Sound Pitch Loudness Sound Intensity Level Doppler Effect

Physics Mrs. Coyle

Sound

Sound is a longitudinal mechanical wave.

Compressions(High Pressure) Rarefactions(Low Pressure)

Speed of Sound
Depends The

on the medium.

more elastic the medium the faster sound will travel through it. in metals>speed in water>speed in air cant travel through vacuum.

Speed

Sound

Speed of Sound in Air

v = 331 + 0.6 T

( in meters/sec)

T is the temperature in 0C. In higher humidity, sound will travel faster.

Properties of Sound
Reflection

(Echo)

Refraction
Interference

Diffraction

Pitch: the frequency of a sound wave.

Musical notes have a given pitch. The note C has a frequency of 327Hz. When two notes differ by a ratio of 2:1 they are one octave apart. What would be the next higher C?

Bow (Shock) Waves

When the speed of a moving sound source is greater than the speed of the wave, a pressure ridge builds similar to the wave created by the bow of a ship.

physlet animation

Sonic Boom

When the pressure ridge of a bow wave of a jet passes over an observer on the ground, the observer experiences a sonic boom.

Doppler Effect

The change in a wave's perceived frequency due to the motion of either the sound source or the observer. It is applicable to any type of wave.
Austrian physicist Christian Doppler (1803-1853). train sound clip

Simulations physlet animation http://www.walter-fendt.de/ph14e/dopplereff.htm

The Doppler Effect

http://www.physicsclassroom.com/Class/sound/u11l3b.cfm

Doppler Effect Detected Frequency, (fD)

f D = f ( v v o ) v v s
f : frequency of source

v : speed of sound
vo : speed of observer (+)when observer moving towards source vs : speed of source (-)when source is moving towards

Example 1
An ambulance is approaching a stationary observer. The siren of the ambulance emits a frequency of 480Hz and the speed of the ambulance is 50km/h(=13.88m/s). What frequency will the stationary observer hear when the ambulance is approaching? Assume T=20oC.
Answer: fd = 500Hz

Sound Intensity (I)

I = (Power transmitted by the Wave)/Area

Threshold of human hearing:

Io =1 x 10-12 Watts/m2

Threshold of Pain: IP = 1 Watts/m2

Sound (Intensity) Level

A measure of our perception of the loudness of the sound. Unit: decibel(dB)

Sound (Intensity) Level, (decibel)

b= 10 log I I0
, unit for b is dB (decibel)

The decibel compares the sound intensity (I), to Io (1 x 10-12 Watts/m2) , the threshold of human hearing.

Remember: log(10x )= x

Examples of Sound Intensity Levels

jet plane taking off air raid siren threshold of pain loud rock music ear damage starts busy traffic normal conversation quiet library soft whisper threshold of human hearing

140 dB 125 dB 120 dB 115 dB 85 dB 70 dB 60 dB 40 dB 20 dB 0 dB

Example 2

What is the sound level (decibel) of a sound of 10-4 W/m2 intensity ?

Answer: 80dB

Example 3

How many times louder is a quiet library sound (40 dB) compared to a soft whisper (20 dB)? Hint 1: Property of logs: log(A/B) = logA logB Hint 2: Take the difference in dB and then find (I2 /I1)