Sound and Music Flashcards
What type of wave is sound
Mechanical wave,
Sound is a longitudinal wave
When a vibration is made, it causes the air particles to collide with their nearest neighbor. This causes a succession of collisions along the same direction the wave travels. The vibration does not cause much, if any motion along the vertical plane. Thus, sound is a longitudinal wave.
Sound is also a pressure wave.
Since sound is longitudinal, there are areas of higher and lower density of the particles of the medium because of compressions and rarefactions. Because of this, a sound wave creates areas of higher and lower pressure that as the wave travels through the medium. Most of these pressure changes are imperceptible to most of our senses.
What is the min and max frequency that humans can hear
The human ear can detect frequencies in the range of 20Hz to 20 000Hz
Sound lower than our audible range are called infrasonic
are called infrasonic,
frequencies higher than our audible range are called .
ultrasonic
High pitched
high frequency
low pitched
low frequency
Where does the energy of a sound wave come from?
The energy comes from a vibrating source
Recall that the energy carried by a wave is related to its amplitude and caused by the work done on the medium by the vibrating source
Intesity
The amount of energy that is transported past an area over a given time period is called intensity, commonly referred to as volume.
Because of the previously discussed relationship between energy and amplitude, we can say that a wave with greater amplitude will have greater intensity
Why do sound waves get quieter farther away it is?
As a sound wave travels in 2- or 3-dimensions from its source, its intensity decreases
This is because the intensity of a sound wave is dependent on the on the area the sound waves are spread over.
As the area increases, the concentration of sound waves decreases, resulting in less energy being transferred to whatever the waves are contacting
This is why sounds are quieter from further away
