Sound is our sensation of very small, rapid changes in air pressure

Vibrations that travel through the air or another medium and can be
heard when they reach a person's or animal's ear

Noise is any sound that you don’t want to hear

A sound, esp. one that is loud or unpleasant or that causes

disturbance
The difference between sound and noise

• Sound is a sensation caused in the ear by the vibration of the surrounding air or other
medium. It is clearly understood from the definition that vibrations cause the sensation
called the sound.

• Noise is an unpleasant sound especially a loud one comprising of shouts too. Thus it is
understood that there is unpleasantness about noise
whereas there is no unpleasantness about sound.
How is Sound Measured?
Sound is measured in two ways:

i) Decibels - measure the pressure of sound.

ii) Frequency - related to sound’s pitch and is measured in units called hertz
(Hz) or cycles per second.
- the pitch of sound (how high or low it seems) – is how you perceive(sense)
its frequency - the higher the pitch, the higher the frequency

*High-frequency sounds are generally more annoying than low-frequency

sounds and can be more harmful to hearing.

*Pitch is the quality that makes it possible to judge sounds as "higher" and
"lower" in the sense associated with musical melodies
TYPES OF WAVES
•Transverse wave*s - movement of the particles are at
right angles (perpendicular) to the motion of the
energy. Movement of a wave through a solid object like
a stretched rope is an example of this type of wave.

•Longitudinal wave*s - Movement of the particles are

parallel to the motion of the energy. Sound waves
moving through the air is an example of this type of
wave.

•Surface wave*s - particles travel in a circular

motion. These waves occur at interfaces. Examples
include waves in the ocean and ripples in a cup of
water.

http://scienceprimer.com/embed/waveType.min.html
Origin of Sound
Sound is a wave that is
produced by the vibrations
of material objects.

Drumhead Guitar string

Tuning fork
Physics 1 (Garcia) SJSU
Properties of Sound – the source of all sound waves is vibration

• Sound waves – longitudinal waves – the particles in the medium are moving
(vibrating ) parallel to the direction of wave motion.
• Compressions crowded areas of the wave
• Rarefactions are the stretched out areas of the wave.
• Compression to compression = one wavelength
Peaks = compressions
Troughs = rarefactions
Compressions and Rarefractions:
Compressions: area of sound waves where molecules are
closer together (E)
Rarefraction: area of sound where molecules are further
apart (B)
Frequency:
Frequency: the number of waves produced per second (C)
Two other properties that affect sound energy:

1. Pitch
2. Intensity
PITCH

Pitch is the rate at which the vibrations are produced.

The higher the frequency, the higher the pitch.
The more waves per second (or the higher the frequency), the higher the pitch!
Intensity

Intensity depends on the strength, or amplitude, of the vibrations producing the sound.

If a piano string is struck forcefully the string swings back and forth in a wider arc.
The stronger vibration then produces a louder tone since stronger vibrations compress the
molecules of the air more forcefully and gives them greater energy, which is interpreted by
our ears as a louder sound.
Amplitude
is the maximum distance the particles in a wave vibrate from their rest
positions.
Wavelength

Wavelength: distance from end of compression to the end of the next

compression (A)

Air
molecule

Rarefaction (decreased air

Stereo density)
Speaker

Compression (increased air

density)

wavelength
What is the relation between time-period and frequency of a wave?
The time required to produce one complete wave is called time-period of the wave. Suppose the time-period
of a wave is T seconds.
In T seconds number of waves produced = 1
So, in 1 second, number of waves produced will be = 1/T
But the number of waves produced in 1 second is called its frequency.
Therefore, F = 1/Time-period
f = 1/T
where f = frequency of the wave
T = time-period of the wave
5. Velocity of Wave (Speed of Wave)
The distance travelled by a wave in one second is called velocity of the wave or speed of the wave. It is
represented by the letter v. The S.I unit for measuring the velocity is metres per second (m/s or ms-1).
What is the relationship between Velocity, Frequency and Wavelength of a Wave?
Velocity = Distance travelled/ Time taken
Let v = λ / T
Where T = time taken by one wave.
v=fXλ
This formula is known as wave equation.
Where v = velocity of the wave
f = frequency
λ = wavelength
Velocity of a wave = Frequency X Wavelength
This applies to all the waves like transverse waves like water waves, longitudinal waves like sound
waves and the electromagnetic waves like light waves and radio waves
Therefore we have learnt various characteristics of sound waves.