Unit 14 Sound and Hearing: Sound Is Very Important To Us

Unit 14 Sound and hearing
Sound is very important to us.
Imagine all the sounds here – but our ears and brain can still tell
them all apart!
How do we hear?
Different sound can affect us in different ways:
Making sound
Sound is made by vibration.

Kinetic energy  Sound energy
A vibration is a fast, backwards and forwards

movement that repeats many times.
Which parts of these musical
instruments produce sound?
Loudness and pitch
Sounds can vary in (1) loudness and (2) pitch
(1) loudness (2) pitch
Low
pitch
Low frequency
1 vibration / sec
amplitude
High
pitch
High frequency
10 vibrations / sec
Making different sound
Loud sounds are made by large amplitude vibration.
Quiet sounds are made by small amplitude vibration.
Low
pitch
A high pitch is made by a high frequency (fast vibration).
A low pitch is made by a low frequency (slow vibration).

High
pitch
Musical sounds
Sounds are made when things vibrate, like the strings
on this guitar.
The loudness tells us how much energy a sound

has and how large the amplitude is.
‘Loud’ and ‘soft’ describe how loud a sound is.
The pitch tells us how fast things vibrate and how

high the frequency is.
‘High’ and ‘low’ describe the pitch of a sound.
When musicians play together, they tune up, so the

frequencies of their instruments match.
tuning pegs
frets
headstock
Seeing sound waves
When you speak, sound energy travels

from your mouth in the same way,
instead of a spring, there are air
particles that are pushed together and
pulled apart. Sound travels at 330
m/sec.
Seeing sound waves
When you speak, sound energy travels

from your mouth in the same way,
instead of a spring, there are air
particles that are pushed together and
pulled apart. Sound travels at 330
m/sec.
Travelling sound
Sound travels as a series of vibrations through a material
(medium)
√Sound can travel through air, solid and liquid.

Χ Sound cannot travel through vacuum because there is no
particles to vibrate.
Sound travels at different speeds in different materials.

Air: 330 m/s ; Water: 1500 m/s ; Iron 5000 m/s
WHY??
Seeing sound waves
We connect a microphone to an oscilloscope.
The microphone changes the sound energy into tiny

voltages which makes the line move up and down.
Frequency is measured in hertz

(Hz).
Loudness is measured in
decibels (dB).
Seeing sound waves
↑amplitude
↑loudness (dB)
Period
↓period (s)
↑frequency (Hz)
↑pitch
Frequency is measured in hertz (Hz).

Loudness is measured in decibels (dB).
Wavelength is measured in meter (m).
Period is measured in second (s)
Seeing sound waves: test yourself
The ear
1. The sound is 4. Magnify the
collected vibrations and
transmit them
(pinna) to the cochlea The body’s
balance organ
2. The sound
travels along
6. Transmit
electrical signals
to the brain
5. Liquid moves backwards

and forwards to stimulate
3. Sound causes
nerve cells and changes
vibration
them into electrical signals
Hearing sound
Different animals can hear different sounds.
People can only hear sounds between

20 Hz and 20000Hz!
Echoes
Sound wave can be reflected by objects.
Sailors can use echoes to find the depth of the sea, using an
echo-sounder or sonar.
Echolocation:
Bats make very high-pitched sounds and listen for the echoes
that reflect off walls and other objects to ‘’see’’ in the dark.
An other example is dolphins.
Dangerous sound
Loudness is measured in decibels

(dB).
An unpleasant sound is called noise.
Too much noise is called noise

pollution.
Examples
Damaged hearing
 Born with poor hearing

 Illness or ear infection (Otitis)
 Ear canal blocked by ear wax
 Damage the ear drum by cleaning the ear canal using a
stick.
 Damage of the nerve cells in cochlea due to aging
 Loud sounds can damage nerve cells in cochlea
 Loud sounds can cause tinnitus
Important formula of echo:
Speed (m/s) = 2x Distance travelled (m)

Time taken (s)
Sailors can use echoes to find the depth of the sea:
Suppose this ship sent out a sound wave, and got

back an echo after 1 second.
The sea is 750m deep.
1. Calculate the speed of sound in water? 250m
2. If the fish are 250m deep, what would be

their echo time? 750m
3. The boat then moves into very deep water.

Explain why it is harder to detect the echo?
 Question 1: A boy fires a gun and hears the echo 2
seconds later. If he is 480 m away from a wall, calculate
the velocity (speed) of sound in air.
 Question 2: A girl claps and hears the echo after
reflection from cliff which is 660 m away. If the velocity
of sound is 330 m/s, calculate the time taken for hearing
the echo.
 Question 3: A man claps his hands on a hilltop. He hears
the echo 0.7 s later. If the speed of sound is 340 m/s,
how far away was the surface from which the sound
rebounded?
 Question 4: The diagram shows a ship using an Echo
locator (SONAR) to find a shoal of fish. The pulsed wave is
transmitted from the ship, which is then reflected off the
top of the shoal and is then picked up by the receiver.
The time taken to receive the echo is 0.2s after
transmission. Calculate how deep the ship has to lower its
fishing nets to catch the top of the shoal. The speed of
sound in sea water is 1500 m/s.

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Unit 14 Sound and hearing

Sound is very important to us.

Sound is made by vibration.

A vibration is a fast, backwards and forwards

(1) loudness (2) pitch

Loud sounds are made by large amplitude vibration.

Quiet sounds are made by small amplitude vibration.

A high pitch is made by a high frequency (fast vibration).

A low pitch is made by a low frequency (slow vibration).

The loudness tells us how much energy a sound

The pitch tells us how fast things vibrate and how

When musicians play together, they tune up, so the

When you speak, sound energy travels

When you speak, sound energy travels

√Sound can travel through air, solid and liquid.

Sound travels at different speeds in different materials.

The microphone changes the sound energy into tiny

Frequency is measured in hertz

Frequency is measured in hertz (Hz).

5. Liquid moves backwards

People can only hear sounds between

Sound wave can be reflected by objects.

Loudness is measured in decibels

An unpleasant sound is called noise.

Too much noise is called noise

 Born with poor hearing

Speed (m/s) = 2x Distance travelled (m)

Sailors can use echoes to find the depth of the sea:

Suppose this ship sent out a sound wave, and got

1. Calculate the speed of sound in water? 250m

2. If the fish are 250m deep, what would be

3. The boat then moves into very deep water.

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