Ch 10 General Wave Properties II: Sound#

Question 1

Can sound travel in a vacuum?

Do not just answer Yes or No. Explain.

Answer 1

No, as it requires a medium to travel through.

Question 2

What type of wave does sound produce?

Answer 2

longitudinal wave

Question 3

What is the unit for loudness of sound?

Answer 3

Decibels

Question 4

How is a sound produced?

Answer 4

vibrations

Question 5

Describe how sound waves travels through air.

Answer 5

1. Sound is a longitudinal wave in which the direction of wave travel is parallel to the direction of vibration of the particles.
2. The vibration of the particles causes a series of compressions and rarefactions in the air which transmit sound through the air.

This can also be used to describe how sound travels through liquids and solids.

Question 6

What is an echo?

Answer 6

The reflection of sound from a large and hard surface.

Question 7

Which property of a wave affects the pitch of a sound?

Answer 7

frequency

Question 8

Which property of a wave affects the loudness of a sound?

Answer 8

amplitude

Question 9

How would the pitch of a sound change if its frequency of the waves doubles?

Answer 9

pitch increases or gets higher.

Question 10

How would the loudness of a sound change if its amplitude of the waves decreases?

Answer 10

the sound gets softer

Question 11

State the audible range of frequency for the human ear?

Answer 11

20 Hz to 20 000 Hz

Question 12

Define ultrasound.

Answer 12

Ultrasound is a type of sound wave with frequencies more than 20 000 Hz.

Question 13

State one application of ultrasound.

Answer 13

• Used in cleaning small items in an ultrasonic cleaner
• Used in SONAR to measure distances in water
• Used in detecting growth of foetuses in pregnant woman.

SONAR is short for SOund Navigation And Ranging.

This list is not exhaustive.

Question 14

State the speed of sound in air.

Answer 14

330 m/s