3.4 Sound
3.4 Sound
3.4 Sound
4 Sound
Easy
Question 1
Which of the frequency ranges below is completely audible by a human who has average hearing?
b. 5 Hz to 50 kHz
c. 50 Hz to 5 kHz
d. 50 kHz to 50 MHz
Question 2
A tuba player plays a loud note on her tuba.
a. Frequency
b. Wavelength
c. Amplitude
d. Speed
Question 3
A high frequency note is played on a violin.
a. Pitch increases
b. Pitch decreases
c. Volume increases
d. Volume decreases
Question 4
Sound wave W has amplitude, A, and frequency, f.
What can be said about the amplitude and frequency of sound wave X?
Question 5
Extended
Medium
Question 1
When objects vibrate, they produce sound waves.
An object in a room vibrates. However, a person in that same room does not hear anything. Why not?
Question 2
After a lockdown drill at a school, the management team notes that the lockdown siren is too quiet, and
its pitch is too low to be heard at a distance.
They call the company that supplied the siren and ask them to make the alarm louder, and to give it a
higher pitch.
What effect does the change have on the resulting sound wave produced by the siren?
The teacher makes four sounds of different frequencies with the signal generator. Which one can be
heard by the student?
a. 10 Hz
b. 30 kHz
c. 440 Hz
d. 120 kHz
Question 4
Echoes can sometimes be heard where a person is surrounded by distant, hard, flat surfaces.
In Greek mythology, Echo is a mountain nymph who was cursed by Hera to be only able to repeat the
last words she heard. This ends tragically when she falls in love with Narcissus who, alas, loves only his
own reflection.
a. Reflection
b. Refraction
c. Diffraction
d. Dispersion
Question 5
A boy named Narcissus participates in a class experiment to measure the speed of sound. He finds the
large, flat wall of a building and stands a known distance away from it. He then claps his hands.
A very short time later, he hears the sound of the clap returning to him as an echo. Why?
c. The energy of the sound waves spreads out as they travel away from Narcissus.
d. The wind is blowing towards Narcissus, and the sound waves are blown back towards him.
Hard
Question 1
In a common secondary school demonstration, a speaker is placed next to a lighted match.
A loud sound wave is played through the speaker, causing the flame to vibrate.
What type of wave is emitted from the speaker, and in which direction does the flame vibrate?
Question 2
A fishing boat uses sonar to locate a shoal of fish. The sonar system sends a pulse of sound towards the
shoal. When it hits the shoal, the sound wave is reflected and picked up by a detector underneath the
ship.
a. 1563 m
b. 3125 m
c. 720 m
d. 360 m
Question 3
In the olympic 100 m sprint final, a starting pistol is used to tell the sprinters when to start.
A spectator, sitting in the viewing area 300 m away sees the smoke from the pistol 0.86 s before hearing
the bang. The spectator has exceptionally keen reactions and a very accurate internal clock.
a. 349 m/s
b. 330 m/s
c. 258 m/s
d. 698 m/s
Question 4
A walker can see a cliff face some distance away, and wants to estimate how far away it is.
He makes a loud noise, and times how long it takes the echo to come back. It takes 1.8 s.
If the speed of sound is 345 m/s, how far away is the cliff?
a. 192 m
b. 96 m
c. 621 m
d. 311 m
Question 5
Ultrasound is high-pitched and cannot usually be heard by human ears. However, ultrasound does have
many uses.
Which statement, or statements, in the list below are correct uses of ultrasound?
a. 1 only
b. 1 and 2
c. 2 and 3
d. 1, 2 and 3