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Notes - Echo - Reflection of Sound

An echo is formed when a sound bounces off a hard, flat surface located more than 17.2 meters from the source. To be distinct, the time between the original sound and echo must be at least 0.1 seconds. Echoes can be reduced by roughening surfaces or adding sound-absorbing materials like curtains or carpets. Echoes are useful for technologies like sonar and echolocation but make auditoriums noisy when empty.

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1K views3 pages

Notes - Echo - Reflection of Sound

An echo is formed when a sound bounces off a hard, flat surface located more than 17.2 meters from the source. To be distinct, the time between the original sound and echo must be at least 0.1 seconds. Echoes can be reduced by roughening surfaces or adding sound-absorbing materials like curtains or carpets. Echoes are useful for technologies like sonar and echolocation but make auditoriums noisy when empty.

Uploaded by

aasraj
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Reflection of Sound - Echo

Instructions: Notes to be written or pasted in Physics Exercise Journal.

Echo: The repetition of a sound due to reflection of sound is known as an echo.

• We cannot hear an echo unless the reflecting surface is beyond a specified distance from the source of
the sound. The minimum distance required to hear an echo is 17.2 m.
• To hear a distinct echo the time interval between the original sound and the reflected one must be at
least 0.1 s.

How are echoes formed?

An echo is formed when a sound is reflected off hard, flat surfaces, such as a large wall or a distant cliff.

How to reduce effects of echoes?

To reduce the effects of echo, walls can be roughened or “softened” (with padding) or covered with
curtains and floors covered with carpets or rugs.

Why does sound echo in an empty auditorium?

• Sound will echo in an empty auditorium because there is nothing (furniture, carpets, curtains) to stop
the sound reflecting between hard surfaces, such as the walls, windows, ceiling, and floor .

• Also note that each surface is not a perfect reflector, some of the sound energy will always be absorbed
by the surfaces.

Uses of Echo

• SONAR – Sound Navigation and ranging: Technology used by ships for navigation at sea and to detect
the position of other vessels, to find large shoals of fish, to measure the depth of sea.

• Echolocation: Detects the location of an object


Direct Sound Method – Gunshot Method

1. Calculate the speed of sound when frequency is 120 Hz and wavelength is 3 m.

Formula : v = f λ

Solution : v = 120 x 3

speed = 360 m/s

2. Person A and person B are standing 620 m away from each other. Person A fires a pistol. Person B
starts the stopwatch when he sees the flash of pistol and stops it when he hears the sound. The time
interval t is recorded as 2 s. Calculate the speed of sound.

Formula : v = s / t

Solution : v = 620/2

speed = 310 m/s

Indirect Sound Method – Clap-Echo Method

1. A person standing 50 m away from a wall claps his hands and hears an echo after 0.3 s. Calculate the
speed of the sound.

Formula : v = 2 d / t

Solution : v = 2 x 50

0.3

speed = 333 m/s

2. An explosion occurs 17 m away from a wall. A person standing 2 m away from the explosion hears
an echo of this explosion 0.1 s later. Calculate the speed of sound.

Formula : v = Total distance


echo time

Solution : v = 17 + 17 + 2

0.1

speed = 360 m/s

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