Sound

Lesson 1: Waves
Recall from year 8 that a wave is a method of transferring energy from one place to
another. Light or Electro-magnetic radiation is an example of a wave.
Light is an example of a Transverse Wave. In this type of wave, the direction of the
vibration is perpendicular (at 90O) to the direction of energy transfer as shown below;

Mechanical Waves
Mechanical waves are waves that require a material, or medium, to travel through. Light
is not a mechanical wave as it can travel through empty space, a vacuum.
Water waves, seismic (earthquake) waves and sound waves are all mechanical waves. They
cannot travel through empty space.
Mechanical waves transfer energy from particle to particle as they travel through a
material. The closer together the particles are the easier it is to transfer the energy and
so the faster the wave will travel.
1) Through which state of matter will sound waves travel the fastest?
2) Why?

Sound Waves
Sound waves are longitudinal waves. This means that the direction of vibration is parallel
to the direction of energy transfer as shown in the diagram below;
As a longitudinal wave travels through a material it causes the particles to move together
and move apart. Areas where particles are moved together are called compressions and
areas where they are moved apart are called rarefactions.
On a slinky;

Through the air;

Characteristics of waves
It can be quite difficult to draw and analyse a longitudinal wave, so it is easier to
represent them in the same way as transverse waves as shown in the diagram below;
When a particle vibrates it moves first in one direction then the opposite direction about
its normal position. The distance that it moves is called its displacement.
This displacement is represented in the wave diagram as the amplitude. The larger the
displacement the larger the amplitude. The wavelength is the distance from any point on
the wave to the corresponding point on the next wave. For convenience we usually
measure from peak to peak or trough to trough. As a distance the wavelength is measured
in metres. The frequency of a wave is the number of waves that occur every second. It is
measured in units called Hertz (Hz).

Interference & Superposition

When two or more waves are travelling through a material at the same time, they can
interact with each other. We call this process interference. This can be seen on the
surface of water if two pebbles are dropped into a puddle at the same time as shown
below;

When two waves meet at the same space the total displacement of material at that point
can be found by adding together the displacements of the individual waves. You do not
need to be able to do this for every situation but there are two examples you need to be
aware of;
Firstly; When 2 waves with the same frequency and amplitude and are in phase with each
other.

The 2 waves combine to produce a wave with double the amplitude. This is called
superposition or constructive interference.
Secondly; When 2 waves with the same frequency and amplitude but are out of phase with
each other.

The 2 waves combine to completely cancel each other out. This is called destructive
interference.

3) How do noise cancelling headphones use this property of waves in order to work?

Lesson 2: Sound Waves

Sound waves can be described by using the 2 characteristics of amplitude and frequency.
The amplitude of a sound wave corresponds to its loudness. The larger the amplitude the
louder the sound. The amplitude is also directly related to the displacement of the
vibration. Thus, to make a loud sound you need to create a large displacement which will
give the wave a large amplitude.
4) How do you make a stringed instrument, such as a guitar, louder?
5) How do you make a percussion instrument, such as the drums, louder?
6) How do you make a wind instrument, such as a trumpet, louder?

The frequency of a sound waves corresponds to its pitch. The higher the frequency the
higher the pitch of the sound you will hear. The frequency is a direct measure of how
quickly a material is vibrating. Something vibrating quickly will produce a high-pitched
sound.

Musical instruments make use of these characteristics to produce a range of different

sounds.
For a stringed instrument to make a higher pitched sound you can do one or more of the
following;

Shorten the string

Tighten the string
Use a string with a smaller cross-sectional area
Make the strings from different materials
For a wind instrument the sound is created by a vibrating column of air inside the
instrument. To change the pitch, you can change the length of the column of air by
opening and closing valves or covering holes on the surface.

For a percussion instrument you can do one or more of the following;

Shorten the length of the vibrating material

Increase the tension
Use a higher density material.

7) Why does a violin produce higher pitched sounds than a double bass?
8) How can you make a guitar produce a higher pitched sound?
9) What affect would tightening a drum skin have on the sound it produces?
10) Why does the longest tuning fork produce the lowest sound?

Oscilloscope Traces
When you connect a signal generator to an oscilloscope you can produce a trace that looks
like a wave as shown below in the top left box. Complete the boxes to show the following;
Top right- a sound wave of the same frequency but quieter.
Bottom left – a sound wave of a higher frequency and quieter.
Bottom right – a sound wave of a lower frequency but the same loudness.

Echoes
When a sound wave reaches a boundary between different material some of the energy is
transmitted through the material, some is absorbed, and some is reflected. These
reflected sound waves are called echoes.
Bats, whales and dolphins use echo location to navigate and to find food. They send out a
series of high-pitched squeaks and listen for the echoes to tell them where they are in
relation to their surroundings and to locater their prey. As they get closer, they send out
the squeaks more rapidly to get a mora accurate location.

Lesson 3: Speed of sound

The speed of sound can be measured using the equation;

Speed = Distance ÷ Time

To measure the speed of sound through the air we can carry out an experiment using 2
objects to hit together, such as wooden blocks, a timer and a large flat surface such as a
wall. The school building is ideal for this experiment.

11) Which variables are we controlling in this experiment?

12) What is the dependent variable in this experiment?
13) What are the possible sources of error in this experiment?
14) How would you minimise the effects of these errors?
The time you have recorded is the time it takes for the sound wave to travel to the wall
and back so you will need to double the distance in your calculation of the speed.

Speed of sound in different materials

In air the speed of sound, at sea level, is around 340 m/s. Through water it is 1500 m/s
and through steel it is 5000 m/s. The diagrams below show the particle arrangements for
the 3 different states;
 15) Why does sound travel faster through a solid than it does through a liquid?
16) Why does sound travel faster through a liquid than a gas?
17) The speed of sound in air decreases as the temperature gets lower. Why?

Lesson 4: Hearing in humans and other animals

The Ear
Correctly label the diagram of the ear;

Sound waves are captured by the Pinna and funnelled into the Ear Canal. They travel
along the Ear Canal to the Ear Drum which then vibrates. The vibration causes the small
bones of the ear to also vibrate and amplify the signal. The physical vibrations are then
transmitted into the Cochlea where thousands of nerve endings detect the vibrations and
convert them into electrical signals. These signals are carried by the Auditory Nerve to
the brain for processing. The Eustachian Tube connects the middle ear to the back of the
throat. This tube allows air into the space behind the ear drum to ensure that the pressure
is equal on both sides, enabling the ear drum to vibrate freely.
18) How does the ear drum vibrate differently when listening to a loud sound in
comparison to a quieter one?
19) How does the ear drum vibrate differently when listening to a high-pitched sound
in comparison to a low pitched one?
20) How could a build-up of wax in the ear canal affect your hearing?
21) How could a very loud sound or an explosion damage your hearing?
22) Why do your ears sometimes ‘pop’ when you are in an aeroplane and how does
sucking a sweet help?

Range of hearing
There is a limited number of frequencies that humans can hear. Having listened to the
signal generator you will now know your range. Your teacher will most likely not be able
to hear some of the high frequency sounds that you can hear and find irritating.
As you get older the small bones in your ear cannot keep up with the speed of high
frequency vibrations. Thus, you lose the ability to hear high frequency sounds.
Fortunately, we do not use those frequencies for verbal communication.
The average range for a young adult human is 20 – 20,000 Hz.
Some animals can hear sounds lower than us; some can hear sounds higher than us. Some
have a much smaller range than ours. Look at the data in the table below.
Sounds lower than 20Hz are called INFRASOUND
Sounds higher than 20,000Hz are called ULTRASOUND

23) Which animal can hear the lowest frequency sound?

24) Which animal can hear the highest frequency sound?
25) Which animal can hear the smallest range of sounds?
26) Which animal can hear the largest range of sounds?
Lesson 5: Ultrasound
Ultrasound is the name given to any sound with a frequency above 20,000Hz the upper
limit of human hearing. Because sound waves can be reflected when they reach a
boundary between different materials, we can use these 2 things together to make a
range of devices that have commercial and medical applications.
Denser materials generally reflect more sound waves than less dense materials.
Pre Natal-Scanning & Medical imaging
The image below shows a foetus in the womb. Images like this are routinely taken during a
woman’s pregnancy to check on the health and development of the foetus and to estimate
a due date based on the size of the foetus.
Doctors can also use ultrasound to investigate complaints with internal organs and
conditions such as kidney stones as they are less invasive than surgery.

27) Why do the bones show up more clearly than the internal organs in this image?
28) Why is ultrasound used rather than x-rays for looking at the foetus?
29) Why is ultrasound used in the early stages of pregnancy?

Navigation & Undersea Mapping

Humans have borrowed the use of echo location from bats and dolphins and use it in a
variety of different ways.
Submarines use SONAR (SOund NAvigation & Ranging) to navigate underwater and to
determine distance to targets for their torpedoes.
Ships on the surface can also use SONAR to measure the depth of the ocean at different
locations or to map the sea floor.
Fishing vessels also use SONAR to locate schools of fish rather than casting their nets and
hoping for the best.
30) What affect could SONAR have on whales and dolphins in local area?
Lesson 6: Microphones & Speakers
Microphones and speakers are devices that use both electricity and sound.
A microphone converts sound waves into an electrical signal.
A loudspeaker converts electrical signals into sound waves.

The Microphone

When a microphone detects a sound wave it causes the diaphragm to vibrate. The
diaphragm is usually made of a very thin plastic material.
The diaphragm is attached to a coil of wire wrapped around a magnet. As the diaphragm
vibrates it causes the coil to move backwards and forwards.
As the coil of wire moves through the magnetic field of the magnet it induces an electric
current to flow in the wires, thus converting the physical vibrations into an electrical
signal.
The flowing current will have the same frequency as the original sound wave.

The loudspeaker
A loudspeaker works in the opposite direction to a microphone. The back of the speaker
contains a permanent magnet and an electromagnet. When an electric current flows
through the coil of wire around the electromagnet it causes it to become magnetized.
Depending on the direction of the current the electromagnet is either attracted or
repelled by the permanent magnet. The electric current changes direction based on the
frequency of the signal. The electromagnet is attached to the cone which is made of a
flexible material such as plastic or card. As the electromagnet vibrates it causes the cone
to vibrate which creates a sound wave.
The sound wave produced will have the same frequency as the electrical signal.