Sound - Hearing sound

Question 1

How do we determine the speed of sound (in air)

Answer 1

Speed = distance travelled/time

Distance travelled = distance travelled from transmitter to material back to receiver

Question 2

What are the approximate values for speed of sound in air and water?

Answer 2

Speed of sound in air - 330m/s
Speed of sound in water - 1400m/s

Question 3

Compare the speed of sound in solids, liquids and gasses.

Answer 3

Solids (fastest) > Liquids (intermediate) > Gases (slowest)

This is due to the intermolecular spacing of the material.

Question 4

What is the human auditory range? What are the terms used for below and aove said range?

Answer 4

Human auditory range - 20Hz to 20,000Hz
Below 20Hz - Infrasonic
Above 20,000Hz - Ultrasonic

Question 5

How do animals and machinery hear sounds via echo?

Answer 5

Animals - echolocation
Machinery - sonar

Question 6

How do we increase the pitch?

Answer 6

Increasing the frequency

Question 7

How do we increase the volume?

Answer 7

Increase the amplitude

Question 8

What is superposition in terms of constructive interference?

Answer 8

When 2 waves are emitted they interact with each other.
If the two waves are identical to each other, the resultant wave has an amplitude which is the sum of the individual amplitudes of the interacting waves.

Question 9

What is superposition in terms of deconstructive interference?

Answer 9

When 2 waves are emitted they interact with each other.
If the two waves are opposite to each other, they combine, cancelling each other out, resulting in no wave (sound).