Unit 1: Module 5

Sounds
Overview

“Hey I just met you and this is crazy. So here’s my number so call me maybe...” This is
the popular song of Carly Rae Jepsen. I bet you know this song. Can you sing the other lines? Is this the
ring tone of your mobile? What about your ring back tone? Would you want that of Maroon 5’s
payphone? “Cadd9I’m at the payphone trying toG call home. EmAll of my change I’ve spentDsus4 on
you...” These are cool, lovely tunes, and nice sounds.

The Science of Sound has gone all the way from a mere transfer of energy to the creation of
tunes and music for entertainment. Most of our gadgets are sound embedded to amuse us. In the field
of geology and oceanography, sound is used to determine depths. The health sciences are also using
sound for medical purposes. Some animals are dependent on sound for movement. The newest focus of
sound science is on ecology where ecological patterns and phenomena are predicted based on sounds
released by the different components of the ecosystem. So, are you ready to have fun with sounds?

In this module, you will learn sound propagation. While you learn about sound, wave description
and characteristics will also be introduced to you. Among the characteristics, you will focus on the speed
of sound. You will find out through simple activities through which medium sound travels fastest. You
will also find out how the temperature of the medium affects the speed of sound. In the quest to
explore more about sound science, you will be acquainted with the properties of waves, specifically
reflection and refraction.

Through which medium does sound travel fastest- solid, liquid, or gas?
How does the temperature of the medium affect the speed of sound?
How are reflection and refraction manifested in sound?

Propagation and Characteristics of Sound

 Figure 1. Supersonic Figure 2. Hearing Sounds

Have you experienced hearing a sonic boom? Figure 1 shows a whitish cloud at the tail end of
the aircraft. This usually happens when the aircraft travels at a speed faster than the speed of sound,
i.e., the aircraft travels at supersonic speed producing a sonic boom.

A sonic boom happens when the aircraft or any vehicle breaks the sound barrier while it
accelerates and outruns the speed of sound. A loud explosive sound is heard on the ground and is called
a sonic boom. The aircraft that does this is usually called supersonic. There are more amazing
occurrences or phenomena related to sound. Read on and find out.

 Sound Propagation

Sound consists of waves of air particles. Generally, sound propagates and travels through air. It
can also be propagated through other media. Since it needs a medium
to propagate, it is considered a mechanical wave. In propagating
sound, the waves are characterized as longitudinal waves. These are
waves that travel parallel to the motion of the particles. Do all these
terms and concepts seem confusing?
Let’s try the succeeding activities to get a clearer picture of what
sound waves are.

In Activity 1, the current and voltage in circuits with 1 dry

Figure3. Propagating Sound
cell and 2 dry cells were compared. You observed that the ammeter
and voltmeter readings are greater in the circuit with 2 dry cells as compared to the circuit which has
only one dry cell. Also, the bulb in the circuit with 2 dry cells glowed brighter than the bulb in the
circuit with only 1 dry cell. The activity showed that as the voltage increases, the current also
increases.
 However, a circuit is not only about voltage and current. There is another component which is
the load. A load is any component in a circuit that converts electricity into light, heat, or mechanical
motion. In the circuit you constructed in Activity 1, the bulb is the load. If two bulbs were used in the
circuit, would there be a change in the circuit current? You will find out in Activity 2.

Resistance

When electric charges flow through the wires and loads of the circuits they encounter
resistance or a hindrance to their movement. So another factor that affects the flow of charges or
current is resistance.

The symbol for resistance is capital letter R. The unit, ohms (Ω) is named after the German
physicist Georg Simon Ohm.

As you have observed in Activity 2, there are many characteristics common to both transverse
wave and longitudinal wave. The difference is in the motion of particles with respect to the direction of
travel of the wave. Again, in a transverse wave, the movement of particles is perpendicular to the
direction of wave travel. In a longitudinal wave, on the other hand, travel is parallel to the movement of
the particles (Figure 8). In longitudinal waves, compressions are created when a push is applied on air.
When air is pushed, there is a force applied on a unit area of air. From your science in the lower grades,
the force applied per unit area is called pressure. This means that longitudinal waves are created by
pressure and are also called pressure waves. Basically, sound as you have observed it is a longitudinal
wave and a pressure wave. Just like the transverse waves, it has wave characteristics. Its movement is
parallel to the particle motion. But do the particles in a way affect the movement of sound? What
factors affect sound speed? Let us try finding this out in the next activities.
 Figure 8. Transverse and longitudinal waves

So, through which material does sound travel fastest? Through which
material did sound travel the slowest? Why does sound travel fastest in solids and slowest in air? Do you
have any idea what makes sound move fast in solids?

Figure 9 shows a model for the three states of matter. Identify which is solid, liquid or gas. Now,
do you have any hint why sound moves fastest in a solid medium? To give us a better picture of the
differences of the three states of matter, consider worksheet 1. Then with the aid of Activity No.4
entitled Chimes...Chimes...Chimes...you will be able to determine what makes solid the best
transmitter of sound.

Figure 9. A model for the three states of matter

The speed of sound may differ for different types of solids, liquids, and gases. For one, the
elastic properties are different for different materials. This property (elastic property) is the tendency of
a material to maintain its shape and not deform when a force is applied to the object or medium. Steel
for example will experience a smaller deformation than rubber when a force is applied to the materials.
Steel is a rigid material while rubber can easily deform and is known as a flexible material.

At the molecular level, a rigid material is distinguished by atoms and/or particles with strong
forces of attraction for each other. Particles that quickly return to their rest position can vibrate at
higher speeds. Thus, sound can travel faster in mediums with higher elastic properties (like steel) than it
can through solids like rubber, which have lower elastic properties.

Does the phase of matter affect the speed of sound? It actually has a large impact upon the
elastic properties of a medium. Generally, the bond strength between particles is strongest in solid
materials and is weakest in gases. Thus, sound waves travel faster in solids than in liquids, and faster in
liquids than in gases. While the density of a medium also affects the speed of sound, the elastic
properties have a greater influence on wave speed. Among solids, the most rigid would transmit sound
faster. Just like the case of wood and metal in Activity 3.

Now you know that the speed of sound is directly affected by the temperature
of the medium. The hotter the medium the faster the sound travels. Heat, just like sound, is a form of
kinetic energy. At higher temperatures, particles have more energy (kinetic) and thus, vibrate faster.
And when particles vibrate faster, there will be more collisions per unit time. With more collisions per
unit time, energy is transferred more efficiently resulting in sound traveling quickly. Sound travels at

about 331 in dry air at 0o C. The speed of sound is dependent on temperature of the medium where
an increase is observed with an increase in temperature. This means that at temperatures greater than

0oC speed of sound is greater than 331 by an amount 0.6 of the temperature of the medium. In
equation,

where T is the temperature of air in Celsius degree and 0.6 is a constant factor of

temperature. Let’s try it out at a room temperature of 25oCelsius.

 Sample Problem
o
Celsius?

Problem: What is the speed of sound in air of temperature 25

Solution:

Given: T = 25oCelsius Equation:

Solution:

Properties of Sound

Figure 10. Ultrasound image Figure 11. Live concert

 Figures 10 and 11 are the amazing contribution of sound to other fields such as health, wellness
and the arts particularly the music industry. We can experience or observe these as consequences of
what are commonly called properties of sound waves. Ultrasound works on the principle of reflection of
sound waves while concerts in open field benefit from refraction of sound. Want to know more about
these amazing sound treats?

 Reflection of Sound

A lot of people love to sing inside the bathroom because of

privacy. A study conducted noted that people would open their
mouths wide when they sing in private places like the baths.
Another reason is the hard wall surfaces of the bathroom usually
made of wood or tiles brings about multiple reflection of sound.
These hard walls or surfaces and the small dimension of the
bathroom typically create an aurally pleasing acoustic
environment with many echoes and reverberations contributing to
the fullness and depth of voice. Well, this may not be the effect in
the outside world though.

Look at Figure 12 and try it yourself.

Figure12. Bathroom singing

Just like any other wave, sound also exhibits reflection. Reflection is usually described as the turning
back of a wave as it hits a barrier. Echo is an example of a reflected sound. Reverberation on the
other hand refers to the multiple reflections or echoes in a certain place. A reverberation often
occurs in a small room with height, width, and length dimensions of approximately 17 meters or less.
This best fits the bathroom which enhances the voice.

In theaters and movie houses, there are also reverberations and echoes. But these are not pleasing to
the ears during a play or a movie. To lessen these, designers use curtains and cloth cover for the chairs
and carpets. Check out the different movie houses and look for features inside that decreases
reverberations and echoes.

Echo sounding is another application of sound reflection. This is

used by scientists to map the sea floor and to determine the
depth of the ocean or sea. This is just the same as how bats use
sound to detect distances. What about you, can you identify
other applications of sound reflection?

Figure 13. SONAR

  Refraction of Sound

Have you ever wondered why open field concerts are usually held during nighttime? Having
concert at night gives a chance for everyone to see and enjoy the live show because there is no
work and no school. Sound also contributes to this scheduling of concerts. Usually, sound is
heard better in far areas during nighttime than during daytime. This happens due to what is
known as refraction. Refraction is described as the change in speed of sound when it encounters
a medium of different density. As what you had earlier in this module, sound travels faster in
hotter media. This change in speed of sound during refraction is also manifested as sort of
“bending” of sound waves.

F igure14. Sound refraction at day time Figure15. Sound refraction at night time

When sound propagates in air, where the temperature changes with altitude, sound
bends towards the hotter region. In this case, refraction happens. The refraction is due to the
different refractive indices of air because of the difference in temperature. At daytime, when the
sun is shining, the air near Earth’s surface is cooler than the air above. From what you
encountered in Activity 5, you learned that sound travels faster in hotter medium. Since Earth’s
surface is cooler than air above during daytime, then sound would move from the cooler region
(Earth surface) towards the hotter air above. Thus, sound waves will be refracted to the sky
(Figure
14). At night time, the air near the Earth’s surface is heated by the heat emitted by the ground,
making it hotter than the air above which is cooler due to the absence of the sun during
nighttime. This makes sound move from the cooler air above towards the hotter air near the
earth’s surface. Thus, sound waves are refracted to the Earth’s surface (Figure15). This makes
open field concerts better done during nighttime as sound waves are refracted from the stage
towards the audience. This gives a clearer and more audible music to enjoy.
 Now on a more concrete sense let us try to observe how longitudinal waves reflect and refract.
In Activity No. 6, you will be able to observe how reflection and refraction are exhibited by longitudinal
waves using our metal slinky.