SOUND

Question 1. What is sound and how is it produced ?

Answer: Sound is mechanical energy which produces a sensation of
hearing. When an Object is set into vibrations, sound is produced.

Question 3. Cite an experiment to show that sound needs a material

medium for its propagation.
Answer: Take an electric circuit which consists of a cell, a switch and an
electric bell arranged inside a bell jar, which stands on the platform of an
evacuating pump. The switch of the bell is pressed to close the electric
circuit. When there is air within the bell jar, sound is heard. Air is now
pumped out of the bell jar. When the air is completely removed from the bell
jar, no sound is heard as it is obvious from fig. because the medium of air
which has to carry energy from the bell to the bell jar is removed. It shows
that sound needs material medium for its propagation.

Question 4. Why is sound wave called a longitudinal wave ?

Answer:Sound wave is called longitudinal wave because the particles of the
medium vibrate in the direction of the propagation of wave.

Question 5. Which characteristic of the sound helps you to identify

your friend by his voice while sitting with others in a darkroom ?
Answer: The characteristic of sound is quality or timbre.

Question 6. Flash and thunder are produced simultaneously. But

thunder is heard a few seconds after the flash is seen, why ?
Answer: Speed of sound is 330 m/sec in air medium at 0°C. Whereas speed
of light is 3 x 108m/sec. When we compare the speed of light with that of
speed of sound, speed of light is greater than that of speed of sound.
Therefore thunder is heard a few seconds after the flash is seen.

Question 7. A person has a hearing range from 20 Hz to 20 kHz.

What are the typical wavelengths of sound waves in air
corresponding to these two frequencies? Take the speed of sound in
air as 344 ms-1.
Answer:

Question 8. Two children are a± opposite ends of an aluminium rod.

One strikes the end of the rod with a stone. Find the ratio of times
taken by the sound wave in air and in aluminium to reach the
second child.
Answer:

Question 9. The frequency of a sources/ sound is 100 Hz. How many

times does it vibrate in a minute?
Answer:

Question 10. Does sound follow the same laws of reflection as light
does? Explain.
Answer: Yes. Sound follows the same laws of reflection as that of light
because,
(i) Angle of incidence of sound is always equal to that of angle of reflection of
sound waves.
(ii) The direction in which sound is incident, the direction in which it is
reflected and normal all lie in the same plane.

Question 11. When a sound is reflected from a distant object, an

echo is produced. Let the distance between the reflecting surface
and the source of sound production remains the same. Do you hear
echo sound on a hotter day?
Answer:

Time is inversely proportional to the speed. As the temperature increases,

the speed increases. Thus on a hot day due to high temperature the speed of
sound increases. Hence the time will decrease and we can hear the echo
sooner.

Question 12. Give two practical applications of reflection of sound

waves.
Answer: Reflection of sound is used in megaphones, horns and musical
instruments such as trumpets and shehna. It is used in stethoscope for
hearing patient’s heartbeat. Ceilings of the concert halls are curved, so that
sound after reflection reaches all comers of the hall. (Any two practical
applications can be written).

Question 13. A stone dropped from the top of a tower 500 m high
into a pond of water at the base of the tower. When is the splash
heard at the top? Giving, g = 10 ms-2 and speed of sound = 340 m s-
1.
Answer:

Question 14. A sound wave travels at a speed of 339 ms-1. If its

wavelength is 1.5 cm, what is the frequency of the wave? Will it be
audible?
Answer:

Question 15. What is reverberation? How can it be reduced?

Answer: The persistence of sound in an auditorium is the result of repeated
reflections of sound and is called reverberation.
To reduce the undesirable effects due to reverberation, roofs and walls of the
auditorium are generally covered with sound absorbent materials like
compressed fiberboard, rough plaster or draperies. The seat materials are
also selected having sound absorption properties.
Question 16. What is loudness of sound? What factors does it
depend on?
Answer: The loudness of sound is determined by its amplitude. The
amplitude of the sound wave depends upon the force with which an object is
made to vibrate. Loud sound can travel a larger distance as it is associated
with higher energy. A sound waves spreads out from its source. As it moves
away from the source its amplitude as well as its loudness decreases.

Question 17. Explain how bats use ultrasound to catch a prey.

Answer: Bats search out its prey by emitting and detecting reflections of
ultrasonic waves. The high-pitched ultrasonic squeaks of bat are reflected
from the obstacles or prey and return to bat’s ear. The nature of reflection
tells the bat where the obstacle or prey is and what it is like.

Question 18. How is ultrasound used for cleaning?

Answer: Ultrasound is used to clean parts located in hard-to-reach places
(i.e.) spiral tube, odd shaped parts, electronic components etc. Objects to be
cleaned are placed in a cleaning solution and ultrasonic waves are sent into
the solution. Due to the high frequency, the dust particles, grease get
detached and drop y. The objects thus get thoroughly cleaned.

Question 19. Explain the working and application of a sonar.

Answer: Working: SONAR Consists of a transmitter and a detector and is
installed in a boat or a ship as shown in the fig. The transmitter produces and
transmits ultrasonic waves. These waves travel through water and after
striking the object on the seabed, get reflected back and are sensed by the
detector. The detector converts the ultrasonic waves into electrical signals
which are appropriately interpreted. The distance of the object that reflected
the sound wave can be calculated by knowing the speed of sound in water
and the time interval between the transmission and reception of the
ultrasound.

Question 20. A sonar device on a submarine sends out a signal and

receives an echo 5 s later. Calculate the speed of sound in water if
the distance of the object from the submarine is 3625 m.
Answer: Time taken between transmission and reception of signal = 5 sec.
Distance of the object from the sub marine = 3625 m.

Question.21. Explain how defects in a metal block can be detected

using ultrasound.
Answer. Ultrasounds can be used to detect cracks and flaws in metal blocks.
Metallic components are used in the construction of big structures like
buildings, bridges, machines and scientific equipment’s. The cracks or holes
inside the metal blocks, which are invisible from outside reduces the
strength of the structure. Ultrasonic waves are allowed to pass through the
metallic block and detectors are used to detect the transmitted waves. If
there is even a small defect, the ultrasound gets reflected back indicating
the presence of the flaw or defect.

Question 22. Explain how the human ear works.

Answer: The outer ear is called “pinna. It collects the sound from the
surroundings. The collected sound passes through the auditory canal. At the
end of the auditory canal there is a thin membrane called the eardrum or the
tympanic membrane. When a compression of the medium reaches the
eardrum the pressure on the outside of the membrane increases and forces
the eardrum inward. Similarly, the eardrum moves outward when a
rarefaction reaches it. In this way the eardrum vibrates. The vibrations are
amplified several times by three bones (the hammer, anvil and stirrup) in the
middle ear. The middle ear transmits the amplified pressure variations
received from the sound wave to the inner ear. In the inner ear, the pressure
variations are turned into electrical signals by the cochlea. These electrical
signals are sent to the brain via the auditory nerve and the brain interprets
them as sound.