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CLASS 8th ICSE (Physics)
Sound Class Notes
• Sound is a form of energy.
• Vibrating body produces sound.
• Sound is a form of energy that is produced by producing vibration in an object.
• Sound cannot move through vacuum; sound waves are longitudinal waves.
• Sound requires material medium for propagation.
• Sound can travel through solid, liquid or gas.
• No sound can be heard in outer spaces.
• Sound is a wave that requires a medium for its propagation. The medium particles vibrate only to and fro. They do
not move with the sound.
Characteristics of sound waves:-
1. Amplitude:–Magnitude of maximum displacement from mean position. It’s unit is metre (m).
2. Wavelength
:–Distance(λ)
between two consecutive compressions or two consecutive rarefactions. It’s unit is metre
(m).
3. Frequency:–Number of oscillations per unit time. It’s unit is Hertz (Hz)
4. Time period:–Time taken by two consecutive compressions or rarefactions to cross a fixed point. It’s unit is second
(s).
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• Frequency = .
Time period
• Pitch:–Higher the frequency, higher the pitch. It is defined as the shrillness of a sound.
• Tone:- Sound of a single frequency
• Note:- Sound that has a mix of different frequencies.
• Harmony:- Harmony is the pleasant effect produced due to concord, when two or more notes are sounded together.
• Melody:- Melody is the pleasant effect produced by two or more notes when they are sounded one after another.
• Musical intervals:- Musical interval is the ratio of frequencies of two notes in the musical scale.
• Musical scale:- Musical scale is the series of notes separated by a fixed musical interval. Keynote is the starting note
of a musical scale.
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• Diatonic scale:- contains a series of eight notes.
• When two notes are sounded simultaneously and produce pleasant sensation in the ear, then it is concord or
consonance.
• If the notes produce an unpleasant sound. In the ear, then it is a dischord or a dissonance.
• Octave is the interval between the keynote and the last tone.
Advantages of a diatonic scale:-
• This scale provides the same order and the duration of chords and intervals, which succeed each other, that are required
for a musical effect.
• This scale can produce musical compositions with the lower and higher multiples of frequencies of the notes.
Speed of sound:-
• Speed of sound v = ν × λ
• Speed in solid > Speed in liquid > Speed in gas
• Speed depends on temperature, pressure, humidity and nature of the material of the medium.
• Speed increases with increasing temperature.
• In air, speed of sound is 344 ms–1 at 22 ºC
• Supersonic:- The rate of distance travelled by the object is more than the speed of sound.
• Sonic boom - loud noise produced by supersonic object is sonic boom.
Loudness:-
• Loudness:- It is determined by the amplitude of the sound. Higher the amplitude, higher will be loudness.
• Loudness is the characteristic of sound by virtue of which a loud sound can be distinguished from a feeble one, both
having the same pitch and timbre. It depends upon the amplitude of the wave. The unit of loudness is phon and decibel
(dB).
Loudness of sound:-
• is directly proportional to the square of amplitude
• inversely varies with the square of distance from the source
• is directly proportional to the surface area of vibrating body
• is directly proportional on the density of the medium
• increases with the presence of resonating bodies near the vibrating body.
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Intensity of sound:-
• It is the amount of sound energy passing per second normally through the unit area around a point in a medium. Its
unit is watt per meter2.
The intensity of sound wave is proportional to:-
• square of the amplitude of vibration
• square of the frequency of vibration
• density of air
Noise pollution:-
• Noise pollution is the disturbance produced by noise which has harmful impact on humans and animals. When sounds
of level above 120 dB is produced from various sources such as loudspeakers, moving vehicles etc., then such sounds
are reffered as noise.
• Musical instruments and their vibrating parts
Musical instrument Vibrating part producing sound
Veena Stretched string
Tabla Stretched membrane
Flute Air column
