LECTURE - 3 : CLASS VIII : SCIENCE : CHAPTER 13 : SOUND (SOUND WAVE)

CLASS VIII   |    SCIENCE    |    CHAPTER 13

      notes prepared by subhankar Karmakar

                                                                         

Sound Wave

Introduction to waves:

The sound is produced by vibrating objects.

They travel from one place to another in the form of waves. Hence, the name sound waves.

A repeated back and forth motion is called vibrations or oscillations.

Every vibration or oscillation has three characteristics, amplitude (A), time period (T) and frequency (f). 

Amplitude (A): The maximum displacement of a vibrating object from its central position is called the amplitude of vibrations or oscillations. 

Time Period (T): The time taken by A vibrating object to complete one vibration or oscillation is called its time period. Time period is measured in second.

Time period (T) = Total time (t) / total no. of vibrations (N)

T = t/N ------ (i)

Frequency (f): The number of vibrations made in one second is called the frequency of vibration. The frequency is measured in Hertz (Hz). 

Frequency (f) = Total no. of vibrations (N) /total time (t)

f = N/t ------ (ii)

Time period = 1 / frequency

Frequency = 1/Time period

T = 1/f ------ (iii)

f = 1/T ------ (iv)

1. Suppose an object makes 200 vibration in 5 second, find time period and frequency. 

Soln: Total number of vibration, N = 200

          Total time, t = 5 s

Frequency, f = N/t = (200/5) Hz = 40 Hz

Time period, T = t/N = (5/200) = 0.025 s

2. The frequency of a vibration is 50 Hz. Calculate the number of oscillations in 5 second. 

Soln. f = N/t 

          N = ft = 50 x 5 = 250 vibrations

3. The frequency of a vibration is 1 Kilo Hertz (KHz), calculate is time period. 

Soln. f = 1 KHz = 1000 Hz

Time period, T = 1/f = 1/1000 = 0.001 s

Wave and particle motion of waves: 

Mechanical waves are waves that travel through a material medium.

It is of two types: 

Depending on the direction of motion of the particle of the medium and the wave propagation, waves are classified into two categories. 

1. Transverse wave

2. Longitudinal wave

Transverse waves: 

Particle motion is to perpendicular the direction of wave motion.

This type of wave is a mechanical wave called a transverse wave. e.g., Light, or even  Mexican wave in a stadium.

Longitudinal waves: 

When the particles of the medium travel parallel to the direction of the wave motion by means of successive compression or rarefaction.

It is also a mechanical wave.

Example: sound wave is longitudinal wave.

Three characteristics of sound:

There are are three characteristics of a sound. They are 1. Loudness, 2. Pitch, 3. Quality.

Loudness: 

Sounds are produced by a vibrating objects. If more energy is supplied to an object by plucking it or hitting it more strongly then the object will vibrate with a greater amplitude and produce a louder sound. 

The Loudness of sound depends on the amplitude of vibrations of the vibrating object. Greater the amplitude of vibration, louder the sound will be. 

The loudness of sound is directly proportional to the square of amplitude of vibrations.

The loudness of sound is expressed in the unit called decibel (dB). 

Sound above 80 dB, is considered harmful.

Pitch: Pitch is that characteristic of sound by which we can distinguish between different sounds of the same loudness. Pitch is also called shrillness. A man's voice is flat, having a low pitch whereas a woman's voice is shrillness, having a high pitch. 

Pitch of a sound depends on the frequency of vibration. It is directly proportional to the frequency of the vibrations. If the frequency of vibration is low, the sound produced has a low pitch, where as if the frequency of vibration is high the sound produced has a high pitch. 

Sound having high frequency or high peach is said to be shrill. The voice of a woman is shriller than that of a man. The voice of small baby e is even more shrill than that of a woman. 

Quality of a sound: 

Quality is that characteristic of sound which enables us to distinguish between the sounds produced by different sound producing objects even if they are of same loudness and pitch. Quality of sound is also known as Timbre.

The quality of sound produced by different musical instruments or different singers is different because they produce sound waves of different shapes. 

Audible and inaudible sounds

All the vibrating bodies or objects do not produce audible sound. An object must vibrate at the rate of at least 20 times per second to be able to produce audible sound. 

Audible range = 20Hz to 20kHz = 20000 Hz known as the Sonic range.

The sound having very low frequencies which cannot be heard by human ear are chord infrasonic sounds.

Below 20 Hz (inaudible) → infrasonic range.

The sounds having to high frequencies which cannot be heard by human ear are called ultrasonic sound.

Above 20 kHz (inaudible) → Ultrasonic range.

Animals and ultrasonic sounds:

The human beings can neither produce ultrasonic sound nor can they hear ultrasonic sound. But many animals can produce ultrasonic sound for different purpose. 

Bats produce ultrasonic sounds during screaming, also they can hear ultrasonic sounds. Bats use ultrasonic sounds to locate something during night. 

Dogs, monkeys, deer and leopards can also hear ultrasonic sounds. 

Uses of ultrasonic sound:

(i) Ultrasound is used as a diagnostic tool in medical science to investigate inside of the human body.

(ii) Ultrasound is used to study the growth of foetus (developing baby) inside the mother's womb. 

(iii) Ultrasound is used in the treatment of muscular pain and a disease called arthritis (which is inflammation of joints).

(iv) Ultrasound is used to measure the depth of sea (or ocean). It is also used to locate under-water objects like shipwrecks, submarines and shoals of fish, etc.

The ultrasound equipment works at sound frequencies higher than 20000 Hz. 

NOISE AND MUSIC

"The unpleasant sounds around us are called noise."

Noise is produced by the irregular vibrations of the sound producing source. Some examples of noise are as follows. Running of mixture and grinder in the kitchen produces noise. Blowing of horns of the motor vehicles causes noise. Bursting of crackers produces noise. Shattering of glass produces noise. 

"The sounds which are pleasant to hear are called musical sounds or music."

NOISE POLLUTION:

"The presence of loud, unwanted and disturbing sounds in our environment is called noise pollution." Some of the major sources of noise pollution are as follows.

1. The motor vehicles running on the road produces noise pollution by blowing horns and sounds of their engines. 

2. The bursting of crackers on various social and religious occasions produces noise pollution.

3. The various machines in factories make loud sounds and cause noise pollution.

4. The takeoff landing and flying of aeroplanes produces noise pollution.

5. The playing of loudspeakers and bands at marriages and other social functions causes of noise pollution. 

6. The construction of buildings produces a lot of noise pollution in the surroundings. 

HARMS OF NOISE POLLUTION

Excessive loud noise is harmful to us. The various harms of noise pollution are as follows:

1. Loud noise can cause great harm to our ears. Loud noise can even damage the ear permanently and cause deafness.

2. Loud noise can cause a person to lose concentration in his work or studies.

3. Loud noise can cause an ailment called hyper-tension. 

4. Noise can cause irritation and headache.

5. Loud noise during night time disturbs our sleep. 

MEASURES TO CONTROL NOISE POLLUTION:

We can control the noise pollution to some extent by taking the following measures.

1. We should not play radio, stereo systems and television too loudly.

2. The horns of motor vehicles should not be blown unnecessarily. 

3. The bursting of crackers should be avoided.

4. The noise making factories and airports should be shifted away from the residential areas of the city. 

5. Loudspeaker should be played at low volume during marriages and other social functions. 

6. Trees should be planted along the roads and around buildings to reduce the noise pollution from the roads and other activities from the reaching the residents of the area. 

HEARING IMPAIRMENT:

The partial hearing loss of a human being is called hearing impairment. A person having partial hearing loss can hear sounds properly by using hearing aid. Hearing aid is a small sound amplifying device worn on the ear by a partially deaf person.