Niraj International School

Chapter Notes

Chapter 12- Sound (All intext and exercise questions solved)

Section 12.1 Page: 162
1. How does the sound produced by a vibrating object in a medium reach your
ear?
Solution:
When an object vibrates, it necessitates the surrounding particles of the medium to
vibrate. The particles that are adjacent to vibrating particles are forced to vibrate.
Hence, the sound produced by a vibrating object in a medium is transferred from
particle to particle till it reaches your ear.
Section 12.2 Page: 163
1. Explain how sound is produced by your school bell.
Solution:
When the school bell is hit with a hammer, it moves forward and backwards
producing compression and rarefaction due to vibrations. This is how sound is
produced by the school bell.
2. Why are sound waves called mechanical waves?
Solution:
Sound waves require a medium to propagate to interact with the particles present in
it. Therefore, sound waves are called mechanical waves.
3. Suppose you and your friend are on the moon. Will you be able to hear any
sound produced by your friend?
Solution:
No. Sound waves require a medium to propagate. Due to the absence of
atmosphere on the moon and since sound cannot travel in vacuum, I will not be able
to hear any sound produced by my friend.
Section 12.2.3 Page: 166
1. Which wave property determines (a) loudness, (b) pitch?
Solution:
(a). Amplitude – The loudness of the sound and its amplitude is directly related to
each other. Larger the amplitude, louder is the sound.

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(b). Frequency – The pitch of the sound and its frequency is directly related to each
other. If the pitch is high then the frequency of sound is also high.
2. Guess which sound has a higher pitch: guitar or car horn?
Solution:
The pitch of a sound is directly proportional to its frequency. Therefore, the guitar
has a higher pitch when compared to a car horn.
3. What are wavelength, frequency, time period and amplitude of a sound
wave?
Solution:
(a) Wavelength – Wavelength can be defined as the distance between two
consecutive rarefactions or two consecutive compressions. The SI unit of
wavelength is meter (m).
(b) Frequency – Frequency is defined as the number of oscillations per second. The
SI unit of frequency is hertz (Hz).
(c) Amplitude – Amplitude can be defined as the maximum height reached by the
trough or crest of a sound wave.
(d) Time period – The time period is defined as the time required to produce one
complete cycle of a sound wave.
4. How are the wavelength and frequency of a sound wave related to its
speed?
Solution:
Wavelength, speed, and frequency are related in the following way:
Speed = Wavelength x Frequency
v=λν
5. Calculate the wavelength of a sound wave whose frequency is 220 Hz and
speed is 440 m/s in a given medium.
Solution:
Given that,
Frequency of sound wave = 220 Hz.
Speed of sound wave = 440 m/s.
Calculate wavelength.
We know that,
Speed = Wavelength × Frequency
v=λν
440 = Wavelength × 220
Wavelength = 440/220

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Wavelength = 2
Therefore, the wavelength of the sound wave = 2 meters.
6. A person is listening to a tone of 500 Hz sitting at a distance of 450 m from
the source of the sound. What is the time interval between successive
compressions from the source?
Solution:
The time interval between successive compressions from the source is equal to the
time period and time period is reciprocal of the frequency. Therefore, it can be
calculated as follows:
T= 1/F
T= 1/500
T = 0.002 s.
7. Distinguish between loudness and intensity of sound.
Solution:
The amount of sound energy passing through an area every second is called
intensity of a sound wave. Loudness is defined by its amplitude.
Section 12.2.4 Page: 167
1. In which of the three media, air, water or iron, does sound travel the fastest
at a particular temperature?
Solution:
Sound travels faster in solids when compared to any other medium. Therefore, at a
particular temperature, sound travels fastest in iron and slowest in gas.
Section 12.3.2 Page: 168
1. An echo is heard in 3 s. What is the distance of the reflecting surface from
the source, given that the speed of sound is 342 ms -1?
Solution:
Speed of sound (v) = 342 ms-1
Echo returns in time (t) = 3 s
Distance travelled by sound = v × t = 342 × 3 = 1026 m
In the given interval of time, sound must travel a distance which is twice the distance
of reflecting surface and source.
Therefore, the distance of reflecting surface from the source =1026/2 = 513 m.
Section 12.3.3 Page: 169
1. Why are the ceilings of concert halls curved?
Solution:

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Ceilings of concert halls are curved to uniformly spread sound in all directions after
reflecting from the walls.
Section 12.4 Page: 170
1. What is the audible range of the average human ear?
Solution:
20 Hz to 20,000 Hz. Any sound less than 20 Hz or greater than 20,000 Hz frequency
is not audible to human ears.
2. What is the range of frequencies associated with (a) Infrasound? (b)
Ultrasound?
Solution:
(a). 20 Hz
(b). 20,000 Hz.
Section 12.5.1 Page: 172
1. A submarine emits a sonar pulse, which returns from an underwater cliff in
1.02 s. If the speed of sound in salt water is 1531 m/s, how far away is the cliff?
Solution:
Time (t) taken by the sonar pulse to return = 1.02 s
Speed (v) of sound in salt water = 1531 m s-1
Distance travelled by sonar pulse = Speed of sound × Time taken
= 1531 x 1.02 = 1561.62 m
Distance of the cliff from the submarine = (Total distance travelled by sonar pulse) / 2
= 1561.62 / 2
= 780.81 m.
Exercise Questions Page: 174
1. What is sound and how is it produced?
Solution:
Sound is produced due to vibrations. When a body vibrates, it forces the adjacent
particles of the medium to vibrate. This results in a disturbance in the medium, which
travels as waves and reaches the ear. Hence, sound is produced.
2. Describe with the help of a diagram, how compressions and rarefactions are
produced in the air near a source of sound.
Solution:
When the school bell is hit with a hammer, it moves forward and backwards
producing compression and rarefaction due to vibrations. When it moves forward, it
creates high pressure in its surrounding area. This high-pressure region is known as

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compression. When it moves backwards, it creates a low-pressure region in its
surrounding. This region is called rarefaction.

3. Cite an experiment to show that sound needs a material medium for its
propagation.
Solution:
Take an electric bell and hang it inside an empty bell-jar which is fitted with a
vacuum pump (as shown in the figure below).

Initially, one can hear the sound of the ringing bell. Now, pump out some air from the
bell-jar using the vacuum pump. You will realize that the sound of the ringing bell
decreases. If you keep on pumping the air out of the bell-jar, then glass-jar will be
devoid of any air after some time. Now try to ring the bell. No sound is heard but you
can see bell prong is still vibrating. When there is no air present in the bell jar, a
vacuum is produced. Sound cannot travel through vacuum. Therefore, this
experiment shows that sound needs a material medium for its propagation.
4. Why is sound wave called a longitudinal wave?
Solution:
The vibration of the medium that travels parallel to the direction of the wave or along
in the direction of the wave, is called a longitudinal wave. The direction of particles of
the medium vibrates parallel to the direction of the propagation of disturbance.
Therefore, a sound wave is called a longitudinal wave.
5. Which characteristics of the sound help you to identify your friend by his
voice while sitting with others in a dark room?
Solution:

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Quality of sound is a characteristic that helps us identify the voice of a particular
person. Two people may have the same pitch and loudness, but their qualities will be
different.
6. Flash and thunder are produced simultaneously. But thunder is heard a few
seconds after the flash is seen, why?
Solution:
The speed of sound is 344 m/s whereas the speed of light is 3 × 108 m/s. The speed
of light is less when compared to that of light. Due to this reason, the thunder takes
more time to reach the Earth as compared to the light speed which is faster. Hence,
lightning is seen before whenever we hear the thunder.
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 m s−1.
Solution:
For sound waves,
Speed = Wavelength × frequency
v=λ×v
Speed of sound wave in air = 344 m/s
(a) For v = 20 Hz
λ1 = v/v1 = 344/20 = 17.2 m
(b) For v2 = 20,000 Hz
λ2 = v/v2 = 344/20,000 = 0.0172 m
Therefore, for human beings the hearing wavelength is in the range of 0.0172 m to
17.2 m.
8. Two children are at opposite ends of an aluminum rod. One strikes the end
of the rod with a stone. Find the ratio of times taken by the sound wave in the
air and in aluminum to reach the second child.
Solution:
Consider the length of aluminum rod = d
Speed of sound wave at 25° C, V Al = 6420 ms-1
Time taken to reach other end
T Al = d/ (V Al) = d/6420
Speed of sound in air, V air = 346 ms-1
Time taken by sound to each other end,
T air = d/ (V air) = d/346
Therefore, the ratio of time taken by sound in aluminum and air,

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T air / t Al = 6420 / 346 = 18.55
9. The frequency of a source of sound is 100 Hz. How many times does it
vibrate in a minute?
Solution:
Frequency = (Number of oscillations) / Total time
Number of oscillations = Frequency × Total time
Given,
Frequency of sound = 100 Hz
Total time = 1 min (1 min = 60 s)
Number of oscillations or vibrations = 100 × 60 = 6000
The source vibrates 6000 times in a minute and produces a frequency of 100 Hz.
10. Does sound follow the same laws of reflection as light does? Explain.
Solution:
Yes. Sound follows the same laws of reflection as light. The reflected sound wave
and the incident sound wave make an equal angle with the normal to the surface at
the point of incidence. Also, the reflected sound wave, the normal to the point of
incidence, and the incident sound wave all lie in the same plane.
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?
Solution:
An echo is heard when time interval between the reflected sound and the original
sound is at least 0.1 second. As the temperature increases, the speed of sound in a
medium also increases. On a hotter day, the time interval between the reflected and
original sound will decrease and an echo is audible only if the time interval between
the reflected sound and the original sound is greater than 0.1 s.
12. Give two practical applications of reflection of sound waves.
Solution:
(i) Reflection of sound is used to measure the speed and distance of underwater
objects. This method is called SONAR.
(ii) Working of a stethoscope – the sound of patient’s heartbeat reaches the doctor’s
ear through multiple reflections of sound.
13. A stone is 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? Given, g = 10 m
s−2 and speed of sound = 340 m s−1.
Solution:
Height (s) of tower = 500 m
Velocity (v) of sound = 340 m s−1
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Acceleration (g) due to gravity = 10 m s−1
Initial velocity (u) of the stone = 0
Time (t1) taken by the stone to fall to tower base
As per second equation of motion:
s= ut1 + (½) g (t1)2
500 = 0 x t1 + (½) 10 (t1)2
(t1)2 = 100
t1 = 10 s
Time (t2) taken by sound to reach top from tower base = 500/340 = 1.47 s.
t = t1 + t2
t = 10 + 1.47
t = 11.47 s.
14. A sound wave travels at a speed of 339 m s-1. If its wavelength is 1.5 cm,
what is the frequency of the wave? Will it be audible?
Solution:
Speed (v) of sound = 339 m s−1
Wavelength (λ) of sound = 1.5 cm = 0.015 m
Speed of sound = Wavelength × Frequency
v=v=λXv
v = v / λ = 339 / 0.015 = 22600 Hz.
The frequency of audible sound for human beings lies between the ranges of 20 Hz
to 20,000 Hz. The frequency of the given sound is more than 20,000 Hz, therefore, it
is not audible.
Page: 175
15. What is reverberation? How can it be reduced?
Solution:
The continuous multiple reflections of sound in a big enclosed space is
reverberation. It can be reduced by covering walls and ceiling of enclosed space with
the help of sound absorbing materials such as loose woollens, fibre boards.
16. What is loudness of sound? What factors does it depend on?
Solution:
Loud sounds have high energy. Loudness directly depends on the amplitude of
vibrations. It is proportional to the square of the amplitude of vibrations of sound.
17. Explain how bats use ultrasound to catch prey.
Solution:

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Bats have the ability to produce high-pitched ultrasonic squeaks. These squeaks get
reflected by objects like preys and return to their ears. This helps a bat to know how
far his prey is.
18. How is ultrasound used for cleaning?
Solution:

Objects that need to be cleansed are put in a cleaning solution and ultrasonic sound
waves are passed through the solution. The high frequency of ultrasound waves
helps in detaching the dirt from the objects. In this way ultrasound is used for
cleaning purposes.
19. Explain the working and application of a sonar.
Solution:
SONAR is an abbreviation of Sound Navigation and Ranging. It is an acoustic device
used in measuring the direction, speed, and depth of under-water objects viz. ship
wrecks and submarines using ultrasound.
Also, it is used to determine the depth of oceans and seas.
A beam of ultrasonic sound is produced and travels through the sea water which is
transmitted by the transducer. When it reflects an echo is produced which is
detected and recorded by the detector. It is then converted into electrical signals.
The distance is represented by ‘d’ of the under-water object is calculated from the
time (represented as ‘t’) taken by the echo to return with speed (represented as ‘v’) is
expressed as,
2d = v × t.
This method of measuring distance is also referred to as echo-ranging.

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.
Solution:
Time (t) taken to hear the echo = 5 s
Distance (d) of object from submarine = 3625 m

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Total distance travelled by SONAR during reception and transmission in water = 2d
Velocity (v) of sound in water = 2d/t = (2 × 3625) / 5
= 1450 ms-1
21. Explain how defects in a metal block can be detected using ultrasound.
Solution:
Defective metal blocks will not allow ultrasound to pass through it and reflect it back.
This technique is used in detecting defects in metal blocks. Make a set up as shown
in the figure with ultrasound being passed through one end and detectors placed on
the other end of a metal block. Since the defective part of the metal block does not
allow ultrasound to pass through it, it will not be detected by the detector. In this way,
defects in metal blocks can be detected with the help of ultrasound.

22. Explain how the human ear works.

Solution:
Various sounds produced by particles in our surroundings are collected by pinna that
transfers these sounds to the ear drum through the ear canal. The eardrum begins to
vibrate back and forth briskly as soon as the sound waves fall on it. The vibrating
eardrum initiates the small bone hammer to vibrate. These vibrations are passed
from the hammer to the third bone stirrup via the second bone anvil. The stirrup
strikes the membrane of the oval window to pass its vibration to the cochlea. The
liquid in the cochlea produces electrical impulses in the nerve cells. These electrical
impulses are carried to the brain by the auditory nerve. They are interpreted by the
brain as sound and hence we get a sensation of hearing.

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