Sound

Is a physical phenomenon that stimulates the sense of hearing.

It is caused by a pressure variation of a medium due to a certain
vibration that generates a longitudinal wave. (Sound waves are
longitudinal waves)
 How sound is produced?

Sound is produced when there is vibration of object or thing. The production

of sound involves setting up a wave in air. To set up a CONTINUOUS sound
you will need to set a standing wave pattern.
Standing wave – are waves produced when a wave is travelling and it is reflected back upon
itself.

Two parts of a standing wave:

• Antinode – areas of maximum

amplitude.
• Node – areas of zero amplitude.
Sound waves – are common type of standing waves caused by
resonance.

Resonance – when a FORCED vibration matches an object’s

natural frequency thus producing vibration, sound, or even
damage
Factors affecting the Speed of Sounds:

Molecules in a medium:

Since different media transmit sound differently, sound travels at different speeds in
different materials. Since solid is the best transmitter of sound, sound travels fastest
in solids, a little faster in liquids and slowest in gases.
Speed of Sound on different material:
Other factors that affect speed of sound includes:

(1) atmospheric pressure,

(2) relative humidity, and
(3) atmospheric temperature.
Do you want to know why sound travels faster in hot air?

There are more molecular interactions that happen in hot air. This is
because the hot particles of air gain more kinetic energy and so there is
also an increase in the mean velocity of the molecules. Since sound is a
consequence of energy transfer through collisions, more collisions and
faster collisions means faster sound.
 Elastic Property and Inertial Property of a medium where sound is propagated

1. Elastic Property – refers to the ability of the material to retain or maintain its
shape and not to deform when a force is applied on it. (Solids as compared to
liquids and gases have the highest elastic property. Consequently, solid is the
medium on which sound travels fastest. This means that the greater the elastic
property, the faster the sound waves travel.)

2. Inertial Property – the tendency of the material to maintain its state of motion
Pleasant Sound Loud Noise (The more inert the particles of a medium the less
responsive they will be to interact with neighboring particles the slower the wave
will be thus, decreasing the speed of sound)
 Characteristics of a sound wave:

Frequency, amplitude, wavelength,

speed or velocity and period
Properties of a sound wave:

Reflection, Refraction, Diffraction and interference (you will be learning in higher

grade level)

Pitch – refers to the highness or the lowness of the sound. (example: guitar strings
– string number 1 has higher pitch compared to string number 6) Pitch can also be
attributed to the frequency of the sound wave produced, the higher the frequency
of the sound wave the higher the pitch while the lower the frequency the lower
the pitch.
Loudness and Intensities

Intensity of a sound refers to the amount

of energy a sound wave is carrying and is
attributed to the amplitude of the sound
wave. An instrument that measures the
intensity of sound is called Oscilloscope.
Loudness – is a psychological
sensation that differs on people,
some perceive sound as loud some
perceive it as soft. A scale is used
to determine loudness of a sound.
This is devised by the telephone
inventor Alexander Graham Bell.
He used a unit Decibel (dB) to
measure loudness.
PARTS OF EAR
Outer ear or the pinna – collects the
sound waves and focus them into the ear
canal. Ear canal transmits sound waves to
the ear drum.

Middle ear – where there is a boundary

from the outer ear and the middle ear
called the tympanum or the Tympanic
membrane. In here air vibrations sets the
Eardrum membrane in motion that causes
three Small bones (hammer, anvil and
stirrup)to move. Three bones convert
small amplitude vibrations into Large
amplitude oscillations. This will then be
transferred To the inner ear through an
oval window.
 Inner ear – behind the oval window is a snail-shaped liquid –
filled organ called the cochlea. The large amplitude oscillations
create waves that travel in liquid. These sounds are converted
into electrical impulses, which are sent to the brain by the
auditory nerve. The brain, interprets these signals as words,
music or noise.
E. Other useful informations and Uses of sound waves:

Did you know that we can only sense within the frequency range of about 20 Hz to
about 20000 Hz? Vibrational frequencies beyond 20 000 Hz is called ultrasonic
frequencies while extremely low frequencies are known as infrasonic frequencies.
Our ear cannot detect ultrasonic or infrasonic waves. But some animals like dogs can
hear sounds as high as 50 000 Hz while bats can detect sounds as high as 100 000 Hz.
We can see images of your baby brother or sister when the OB-Gyne asks your
mommy or nanay to undergo ultrasound. Ultrasonic waves are used to help
physicians see our internal organs. Nowadays, ultrasonic technology is of three kinds:
2-dimensional, 3-dimensional, and 4-dimensional categories. In the 3- and 4-
dimensional ultrasonic technologies, the features of the fetus are very clearly
captured. It has also been found that ultrasonic waves can be used as rodent and
insect exterminators. The very loud ultrasonic sources in a building will usually drive
the rodents away or disorient cockroaches causing them to die from the induced
erratic behavior.