Unit no 13 Sound
Short Response Questions
1. Analyze the process of sound transmission from outer ear to brain.
The outer ear collects sound waves and sends them to the eardrum. The eardrum vibrates and passes
these vibrations to the three small bones in the middle ear. These bones amplify the vibrations and
send them to the cochlea in the inner ear. The cochlea changes vibrations into electrical signals,
which go to the brain through the auditory nerve. The brain understands these signals as sound.
2. What are common sources of harmful noise, assess their impact on human health?
Sources of harmful noise include traffic, loud music, machines, and factories. Harmful noise can cause
hearing loss, headaches, stress, sleep problems, and reduced concentration.
3. How do animals use infrasound for communication? Compare this with human
communication methods.
Some animals, like elephants and whales, use infrasound (sounds below human hearing range) to
send messages over long distances. Humans cannot hear infrasound and use speech or technology
(phones, radios) for communication.
4. Evaluate the advantages and limitations of ultrasonic cleaning.
Advantages: Ultrasonic cleaning can remove dirt from small and delicate parts without damage.
Limitations: It needs special equipment and electricity, and it may not work well on large objects.
5. Why does sound travel faster in solids than liquids and gases?
In solids, particles are closer together, so vibrations pass quickly from one particle to another. In
gases, particles are far apart, so sound travels slower.
6. How two plastic glasses with a string stretched between them could be better way to
communicate than merely shouting through the air?
In the string telephone, vibrations travel through the string directly and lose less energy, so the sound
is clearer than shouting through the air.
7. How can we distinguish between two sounds having same loudness?
We can distinguish them by their pitch (high or low tone) and quality (type of sound).
8. During a match in cricket stadium, you see a batsman striking the ball but we hear stroke
sound slightly later. Explain this time difference.
Light travels much faster than sound. We see the bat hitting the ball instantly, but sound takes more
time to reach us.
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9. When a pendulum vibrates, we do not hear its sound. Why?
The pendulum vibrates at a very low frequency, below the human hearing range, so we cannot hear
it.
10. Two students are talking in the corridor of your school, you can hear them in your class
room but you cannot see them. How?
Sound waves can bend around obstacles (diffraction), so they enter the classroom even if we cannot
see the students.
11. What steps would you take to stop echo and reverberation effects in a large room? Use
carpets, curtains, padded seats, and wall panels to absorb sound. This reduces echo and
reverberation.
Long Response Questions
1. Explain the production of sound waves with examples.
Sound is produced when an object vibrates. These vibrations disturb the particles of the surrounding
medium (air, water, or solid) and create compressions (high-pressure areas) and rarefactions (low
pressure areas). These disturbances travel as sound waves.
Example: When we strike a drum, its skin vibrates, pushing air particles to and fro, producing sound.
2. Justify why sound waves cannot travel in a vacuum. Design an experiment that
demonstrates this principle.
Sound needs a medium (like air, water, or solid) because it travels through vibrations of particles. In a
vacuum, there are no particles to vibrate, so sound cannot travel.
Experiment: Place a ringing bell inside a glass jar connected to a vacuum pump. As the air is pumped
out, the sound becomes weaker until it is no longer heard, proving that sound needs a medium.
3. What is nature of sound waves? How is sound propagated? Explain.
Sound waves are longitudinal mechanical waves. In these waves, particles vibrate back and forth in
the same direction as the wave moves.
Propagation: A vibrating source creates compressions and rarefactions in the medium. These
regions move outward, carrying the sound energy to our ears.
4. Discuss how changes in amplitude and frequency affect the loudness and pitch of sound
waves.
Amplitude: Greater amplitude → louder sound. Smaller amplitude → softer sound.
Frequency: Higher frequency → higher pitch (sharp sound). Lower frequency → lower pitch
(deep sound).
Example: A whistle (high pitch) vs. a drum (low pitch).
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5. What is quality of sound? How do the shape and material of a sound source influence the
waveform of the sound it produces?
Quality (or timbre) is the property of sound that helps us identify different sources even if they have
the same loudness and pitch.
The shape and material of the vibrating object change the pattern of vibrations, which changes the
waveform and gives the sound its unique quality.
Example: A guitar and a piano can play the same note, but they sound different because of their
construction.
6. Explain the speed of sound in different media. How does the speed of sound differ in solids,
liquids, and gases? Explain why, and discuss real-world implications.
Sound travels fastest in solids, slower in liquids, and slowest in gases because particles in solids are
closer together and pass vibrations quickly.
Example speeds: Steel ≈ 5000 m/s, Water ≈ 1500 m/s, Air ≈ 343 m/s (at 20°C).
Implications: This property is used in sonar, underwater communication, and earthquake detection.
7. What is reflection of sound? Differentiate between echo and reverberation.
Reflection of sound occurs when sound waves hit a hard surface and bounce back.
Echo: A distinct, delayed repetition of sound heard when the reflected sound takes more than 0.1
seconds to reach us.
Reverberation: Continuous mixing of reflected sound with the original sound in an enclosed
space, causing a prolonged effect.
Example: Echo in a valley, reverberation in a big hall.
8. Explain the phenomenon of an echo as the reflection of sound waves. Design an experiment
to measure the time delay of an echo, and discuss how this can be used to determine
distances in various applications, such as sonar.
An echo happens when sound reflects from a distant surface and comes back after a delay.
Experiment: Clap hands near a large wall and use a stopwatch to measure the time between the clap
and echo. The distance to the wall can be found by:
Speed of sound × Time delay
Distance =
2
Application: Sonar uses echoes of sound waves to measure distances underwater.
9. Differentiate between noise and music. Explain how noise is nuisance.
Music: Pleasant, regular, and patterned sound.
Noise: Unpleasant, irregular, and unwanted sound.
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Noise nuisance: Continuous exposure to noise can cause stress, hearing loss, poor sleep, and
reduced concentration.
10. Justify the importance of acoustic protection in environments such as schools and hospitals.
How can design elements and materials contribute to creating sound-friendly spaces?
Excess noise in schools disturbs learning; in hospitals, it disturbs patients’ rest.
Protection methods: Use sound-absorbing materials like carpets, curtains, acoustic panels, and
double glass windows to reduce noise and improve communication.
11. Analyze the effects of noise pollution on the environment and human health. What
strategies can be implemented to mitigate these effects, and how can communities balance
development with acoustic quality?
Effects: Stress, hearing loss, sleep disturbance, reduced productivity. Wildlife can also be disturbed.
Solutions: Plant trees, use silencers in machines, create noise-free zones, enforce noise laws, and use
soundproofing materials in buildings.
12. Humans can hear frequencies from approximately 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz. Analyze how sounds
outside this range (infrasound and ultrasound) are utilized in nature and technology. What
are the implications of these frequencies for human hearing?
Infrasound (<20 Hz): Used by elephants and whales for long-distance communication. Used in
earthquake detection.
Ultrasound (>20,000 Hz): Used by bats and dolphins for navigation. Used in medical imaging and
cleaning.
Humans cannot hear these frequencies, but we can use devices to detect and use them.
13. Explain how sound waves are converted into electrical signals by the eardrum and auditory
nerves.
Sound waves enter the ear and make the eardrum vibrate. These vibrations pass through the middle
ear bones to the cochlea. The cochlea changes vibrations into electrical signals, which are sent to the
brain through the auditory nerve. The brain processes these signals as sound.
Numerical response Questions
1. Distance to cliff
Given:
Echo time = 5 s (this is round trip time)
Speed of sound = 344 m/s
Distance (one way) = speed ×time / 2
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Distance = = = 860 m
Answer: 860 m ✅
2. Frequency of sound in seawater Given:
Speed = 1500 m/s
Wavelength = 45 cm = 0.45 m
Frequency f = λv
f= = 3333.3 Hz
Answer: 3333.3 Hz ✅
3. Distance to seabed
Given:
Speed = 1500 m/s
Round trip time = 8.5 s
Distance (one way) = = = 6375 m
Answer: 6375 m ✅
4. Frequency and period of heartbeat
Given:
Heartbeats in 1 min = 69 Time
= 60 s
Frequency f Hz
Period T s
Answer: 1.15 Hz, 0.8696 s ✅
5. Range of wavelengths for audible
frequencies Given:
Speed of sound = 343 m/s Frequency
range = 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz
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λmax= = 17.15
m λmin= =
0.01715 m
Answer: 17.15 m to 0.01715 m ✅
6. Distance of clouds
Given:
Time = 3 s
Speed = 340 m/s
Distance = 340 × 3 = 1020 m Answer:
1020 m ✅
7. Depth of sea
(SONAR
) Given:
Speed = 1550 m/s
Round trip time = 5.3 s
Depth = = = 4107.5 m
Answer: 4107.5 m ✅
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