TOPIC 11: SOUND
How Sound is Produced
• Sound is a form of energy
• Sound is produced when matter vibrates. That is, vibrations produce sound.
• Vibration = rapid to and fro motion
We can carry out two experiments to prove that vibrations produce sound:
EXPERIMENT 1 Results and Explanation:
Materials: • The pieces of polystyrene bounce up
• A speaker only when the speaker is connected to
• Some pieces of polystyrene the dry cell
• Connecting wire • This is because the speaker only
• Dry cells produces sound when connected and
the speaker membrane vibrates when
it produces sound
Method: Why will the experiment not work if you
• Connect the wires to the terminals of the speaker and keep the wires always connected to the
place the pieces of polystyrene on the speaker. dry cell?
• Connect one of the two free ends of the wire to the dry This is because the speaker produces
cell. sound only in the instant it is connected.
• Connect the other free end of the remaining wire with the
other terminal of the dry cell and remove at once.
• Keep on touching and removing one end of the wire to the
dry cell and observe your results
How Sound is Produced
EXPERIMENT 2
Materials:
• A tuning fork
• A laboratory stand
• Piece of string
• Small polystyrene ball
Method:
• Hang the small polystyrene ball as shown in the diagram,
using a piece of string
• Vibrate the tuning fork and bring it close to the polystyrene
ball
• Repeat several times and observe what happens
Results and Explanation:
• The polystyrene ball moves along with the vibrating tuning fork only when the tuning fork is
brought closer to it
• The polystyrene ball moves only when there are vibrations in the tuning fork
• This tells us that vibrations can be transmitted between different states of matter
• Solid (tuning fork) air (gas) solid (polystyrene ball)
The Propagation of Sound
• Sound can travel through all states of matter:
• Gas
• liquid
• Solid
• Sound travels fastest through solids, and slowest through gases
• This is because in solids, the particles are very close to each other, so vibrations can
easily be transmitted from one particle to the next.
• In gases, the particles are very far apart, and vibrations are not as easily transmitted
Medium Speed of sound (meters per second)
Air (gas) 330
Water (liquid) 1500
Steel (solid) 4500
• There is no sound in space
• This is because there is no air in space. We call this a vacuum.
• Vibrations produce sounds, and matter carries these vibrations over long distances in the
form of sound waves
The Propagation of Sound in Air
• Sound needs matter to travel. The bell-jar experiment proves that sound needs
matter to travel
There is air inside the bell jar so
the sound can travel and he heard
What happens when the air inside the bell jar is removed using a
vacuum pump?
The sound gets softer and softer until you cannot hear anything
anymore. You can see the clock ringing, but no sound can be
heard. This is because now there is no air inside the bell jar (it is
now a vacuum).
The Propagation of Sound in Liquids
Materials:
• Three plastic funnels
• Rubber tubing
• Y-tube
• Basin
• Water
• Rubber membranes (can use balloons)
Method:
• Assemble the equipment as shown in the figure.
• Hold the funnels A and B on your ears and dip the funnel C in the
basin of water.
• Make a sound near funnel C in the water
• Record your observations
Results and Explanation:
• You will be able to hear any sound produced near funnel C
• This shows that sound can travel through liquids as well
The Propagation of Sound in Solids
• Another popular experiment to prove that sound travels through matter is the tin can
telephone
The vibrations enter your
Your throat is the source
friend’s ear
of sound when you talk
into the tin can
The vibrations spread
through the air in the can The vibrations spread through
and then to the bottom of the air in the second can
the can
The vibrations then spread through
the string to the bottom of the
other can
How Do We Hear Sound?
• We detect sound with our ears
• The outer ear (called the pinna) is shaped like a
funnel
• This shape helps to amplify sound (make it louder)
• This shape also concentrates sounds which allows
us to also hear soft sounds
• If we cup our ears we can hear sounds better
• Animals that have larger, funnel-shaped ears are able to hear very well
• Many animals with external ears are able to move their ears without moving their heads
• This feature helps them to capture sounds coming from many directions
Diversity of Sound
• There are natural sounds and artificial sounds
• Natural sounds are produced by the natural environment and the organisms
that live in it
• Examples: bird song, sound of waves crashing on rocks, whistling on wind
through the trees, sound of blue whales underwater, the hum of bees and
hummingbird wings, wolves howling
• Artificial sounds are produced by man-made objects
• Examples: sound of vehicles, ringtones, digital music, sounds from a lawn
mower
• There are also loud and soft sounds
• Sound volume is measured in decibels (dB)
• Loud sounds are produced when the vibrations are very strong
• Strong vibrations are produced as a result of a lot of energy being given to
make sound
• Soft sounds are produced when the vibrations are weak
• Weak vibrations are produced as a result of a little energy being given to
make sound
Diversity of Sound
• Sounds can be high pitched or low pitched.
• Pitch is measured in Hertz (Hz)
• High pitched sounds are produced when vibrations happen faster
• Examples: whistle, screaming, the sound of a bat
• Low pitched sounds are produced when the vibrations happen slower
• Elephants communicate using very low pitched sounds, thunder is loud but low pitched
Same time (1 millisecond)
Less sound waves (3)
More sound waves (8)
Diversity of Sound
• Different animals can hear different ranges of pitches
• The human ear can detect sounds in the range of 20 - 20,000 Hz
• Cats, dogs, bats, dolphins can hear much higher notes
• Elephants can hear very low pitched sounds and they use low pitches as their form of
communication
Musical Instruments
• Musical instruments can be classified into 3 main groups:
• Wind instruments
• String instruments
• Percussion instruments
WIND INSTRUMENTS
• They make sound by vibrating air through tubes or pipes of different lengths to produce
different sounds
• Examples: flute, trombone, trumpet, horn, bagpipes
• You can increase the pitch of wind instruments by:
• Closing less holes
• Making the tube shorter
In a pan flute, there are many tubes
with different lengths.
When the player blows into the A flautist (or flutist) changes the
longer tubes, a low pitched sound is pitch of the musical notes by
made. opening and closing the holes
along the flute
High pitched sounds are produced
when air is blown into the shorter
tubes.
Musical Instruments
STRING INSTRUMENTS
• Plucking a taut string produces vibrations, which produces sounds
• Examples: violin, guitar, bass, sitar, guqin, ukulele, fiddle
• You can increase the pitch of string instruments by:
• Plucking a thinner string
• Shortening the string
• Making the string tighter
Musical Instruments
PERCUSSION INSTRUMENTS
• Hitting 2 surfaces together creates vibrations
• Different surfaces create different sounds
• Example: drums, tambourine, triangle, xylophone, chimes, maracas
• You can increase the pitch of percussion instruments by:
• Tightening the membranes
• Exposing the membrane to heat
• Using smaller surfaces
