Showing posts with label Sound Waves. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sound Waves. Show all posts

10th Science Acoustics: Comprehensive Book Back Questions and Answers

Book Back Questions with Answers - Acoustics | Science

I. Choose the correct answer

1. When a sound wave travels through air, the air particles

  • a) vibrate along the direction of the wave motion
  • b) vibrate but not in any fixed direction
  • c) vibrate perpendicular to the direction of the wave motion
  • d) do not vibrate
Answer: a) vibrate along the direction of the wave motion

2. Velocity of sound in a gaseous medium is 330 m s–1. If the pressure is increased by 4 times without causing a change in the temperature, the velocity of sound in the gas is

  • a) 330 m s–1
  • b) 660 m s1
  • c) 156 m s–1
  • d) 990 m s–1
Answer: a) 330 m s–1

3. The frequency, which is audible to the human ear is

  • a) 50 kHz
  • b) 20 kHz
  • c) 15000 kHz
  • d) 10000 kHz
Answer: b) 20 kHz

4. The velocity of sound in air at a particular temperature is 330 m s–1. What will be its value when temperature is doubled and the pressure is halved?

  • a) 330 m s–1
  • b) 165 m s–1
  • c) 330 × √2 m s–1
  • d) 320 / √ 2 m s–1
Answer: c) 330 × √2 m s–1

5. If a sound wave travels with a frequency of 1.25 × 104 Hz at 344 m s–1, the wavelength will be

  • a) 27.52 m
  • b) 275.2 m
  • c) 0.02752 m
  • d) 2.752 m
Answer: c) 0.02752 m

6. The sound waves are reflected from an obstacle into the same medium from which they were incident. Which of the following changes?

  • a) speed
  • b) frequency
  • c) wavelength
  • d) none of these
Answer: d) none of these

7. Velocity of sound in the atmosphere of a planet is 500 m s–1. The minimum distance between the sources of sound and the obstacle to hear the echo, should be

  • a) 17 m
  • b) 20 m
  • c) 25 m
  • d) 50 m
Answer: c) 25 m

II. Fill up the blanks

  1. Rapid back and forth motion of a particle about its mean position is called Vibration.
  2. If the energy in a longitudinal wave travels from south to north, the particles of the medium would be vibrating in both north and south.
  3. A whistle giving out a sound of frequency 450 Hz, approaches a stationary observer at a speed of 33 m s–1. The frequency heard by the observer is (speed of sound = 330 m s–1) 500 Hz.
  4. A source of sound is travelling with a velocity 40 km/h towards an observer and emits a sound of frequency 2000 Hz. If the velocity of sound is 1220 km/h, then the apparent frequency heard by the observer is 2068 Hz.

III. True or false (If false give the reason)

  1. Sound can travel through solids, gases, liquids and even vacuum. - False

    Reason: Sound waves cannot travel through vacuum.

  2. Waves created by Earth Quake are Infrasonic. - True

  3. The velocity of sound is independent of temperature. - False

    Reason: The velocity of sound is dependent on temperature.

  4. The Velocity of sound is high in gases than liquids. - False

    Reason: The velocity of sound is high in liquids than gases.

IV. Match the following

Answers:

1. Infrasonic10 Hz
2. EchoUltrasonography
3. Ultrasonic22 kHz
4. High pressure regionCompressions

V. Assertion and Reason Questions

Mark the correct choice as
a. If both the assertion and the reason are true and the reason is the correct explanation of the assertion.
b. If both the assertion and the reason are true but the reason is not the correct explanation of the assertion.
c. Assertion is true, but the reason is false.
d. Assertion is false, but the reason is true.

1. Assertion: The change in air pressure affects the speed of sound.
Reason: The speed of sound in a gas is proportional to the square of the pressure.

Answer: c. Assertion is true, but the reason is false.

2. Assertion: Sound travels faster in solids than in gases.
Reason: Solid posses a greater density than that of gases.

Answer: b. If both the assertion and the reason are true but the reason is not the correct explanation of the assertion.

VI. Answer very briefly

1. What is a longitudinal wave?

It is a wave in which particles are vibrating along the direction of wave motion.

2. What is the audible range of frequency?

The audible range of frequency is 20 to 20,000 Hz.

3. What is the minimum distance needed for an echo?

The minimum distance needed for an echo 17.2 m.

4. What will be the frequency sound having 0.20 m as its wavelength, when it travels with a speed of 331 m s–1?

Frequency Sound = n
Wavelength λ = 0.20 m
Frequency of sound, $$n = \frac{V}{\lambda}$$ $$n = \frac{331}{0.20}$$ $$n = 1655 \text{ Hz}$$

5. Name three animals, which can hear ultrasonic vibrations.

Dogs, Bats and Mosquitoes.

VII. Answer briefly

1. Why does sound travel faster on a rainy day than on a dry day?

During rainy days, the humidity is more in the atmosphere. The speed of the sound generally increases with humidity and speed of sound in water is more than 4X then speed in air. So sound travels faster on a rainy day.

2. Why does an empty vessel produce more sound than a filled one?

In an empty vessel, only air is present inside it. Whenever sound is produced in an empty vessel, the vibration of air molecule will be more due to multiple reflections. But a filled vessel has very less number of air molecules than the contents in it, so it does not produce more sound.

3. Air temperature in the Rajasthan desert can reach 46°C. What is the velocity of sound in air at that temperature? (V0 = 331 m s–1)

Velocity of sound in gas at 0° C
V0 =331 ms-1
Air temperature in Rajasthan, T = 46° C
The formula for velocity at temperature T is:
$$V_T = (V_o + 0.61T)$$ $$V_T = 331 + (0.61 \times 46)$$ $$V_T = 331 + 28.06$$ $$V_T = 359.06 \text{ m/s}$$

4. Explain why, the ceilings of concert halls are curved.

They are made curved so that the sound after reflecting from the ceiling reaches every corner of the concert hall and the audience listen the sound clearly.

5. Mention two cases in which there is no Doppler effect in sound?

(i) When source(S) and listener (L) both are at rest.
(ii) When S and L move in such a way that distance between them remains constant.
(iii) When source S and L are moving in mutually perpendicular directions.

VIII. Problem Corner

1. A sound wave has a frequency of 200 Hz and a speed of 400 m s–1 in a medium. Find the wavelength of the sound wave.

Given

Frequency of a wave, n = 200 Hz
Speed of sound, V = 400 ms-1

To find

Wavelength, λ = ?

Solution

Velocity of light, $$V = n\lambda$$ $$\lambda = \frac{V}{n} = \frac{400}{200}$$ $$\lambda = 2 \text{ m}$$

2. The thunder of cloud is heard 9.8 seconds later than the flash of lightning. If the speed of sound in air is 330 m s–1, what will be the height of the cloud?

Given

Time, t = 9.8 s
Speed of sound, V = 330 ms-1

To find

Height of the cloud, d = ?

Solution

We know, $$V = \frac{d}{t}$$ Height of the cloud, $$d = V \times t$$ $$d = 330 \times 9.8$$ $$d = 3234 \text{ m}$$

3. A person who is sitting at a distance of 400 m from a source of sound is listening to a sound of 600 Hz. Find the time period between successive compressions from the source?

Given

Frequency of sound, n = 600 Hz

To find

Time period between successive compressions, T = ?

Solution

$$T = \frac{1}{n} = \frac{1}{600} = 0.00166 \text{ s}$$ Time period, T ≈ 0.0017 s

4. An ultrasonic wave is sent from a ship towards the bottom of the sea. It is found that the time interval between the transmission and reception of the wave is 1.6 seconds. What is the depth of the sea, if the velocity of sound in the seawater is 1400 m s–1?

Given

Time interval between sending and receiving of the wave, t = 1.6 s
Velocity of sound in sea wave, V = 1400 ms-1

To find

Depth of the sea, d = ?

Solution

$$2d = V \times t$$ Depth of the sea, $$d = \frac{1400 \times 1.6}{2}$$ $$d = \frac{2240}{2}$$ $$d = 1120 \text{ m}$$

5. A man is standing between two vertical walls 680 m apart. He claps his hands and hears two distinct echoes after 0.9 seconds and 1.1 second respectively. What is the speed of sound in the air?

Given

Time of first echo, t1 = 0.9 s
Time of second echo, t2 = 1.1 s
Total distance between walls = 680 m. The total distance travelled by sound for both echoes is 2d, where d is the distance between the walls.

To find

Speed of sound in air, V = ?

Solution

The total time for sound to travel to both walls and back to the man is t = t1 + t2. The total distance covered is 2d.
Speed of sound in air, $$V = \frac{2d}{t_1+t_2}$$ $$V = \frac{2 \times 680}{0.9 + 1.1}$$ $$V = \frac{1360}{2}$$ Speed of sound in air, V = 680 m/s

6. Two observers are stationed in two boats 4.5 km apart. A sound signal sent by one, under water, reaches the other after 3 seconds. What is the speed of sound in the water?

Given

Distance between two observers, d = 4.5 km = 4500 m
Time taken to reach underwater, t = 3 s

To find

Speed of sound, V = ?

Solution

Speed of sound in water, $$V = \frac{d}{t}$$ $$V = \frac{4.5 \text{ km}}{3 \text{ s}} = 1.5 \text{ km/s}$$ or $$V = \frac{4500 \text{ m}}{3 \text{ s}} = 1500 \text{ m/s}$$

7. A strong sound signal is sent from a ship towards the bottom of the sea. It is received back after 1s.What is the depth of sea given that the speed of sound in water 1450 m s–1?

Solution

Total time for signal to go and come back = 1 s.
Time taken by the signal to reach the bottom of the sea, t = 1/2 s = 0.5 s.
Speed of sound in water, V = 1450 m/s
Depth of the sea (distance travelled by signal), d = Speed × Time
$$d = V \times t$$ $$d = 1450 \times 0.5$$ Depth of the sea, d = 725 m

IX. Answer in Detail

1. What are the factors that affect the speed of sound in gases?

(i) Effect of density: Velocity of sound in gas is inversely proportional to the square root of density of the gas. Hence, the velocity decreases as the density of the gas increases.
$$v \propto \sqrt{\frac{1}{d}}$$

(ii) Effect of temperature: Velocity of sound in a gas is directly proportional to the square root of its temperature. Velocity of sound in a gas increases with increase in temperature, $$v \propto \sqrt{T}$$. Velocity at temperature T is given by the following equation.
$$v_T = (v_0 + 0.61 T) \text{ ms}^{-1}$$ Here, v0 is the velocity of sound in the gas at 0° C. For air, v0 = 331 ms-1. Hence, the velocity of sound changes by 0.61 ms-1 when temperature changes by each degree celcius.

(iii) Effect of relative humidity: When humidity increases, the speed of sound increases. That is why we can hear sound from long distances clearly during rainy seasons.

2. What is mean by reflection of sound? Explain:
a) reflection at the boundary of a rarer medium
b) reflection at the boundary of a denser medium
c) Reflection at curved surfaces

When sound waves travel in a given medium and strike the surface of another medium, it can be bounced back into the first medium is called as reflection.

a) Reflection in rarer medium:

(i) Consider a wave travelling in a solid medium striking on the interface between the solid and the air.
(ii) The compression exerts a force F on the surface of the rarer medium.
(iii) As a rarer medium has smaller resistance for any deformation, the surface of separation is pushed backwards.
(iv) As the particles of the rarer medium are free to move, a rarefaction is produced at the interface.
(v) Thus, a compression is reflected as a rarefaction and a rarefaction travels from right to left.

b) Reflection in denser medium:

(i) A longitudinal wave travels in a medium in the form of compressions and rarefactions.
(ii) Suppose a compression travelling in air from left to right reaches a rigid wall. The compression exerts a force F on the rigid wall.
(iii) In turn, the wall exerts an equal and opposite reaction R = - F on the air molecules. This results in a compression near the rigid wall.
(iv) Thus, a compression travelling towards the rigid wall is reflected back as a compression. That is, the direction of compression is reversed.

Reflection of compression wave at a denser medium

c) Reflection in curved surfaces:

(i) When sound waves are reflected from curved surfaces, the intensity of reflected waves is changed.
(ii) When reflected from a convex surface, the reflected waves are diverged out and the intensity is decreased.
(iii) When sound is reflected from a concave surface, the reflected waves are converged and focused at a point. So the intensity of reflected waves is concentrated at a point.
(iv) Parabolic surfaces are used when it is required to focus the sound at a particular point.
(v) Hence, many halls are designed with parabolic reflecting surfaces.
(vi) In elliptical surfaces, sound from one focus will always be reflected to the other focus, no matter where it strikes the wall.

3. a) What do you understand by the term ‘ultrasonic vibration’?
b) State three uses of ultrasonic vibrations.
c) Name three animals which can hear ultrasonic vibrations.

a) Ultrasonic vibrations: These are high- frequency sound waves beyond the range of human hearing. The frequency, for these sound waves, is greater than 20 kHz.

b) Uses:
(i) To kill micro organisms.
(ii) To find direction and range of submarines.
(iii) To clean dental plates, jewellery and coins.
(iv) For welding.

c) Animals which can hear Ultrasonic vibrations:
(i) Dogs,
(ii) Bats,
(iii) Dolphins.

4. What is an echo?
a) State two conditions necessary for hearing an echo.
b) What are the medical applications of echo?
c) How can you calculate the speed of sound using echo?

An echo is the sound reproduced due to the reflection of original sound from various rigid surfaces such as walls, ceilings, surfaces of mountains, etc.

a) Conditions necessary for hearing an echo:

(i) The minimum time gap between the original sound and echo must be 0.1s.
(ii) The minimum distance required to hear an echo is 17.2 m.

b) The medical applications of echo:

The principle of echo is used in obstetric ultrasonography, which is used to create real-time visual images of the developing embryo or fetus in the mother’s uterus.

c) Calculate the speed of sound using echo:

(i) The sound pulse emitted by the source travels a total distance of 2d while traveling from the source to the wall and then back to the receiver.
(ii) The time taken for this has been observed to be “t”. Hence, the speed of sound wave is given by:
$$\text{Speed of sound} = \frac{\text{Distance travelled}}{\text{Time taken}} = \frac{2d}{t}$$

X. HOT Questions

1. Suppose that a sound wave and a light wave have the same frequency, then which one has a longer wavelength?

  • a) Sound
  • b) Light
  • c) both a and b
  • d) data not sufficient
Answer: b) Light

2. When sound is reflected from a distant object, an echo is produced. Let the distance between the reflecting surface and the source of sound remain the same. Do you hear an echo sound on a hotter day? Justify your answer.

(i) An echo can only be heard if it reaches the ear after 0.1s. Time taken = Total distance / Velocity.
(ii) If the temperature rises (i.e. on a hotter day), the velocity of sound will increase. This in turn will decrease the time required for the sound to travel the same distance. If this time becomes less than 0.1s, an echo will not be heard.

Concept Map

Concept Map for Acoustics Chapter

10th Science: Key Points to Remember on Acoustics

Points to Remember - Acoustics

Key Concepts in Acoustics

  • Wave velocity is the velocity with which the wave travels through the medium.
  • Velocity of a sound wave is maximum in solids because they are more elastic in nature than liquids and gases. Since gases are least elastic in nature.
  • Infrasonic waves are sound wave with a frequency below 20 Hz. A human ear cannot hear these waves.
  • Ultrasonic waves are sound waves with frequency greater than 20 kHz, A human ear cannot detect these waves.
  • Reflection of sound waves obey the laws of reflection.
  • when a compression hits the boundary of a rarer medium, it is reflected as a rarefaction.
  • An echo is the sound reproduced due to the reflection of the original sound wave.
  • The minimum distance between the source and the reflecting surface should be 17.2 m to hear an echo clearly.
  • “The apparent frequency” is the frequency of the sound as heard by the listener.

Doppler Effect in Sound: Conditions, Applications & Solved Problems

Doppler Effect - Conditions, Applications, Solved Example Problems

DOPPLER EFFECT

The whistle of a fast moving train appears to increase in pitch as it approaches a stationary listener and it appears to decrease as the train moves away from the listener. This apparent change in frequency was first observed and explained by Christian Doppler (1803-1853), an Austrian Mathematician and Physicist. He observed that the frequency of the sound as received by a listener is different from the original frequency produced by the source whenever there is a relative motion between the source and the listener. This is known as Doppler effect. This relative motion could be due to various possibilities as follows:

  1. The listener moves towards or away from a stationary source
  2. The source moves towards or away from a stationary listener
  3. Both source and listener move towards or away from one other
  4. The medium moves when both source and listener are at rest

For simplicity of calculation, it is assumed that the medium is at rest. That is the velocity of the medium is zero.

Let S and L be the source and the listener moving with velocities $v_S$ and $v_L$ respectively. Consider the case of source and listener moving towards each other (Figure 5.7). As the distance between them decreases, the apparent frequency will be more than the actual source frequency.

Figure 5.7 Source and listener moving towards each other

Let n and n' be the frequency of the sound produced by the source and the sound observed by the listener respectively. Then, the expression for the apparent frequency n' is:

Doppler Effect Formula: n' = [ (v + vL) / (v - vS) ] n

Here, v is the velocity of sound waves in the given medium. Let us consider different possibilities of motions of the source and the listener. In all such cases, the expression for the apparent frequency is given in table 5.2.

Table 5.2: Expression for Apparent Frequency

Table 5.2 Part 1: Expression for apparent frequency due to Doppler effect Table 5.2 Part 2: Expression for apparent frequency due to Doppler effect

Suppose the medium (say wind) is moving with a velocity W in the direction of the propagation of sound. For this case, the velocity of sound, ‘v’ should be replaced with (v + W). If the medium moves in a direction opposite to the propagation of sound, then ‘v’ should be replaced with (v – W).

Solved problems

1. A source producing a sound of frequency 90 Hz is approaching a stationary listener with a speed equal to (1/10) of the speed of sound. What will be the frequency heard by the listener?

Solution:

When the source is moving towards the stationary listener, the expression for apparent frequency is:

Solution to problem 1 on Doppler effect

2. A source producing a sound of frequency 500 Hz is moving towards a listener with a velocity of 30 m s–1. The speed of the sound is 330 m s–1. What will be the frequency heard by listener?

Solution:

When the source is moving towards the stationary listener, the expression for apparent frequency is:

Solution to problem 2 on Doppler effect

3. A source of sound is moving with a velocity of 50 m s–1 towards a stationary listener. The listener measures the frequency of the source as 1000 Hz. What will be the apparent frequency of the source when it is moving away from the listener after crossing him? (velocity of sound in the medium is 330 m s–1)

Solution:

When the source is moving towards the stationary listener, the expression for apparent frequency is:

Solution step 1 for problem 3 on Doppler effect

n = 848.48 Hz.

The actual frequency of the sound is 848.48 Hz. When the source is moving away from the stationary listener, the expression for apparent frequency is:

Solution step 2 for problem 3 on Doppler effect

= 736.84 Hz

4. A source and listener are both moving towards each other with a speed v/10 where v is the speed of sound. If the frequency of the note emitted by the source is f, what will be the frequency heard by the listener?

Solution:

When source and listener are both moving towards each other, the apparent frequency is:

Solution to problem 4 on Doppler effect

5. At what speed should a source of sound move away from a stationary observer so that observer finds the apparent frequency equal to half of the original frequency?

Solution:

When the source is moving away from the stationary listener, the expression for the apparent frequency is:

Solution to problem 5 on Doppler effect

Conditions for no Doppler effect

Under the following circumstances, there will be no Doppler effect and the apparent frequency as heard by the listener will be the same as the source frequency.

  • When source (S) and listener (L) both are at rest.
  • When S and L move in such a way that distance between them remains constant.
  • When source S and L are moving in mutually perpendicular directions.
  • If the source is situated at the center of the circle along which the listener is moving.

Applications of Doppler effect

(a) To measure the speed of an automobile

An electromagnetic wave is emitted by a source attached to a police car. The wave is reflected by a moving vehicle, which acts as a moving source. There is a shift in the frequency of the reflected wave. From the frequency shift, the speed of the car can be determined. This helps to track the over speeding vehicles.

(b) Tracking a satellite

The frequency of radio waves emitted by a satellite decreases as the satellite passes away from the Earth. By measuring the change in the frequency of the radio waves, the location of the satellites is studied.

(c) RADAR (RAdio Detection And Ranging)

In RADAR, radio waves are sent, and the reflected waves are detected by the receiver of the RADAR station. From the frequency change, the speed and location of the aeroplanes and aircrafts are tracked.

(d) SONAR

In SONAR, by measuring the change in the frequency between the sent signal and received signal, the speed of marine animals and submarines can be determined.

Understanding the Reflection of Sound: Principles and Laws | 10th Science Acoustics

Reflection of Sound

When you speak in an empty room, you hear a soft repetition of your voice. This is nothing but the reflection of the sound waves that you produce. Let us discuss about the reflection of sound in detail through the following activity.

When sound waves travel in a given medium and strike the surface of another medium, they can be bounced back into the first medium. This phenomenon is known as reflection. In simple the reflection and refraction of sound is actually similar to the reflection of light. Thus, the bouncing of sound waves from the interface between two media is termed as the reflection of sound. The waves that strike the interface are termed as the incident wave and the waves that bounce back are termed as the reflected waves, as shown in Figure 5.3

Diagram showing the reflection of sound with incident and reflected waves.
Figure 5.3: Reflection of sound

1. Laws of reflection

Like light waves, sound waves also obey some fundamental laws of reflection. The following two laws of reflection are applicable to sound waves as well.

  • The incident wave, the normal to the reflecting surface and the reflected wave at the point of incidence lie in the same plane.
  • The angle of incidence ∠i is equal to the angle of reflection ∠r.

These laws can be observed from Figure 5.4.

Diagram illustrating the laws of reflection for sound waves.
Figure 5.4: Laws of reflection

In the above Figure 5.4, the sound waves that travel towards the reflecting surface are called the incident waves. The sound waves bouncing back from the reflecting surface are called reflected waves. For all practical purposes, the point of incidence and the point of reflection is the same point on the reflecting surface.

A perpendicular line drawn at the point of incidence is called the normal. The angle which the incident sound wave makes with the normal is called the angle of incidence, ‘i’. The angle which the reflected wave makes with the normal is called the angle of reflection, ‘r’.

2. Reflection at the boundary of a denser medium

A longitudinal wave travels in a medium in the form of compressions and rarefactions. Suppose a compression travelling in air from left to right reaches a rigid wall. The compression exerts a force F on the rigid wall. In turn, the wall exerts an equal and opposite reaction R = – F on the air molecules. This results in a compression near the rigid wall. Thus, a compression travelling towards the rigid wall is reflected back as a compression. That is the direction of compression is reversed (Figure 5.5).

Reflection of a sound wave at a denser medium, showing a compression reflected as a compression.
Figure 5.5: Reflection of sound at a denser medium

3. Reflection at the boundary of a rarer medium

Consider a wave travelling in a solid medium striking on the interface between the solid and the air. The compression exerts a force F on the surface of the rarer medium. As a rarer medium has smaller resistance for any deformation, the surface of separation is pushed backwards (Figure 5.6). As the particles of the rarer medium are free to move, a rarefaction is produced at the interface. Thus, a compression is reflected as a rarefaction and a rarefaction travels from right to left.

Reflection of a sound wave at a rarer medium, showing a compression reflected as a rarefaction.
Figure 5.6: Reflection of sound at a rarer medium

4. Reflection of sound in plane and curved surfaces

When sound waves are reflected from a plane surface, the reflected waves travel in a direction, according to the law of reflection. The intensity of the reflected wave is neither decreased nor increased. But, when the sound waves are reflected from the curved surfaces, the intensity of the reflected waves is changed. When reflected from a convex surface, the reflected waves are diverged out and the intensity is decreased. When sound is reflected from a concave surface, the reflected waves are converged and focused at a point. So the intensity of reflected waves is concentrated at a point. Parabolic surfaces are used when it is required to focus the sound at a particular point. Hence, many halls are designed with parabolic reflecting surfaces. In elliptical surfaces, sound from one focus will always be reflected to the other focus, no matter where it strikes the wall.

This principle is used in designing whispering halls. In a whispering hall, the speech of a person standing in one focus can be heard clearly by a listener standing at the other focus.

Diagram showing how elliptical surfaces in a whispering hall focus sound from one focus to another.
The principle of whispering halls using elliptical surfaces.

Understanding Sound Waves: Longitudinal Waves, Velocity, and Affecting Factors | Class 10 Acoustic

Topic: 10th Science, Chapter 5: Acoustics

Content: Study Material, Lecturing Notes, Assignment, Reference, Wiki description explanation, brief detail

Sound Waves

When you think about sound, the questions that arise in your minds are: How is sound produced? How does sound reach our ears from various sources? What is sound? Is it a force or energy? Let us answer all these questions.

By touching a ringing bell or a musical instrument while it is producing music, you can conclude that sound is produced by vibrations. The vibrating bodies produce energy in the form of waves, which are nothing but sound waves (Figure 5.1).

Production of sound waves
Figure 5.1: Production of sound waves

Best headphones deals

Suppose you and your friend are on the Moon. Will you be able to hear any sound produced by your friend? As the Moon does not have air, you will not be able to hear any sound produced by your friend. Hence, you understand that the sound produced due to the vibration of different bodies needs a material medium like air, water, steel, etc, for its propagation. Hence, sound can propagate through a gaseous medium or a liquid medium or a solid medium.

1. Longitudinal Waves

Sound waves are longitudinal waves that can travel through any medium (solids, liquids, gases) with a speed that depends on the properties of the medium. As sound travels through a medium, the particles of the medium vibrate along the direction of propagation of the wave. This displacement involves the longitudinal displacements of the individual molecules from their mean positions. This results in a series of high and low pressure regions called compressions and rarefactions as shown in figure 5.2.

Sound propagates as longitudinal waves
Figure 5.2: Sound propagates as longitudinal waves

2. Categories of sound waves based on their frequencies

(i) Audible waves – These are sound waves with a frequency ranging between 20 Hz and 20,000 Hz. These are generated by vibrating bodies such as vocal cords, stretched strings etc.

(ii) Infrasonic waves – These are sound waves with a frequency below 20 Hz that cannot be heard by the human ear. e.g., waves produced during earth quake, ocean waves, sound produced by whales, etc.

(iii) Ultrasonic waves – These are sound waves with a frequency greater than 20 kHz, Human ear cannot detect these waves, but certain creatures like mosquito, dogs, bats, dolphins can detect these waves. e.g., waves produced by bats.

3. Difference between the sound and light waves

Table comparing sound and light waves
Difference between sound and light waves

4. Velocity of sound waves

When you talk about the velocity associated with any wave, there are two velocities, namely particle velocity and wave velocity. SI unit of velocity is metre (m)

Particle velocity:

The velocity with which the particles of the medium vibrate in order to transfer the energy in the form of a wave is called particle velocity.

Wave velocity:

The velocity with which the wave travels through the medium is called wave velocity. In other words, the distance travelled by a sound wave in unit time is called the velocity of a sound wave.

∴ Velocity = Distance / Time taken

Formula: Velocity = Distance / Time taken

If the distance travelled by one wave is taken as one wavelength (λ) and, the time taken for this propagation is one time period (T), then, the expression for velocity can be written as

∴ V = λ/T (5.1)

Formula: V = λ/T

Therefore, velocity can be defined as the distance travelled per second by a sound wave. Since, Frequency (n) =1/T, equation (5.1) can be written as

V = nλ (5.2)

Velocity of a sound wave is maximum in solids because they are more elastic in nature than liquids and gases. Since, gases are least elastic in nature, the velocity of sound is the least in a gaseous medium.

So, vS > vL > vG

5. Factors affecting velocity of sound

In the case of solids, the elastic properties and the density of the solids affect the velocity of sound waves. Elastic property of solids is characterized by their elastic moduli. The speed of sound is directly proportional to the square root of the elastic modulus and inversely proportional to the square root of the density. Thus the velocity of sound in solids decreases as the density increases whereas the velocity of sound increases when the elasticity of the material increases. In the case of gases, the following factors affect the velocity of sound waves.

Effect of density:

The velocity of sound in a gas is inversely proportional to the square root of the density of the gas. Hence, the velocity decreases as the density of the gas increases.

Formula showing effect of density on velocity

Effect of temperature:

The velocity of sound in a gas is directly proportional to the square root of its temperature. The velocity of sound in a gas increases with the increase in temperature. \(v \propto \sqrt{T}\). Velocity at temperature T is given by the following equation:

vT = (vo + 0.61 T) m s–1

Here, vo is the velocity of sound in the gas at 0° C. For air, vo = 331 m s–1. Hence, the velocity of sound changes by 0.61 m s–1 when the temperature changes by one degree celsius.

Effect of relative humidity:

When humidity increases, the speed of sound increases. That is why you can hear sound from long distances clearly during rainy seasons.

Speed of sound waves in different media are given in table 5.1.

Table 5.1 showing speed of sound in different media
Table 5.1: Speed of sound in different media

Example Problem 5.1

At what temperature will the velocity of sound in air be double the velocity of sound in air at 0o C?

Solution:

Let To C be the required temperature. Let v1 and v2 be the velocity of sound at temperatures T1K and T2K respectively. T1 = 273K (0o C) and T2 = (To C + 273)K

Solution steps for Example Problem 5.1

T = (273 × 4) – 273 = 819º C

Acoustics: Introduction to Sound, Waves, Echo, and Doppler Effect | 10th Science Chapter 5

Tags: Introduction, 10th Science: Chapter 5: Acoustics, Study Material, Lecturing Notes

Acoustics - Introduction

INTRODUCTION

Sound plays a major role in our lives. We communicate with each other mainly through sound. In our daily life, we hear a variety of sounds produced by different sources like humans, animals, vehicle horns, etc. Hence, it becomes inevitable to understand how sound is produced, how it is propagated and how you hear the sound from various sources. It is sometimes misinterpreted that acoustics only deals with musical instruments and design of auditoria and concert halls. But, acoustics is a branch of physics that deals with production, transmission, reception, control, and effects of sound. You have studied about propagation and properties of sound waves in IX standard. In this lesson we will study about reflection of sound waves, Echo and Doppler effect.