SOUND

▪Sound waves are longitudinal waves

produced by vibrations in an object.
▪The particle motion in the medium is
parallel to the direction where the wave
travels.
▪If the wave motion is propagating to the
right, the particle also vibrates to the right.
▪Sound waves need medium to
propagate.
▪A medium is composed of particles
which move or vibrate when energy
passes through them.
▪ The high-density region in a sound wave is called
compression.
▪ The low-density region is called rarefaction.
▪Sound can only travel if there is a
medium.
▪Sound travels faster and better in solids
than in air.
▪It is because transmission of sound
depends on the object’s elasticity.
▪Reflection
▪Reflection is the bouncing back of sound. It is
also known as an echo.
▪ If the surface is rigid, the reflected sound carries a
significant amount of energy.
▪ If the surface is soft and irregular, the reflected wave
has less energy.
▪Multiple reflection is called reverberations.
▪Refraction is the bending of sound
waves. It occurs when sound
waves travel at different speeds.
▪It is usually caused by uneven
winds or air with uneven
temperature.
▪It occurs when a sound wave changes direction
as it passes through an opening and around a
barrier.
▪The diffraction of sound waves increases with
increasing wavelength
▪Diffraction does not occur when the wavelength
of the sound wave is smaller than the opening
or the barrier.
▪A sound wave is a sinusoidal curve.
▪It represents the alternating regions of
compression and rarefaction in a sound wave.
▪The characteristics of sound waves can be
described from it.
▪The highest point in a wave is called the crest
while its lowest point is the trough.
▪The amplitude (A) refers to the maximum
distance between the equilibrium position and
the crest or trough of a wave.
▪It is expressed in meters (m).
▪The frequency (f) quantifies the number of
vibrations a wave creates at a given time.
▪It is measured in hertz (Hz) which is also
equivalent to 1/s.
▪ The pitch produced by different instruments is
determined by the frequency of the vibration.
▪ High-frequency sounds are produced by rapid
vibrations that produce high notes.
▪ Pitch can be represented by its name on the musical
scale.
▪ For example, the middle note C has a frequency of
262 Hz while the note F has a frequency of 352 Hz.
▪ For stringed instruments such as guitars or violins,
tuning is produced by changing the tightness of the
string.
▪ Notice also that the stringed mentioned have strings
of different thickness.
▪ One can change the frequency by varying the length
of the string.
▪ This is done through a technique called “stopping”,
which is done by pressing the strings against the
fingerboard.
▪Wind instruments such as
trombones and trumpets
produce different pitch by
adjusting the length of the
air column inside.
▪Pitch is also affected by the position and
movement of the source or listener. If a moving
ambulance has its siren on and is approaching
the listener, the frequency of the sound heard is
higher.
▪The Doppler effect occurs only when there is
relative motion of the source and the observer
along the line connecting them.
▪ Amplitude refers to the pressure variations in a wave.
It is equivalent to the intensity of the sound.
▪ Intensity is directly proportional to the square of the
wave amplitude.
▪ The higher the amplitude, the higher the energy the
wave is carrying.
▪ Today, decibel (dB) is widely used as a unit for sound
level especially in science and engineering.
▪Loudness is the sound perceived by the
human ear. The greater the intensity, the
louder the sound.
▪Each sound produced by several
instruments has different quality or
timbre.
▪This describes the characteristics of
sound which enables the ear to
distinguish it even if they are of the
same pitch and loudness.
▪The pitch of the note is determined by the
lowest frequency called the fundamental
frequency.
▪A harmonic frequency, on the other
hand, is the regular and repeating pattern
of the fundamental frequency. It is
commonly represented as a whole number
integer.
▪Categories of Sound
▪Infrasonic Sounds
▪Audible Sounds
▪Ultrasonic Sounds
▪ Infrasound or infrasonic waves are longitudinal waves
with frequencies ranging below the audible range.
▪ These are frequencies less than 20 Hz. Although
humans cannot hear frequencies below 16-20 Hz, it
can be felt as vibrations.
▪ Hearing protection such as earmuffs and earplugs do
not protect humans from infrasound waves.
▪Infrasounds are generated by natural
events such as earthquakes, volcanic
activity, and wind.
▪It is one of the reasons why infrasound
waves are useful in detecting and
monitoring volcanic activities and
earthquakes.
▪Based on studies, the main effect of
infrasound for humans is annoyance.
▪Continuous exposure, however, may
cause vertigo, intolerable sensations, and
nausea to name a few.
▪It has also been observed to affect the
pattern of sleep of some individuals.
▪Audible sounds are longitudinal
waves with frequencies ranging
from 20 Hz to 20 000 Hz.
▪It is the range of frequencies that
can be heard by the human ear.
▪It includes but not limited to human voice when
someone is talking, singing, or shouting.
▪It can also come from different animal sounds
such as barking of dogs and chirping of birds.
▪In addition, different musical instruments are
also sources of sounds.
▪The noise that humans can hear is also under
audible range.
▪The primary applications of audible
sound are found in the field of
communication.
▪With the help of radio waves, it can
also be utilized in
telecommunications.
▪Ultrasound or ultrasonic waves are
longitudinal waves with frequencies above
the audible range.
▪These are frequencies greater than 20
kHz.
▪It is also characterized by short
wavelengths.
▪Internal organs can be viewed using
ultrasound.
▪The main principle behind why ultrasounds can
be used in imaging is that a portion of a sound
wave is reflected when it hits a boundary.
▪A common application of ultrasound is the
imaging during pregnancy.
▪Another application in the medical field of
ultrasound is the cavitron ultrasonic surgical
aspirator (CUSA).
▪It is used to remove brain tumors surgically. The
tip of the CUSA emits ultrasonic waves at
around 23 kHz.
▪When the tip touches the tumor, part of the
tumor is broken into smaller pieces.
▪Ultrasound is also used to fragment large
kidney stones
▪Ultrasound can also be utilized for ultrasonic
ranging unit for cameras.
▪It uses ultrasound to measure the distance
between the camera and the objects that need
to be photographed.
▪Sonar, an abbreviation for Sound
Navigation and Ranging, uses ultrasound
to navigate, detect, and communicate
underwater.
▪It is used to identify underwater hazards in
navigation as well as to collect information
and to map the seafloor.
▪ Elephants can communicate using infrasound.
▪ This is the reason why they can communicate with one
another even at large distances.
▪ It is produced by the vibration of the vocal folds but at a
slower rate.
▪Bats use echolocation to navigate and to
communicate with other bats.
▪Echolocation involves emitting of ultrasound
pulses.
▪These pulses bounce off on barriers and allow
the bats to know their surroundings.
▪They use it to capture preys no matter how
small it is.
▪Birds such as oilbirds and swiftlets use
echolocation as well.
▪They generate clicks audible to human
ears.
▪They can produce this through the use of
their organ of voice called syrinx or lower
larynx.
▪Dolphins also use echolocation using their
fat-filled organ called melon.
▪They emit sound pulses of about 120 kHz.
▪The returning sounds are then interpreted
and used to navigate, look for possible
preys, and also for communication with
other dolphins.
▪ Snakes can sense infrasound through their jaws.
▪ Insects also use the production of sound for varied
purposes. Flies, specifically Drosophila melanogaster
males, “sing” to attract females.
▪ They produce sound through the vibration of their
wings.
▪ Insects such as crickets, grasshoppers, cicadas have
specialized hearing organs called tympanal organs.
▪ 1. Sound wave is the type of longitudinal wave where the
motion of the particles is (perpendicular ; parallel) to the
direction the wave travels.
▪ 2. The difference in (speed ; temperature) is the reason why
bending of sound occurs both in air and in water.
▪ 3. (Rarefaction ; Compression) is the stretched parts of the
longitudinal wave.
▪ 4. Some portions of the sound waves which are not reflected
are then (dissolved ; absorbed) by the surface.
▪ 5. Sound waves travel the fastest in (solids ; liquids) .
▪ 1. On a cold night, Robert’s voice reached the other end of
the seashore.
▪ 2. Sam heard the sound of a radio from the opposite room
because a small door opening is left unclosed.
▪ 3. Mae heard your echo when you shouted on the top of a
hill.
▪ 4. Dolphins used the bouncing back of sound to find food.
▪ 5. Sound waves from a classroom pass through a doorway
into the hallway.