Sound Waves Flashcards
how would you measure the speed of sound in air
by measuring how long it takes for the sound to travel a measured distance
does sound move quicker in water or air and why
- sound moves quicker in water
- this is because sound travels faster when particles are close together
- and as it is a longitudinal wave and water is denser than air
- it means more particles are close together
- so the vibrations can be passed along more quickly
how does sound travel through air
- vibrations given off by the sound producer
- vibrations vibrate the surrounding air particles
- which come into contact with its surrounding particles and pass the vibrations through air
- resulting the travel of sound
how are sound waves created
- when an object moves it causes vibrations which move in the air
- so sound is caused by vibrating particles
how are vibrations passed through surrounding medium
through a series of compressions and rarefactions
how does sound go through a solid
by causing the particles in the solid to vibrate
why can sound not travel in space
- because space is mainly a vacuum
- so there are no particles in the air to vibrate
- and therefore allow sound to travel
what can reflect sound and what are these reflections called
- hard flat surfaces reflect sound
- these reflections are called echoes
what is responsible for how humans hear pitches
- the brain interprets the sound signals as different pitches or volumes
- depending on the frequency and intensity
- so a higher frequency results in a higher pitch and vice versa
steps of how the human ear processes sound
- sound wave enters canal
- sound makes eardrum vibrate
- tiny bones amplify vibrations
- passed to liquid inside cochlea
- hairs detect vibrations and create impulses
- impulse travels to brain through sensory neurons (auditory nerves)
why can humans only hear some frequencies
- because we are limited by the size and shape of our eardrum
- as well as the structure of the other parts within the ear
what experiment would you use to measure the speed of sound in air
- by attaching a signal generator to a speaker you can sounds with a specific frequency
- you use two microphones and an oscilloscope to find the wavelength of the sound waves generated
describe the process of the experiment used to calculate the speed of sound in air
- set up an oscilloscope so the detected waves at each microphone are shown as separate waves
- start with both microphones next to the speaker
- then slowly move one away until the waves are aligned on the display
- but have moved exactly one wavelength apart
- measure the distance between the microphones to find one wavelength (lambda)
how does the experiment for measuring the speed of sound in air give you its speed after the experiment has taken place
- you can use the formula v = f * lambda to find the speed
- the frequency is whatever you set the signal generator to be in the first place
- and the wavelength is the distance between the microphones
what is the main misconception about how sound travels
- it isnt a transverse waves which have a string of particles travelling somewhere
- the particles dont really travel anywhere in reality
- they just pass on their vibrations to surrounding particles which causes a ricocheting effect
- and results on those specific vibrations being passed along
- NOT the paricles
