝑝 1.29
𝐶𝑜𝑛𝑐𝑙𝑢𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛: 𝑣𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑒𝑙 > 𝑣𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 > 𝑣𝑎𝑖𝑟 29
 The Speed of Sound

Sound travels through

gases, liquids, and solids
at considerably different
speeds.

30
 Speed of Sound in Air

• 331 m/s is the speed of sound at 0° C

• T is the absolute temperature
or v = 331 + 0.6(θ)
where θ in degree Celcius (°C)

31
Example 5:

A stone is dropped into a well. The splash is

heard 3.00 s later. What is the depth of the well?
Assume the temperature is at 20.0 C.

Answer: 40.7 m

32
 Sound Intensity
Sound waves carry energy that can be used to do
work.
The amount of energy transported per second is
called the power of the wave.
The sound intensity is defined as the power that
passes perpendicularly through a surface divided by
the area of that surface.
𝑃 𝑃𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟
𝐼 𝑆𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑 𝐼𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦 =
𝐴 𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎
SI unit: W/m2 33
Example 6:

12 × 10–5 W of sound power passed through the

surfaces labeled 1 and 2. The areas of these
surfaces are 4.0 m2 and 12 m2. Determine the sound
intensity at each surface.

Answer: 3.0 × 10–5 W m–2, 1.0 × 10–5 W m–2 34

 Intensity Level of Sound Waves
• The sensation of loudness is logarithmic in the
human ear
• β is the intensity level or the decibel level of
the sound

• 𝐼0 = 10 × 10−12 W/m is the threshold of

hearing
35
 Intensity vs. Intensity Level
• Intensity is a physical quantity
• Intensity level is a convenient mathematical
transformation of intensity to a logarithmic scale

36
 Example 7:

A noisy grinding machine in a factory produces a

sound intensity of 1.00 × 10–5 W/m2. Calculate
(a) the decibel level of this machine and
(b) the new intensity level when a second, identical
machine is added to the factory.
(c) A certain number of additional such machines
are put into operation alongside these two
machines. When all the machines are running
at the same time the decibel level is 77.0 dB.
Find the sound intensity.
Answer: (a) 70.0 dB; (b) 73.0 dB; (c) 5.0 × 10–5 W m
37 –2
Example 8:

Audio system 1 produces a sound intensity

level of 90.0 dB, and system 2 produces an
intensity level of 93.0 dB. Determine the ratio of
intensities.

Answer: 2.0

38
 Spherical Waves
• A spherical wave
propagates radially
outward from the
oscillating sphere
• The energy propagates
equally in all directions
• The intensity is

39
 Intensity of a Point Source
• Since the intensity varies as 1/r2, this is an inverse
square relationship
• The average power is the same through any spherical
surface centered on the source
• To compare intensities at two locations, the inverse
square relationship can be used

40
 Example 9:

A small source emits sound waves with a

power output of 80.0 W.
(a) Find the intensity 3.00 m from the source.
(b) At what distance would the intensity be
one-fourth as much as it is at r = 3.00 m?
(c) Find the distance at which the sound level
is 40.0 dB.

Answer: (a) 0.707 W m–2; (b) 6.00 m; (c) 2.52 × 104 m

41