Wave Motion

BY SANDEEP VERMA

Speed of Sound
Neha: Mam. What about the speed of sound in a

medium. Is it same for air, water and gaseous medium?

Teacher: No, Sound travels faster through liquid

than through a gas and still faster in a solid medium.

Speed
At 20 OC, the speed of sound in air is 340 meter per second.

Speed of sound in water is 1498 meter per second.

Speed of sound in iron is 5950 meter per second.

Speed of sound in aluminium is 6420 meter per second.

Speed of sound in steel is 5960 meter per second.

vibration
Teacher: When an object begins to vibrate, the layer of air in contact with it also begins to vibrate with the same frequency as that of the object.

Transmission
As a result, the layer of air next to that layer also begins to vibrate. Thus, sound travels as a wave away from the source. Teacher: So, every thing is clear to you. You all now understand the concept of sound and its propagation? Students: Yes Mam. Teacher: Next day, we will learn transmission of sound through a medium.

The distance between two consecutive compressions or two consecutive rarefactions is known as the wavelength. The relation between speed of sound, wavelength and frequency is v is equal to nue lambda.

Relation
v=

Where, v is speed of sound, is frequency of sound, and is wavelength of sound.

Intensity
The intensity of sound is proportional to the square

of the amplitude of the sound.

In the two graphs shown here, amplitude of second

graph is greater than the amplitude of first graph. So, intensity of sound depicting graph 2 is more.

The intensity of the sound is also defined as the amount of energy passing through unit area per second perpendicular to the direction of propagation. Its unit is watt per meter square.

Loudness
Loudness is the measure of audibility produced by sound in a person. This depends on the intensity, frequency and efficiency of the ear. This is also called sound pressure level.