3.

CHARACTERISTICS OF SOUND
We hear different types of sounds but we are easily able to identify them, as in the
case of a male and a female voice. Again, we can distinguish between a note
produced by a sitar and that produced by a flute or a drum. The characteristics of
sound enable us to distinguish between various sounds. Before knowing these
characteristics, let us learn about some terms related to a sound wave.

WAVE
A wave is a disturbance that carries energy without carrying the material with it.

TERMS RELATED WITH A WAVE

• One to and fro motion of a medium particle about its mean position is called a
vibration.
• Frequency is defined as the number of vibrations of a body in one second.
Frequency is denoted by the symbolf, and is measured in hertz (Hz).
When a body vibrates, it produces a disturbance in the medium. As the wave or
disturbance moves through a medium, each particle of the medium vibrates at the
same frequency as the source. Since one vibration produces one wave, 100
vibrations in 1s will produce 100 waves in 1s. So the frequency would be 100 Hz.

If an object vibrates at a particular frequency, then sound produced due to its

vibrations will also have the same frequency.

• Amplitude
When a body vibrates, it moves from its mean position. The maximum displacement
of particles in a medium from their mean position is called amplitude. The SI unit of
amplitude is metre (m). In figure 1.5, 'a' is the amplitude. Thus, a wave with the same
frequency can have both lower and higher amplitude.

Fig. 1.5 Waves with same frequency showing (a) lower and (b) higher
amplitudes

• Time period
Time period is the time taken by a particle to complete one vibration. Since one
vibration causes a disturbance or a wave, time period is also the time taken by a
wave to pass through a point. The Sl unit of time period is second (s).
There are three characteristics of sound. These are loudness (or intensity), pitch and
timbre (or quality).

a. Loudness or intensity-
The characteristic of sound which distinguishes a feeble sound from a loud one of
the same frequency is called loudness of sound. Loudness of sound depends on the
following characteristics:

> Amplitude of vibration-

The loudness mainly depends on the amplitude that is, higher the amplitude, louder
is the sound. Since the amplitude of a wave is directly related to the energy it carries,
we can also say that greater the energy carried by a wave, louder is the sound
produced.
For example, when you whisper, you use very less energy and amplitude of vibration
of your vocal cords is small. When you shout, you use more energy and amplitude of
vibration is large. As a result, a loud sound is produced.

• Area of vibrating body-

Larger the area of the vibrating body louder is the sound.
For example, a large drum will produce a louder sound than a small drum.

> The distance between the source of sound and the listener-
The shorter the distance between the listener and the source, the louder the sound
heard by the listener.

ii) Pitch

The characteristic of sound that differentiates a shriller sound from a flatter

sound is called pitch.
Sound of same loudness may have different pitch. The pitch of a sound depends on
the frequency of the vibrating body that produces the sound. Higher the frequency
of the vibrating source, higher is the pitch of the sound produced. The sound
produced by an object with high frequency is called shrill or high pitched sound.
On the other hand, the sound produced by an object vibrating with a low frequency is
described as bass or low pitched sound.

The faster an object vibrates, the higher the pitch of the sound it produces. Thick,
heavy, or longer objects do not vibrate as quickly and thus produces a low
pitched sound whereas thin, light and short objects produce a high pitched
sound as they vibrate more rapidly.

For example,
◦ A shorter length of ruler can vibrate faster. This increases the frequency of
vibrations. Hence the pitch of the sound produced is high. A longer length of the
ruler vibrating produces a low pitched sound.
A tightly stretched rubber band will produce a high pitched sound.

A women's voice (higher frequency) is shriller than a man’s Voice. This is

because the vocal cords in men are about 20 mm long and those in women are
about 5mm short. Children have very short vocal cords.

> A drum produces low pitched sound whereas a whistle produces high pitch sound.
> A bird like parrot makes high-pitch sound whereas a lion makes low-pitched roar
(however, the roar of a lion is very loud while the sound of the bird is quite feeble).

Thus, the pitch of a sound depends upon:

◦ The frequency (higher the frequency, higher is the pitch).
◦ The length of vibrating body (shorter the length, the higher is the pitch).
◦ The thickness of the vibrating body (thinner the vibrating object, higher is
the pitch).Tightness of the vibrating body (tighter the vibrating body, higher is
the pitch).

Difference between Loudness and PitchLoudness

Pitch
 • It depends on the amplitude of the > It depends on the frequency of the
vibrating body. vibrating body.
> It does not change with change in > It changes with change in
frequency. frequency.Lower frequency will
produce bass sound; higher frequency
will produce shrill sound.
It is determined by the amount of > It does not depend upon the amount
sound energy received by the ear in of energy received by the ear.
unit time.
> It depends on the area of the • It depends on the length of the
vibrating body. source producing sound.
It depends on the distance of the > It does not depend on the distance
listener from the source. as it remains constant for a
vibratingbody.

iii) Quality or timbre

Different musical instruments may produce sounds of the same loudness and pitch,
yet to a listener they will appear to be different.
For example, two different musical instruments like sitar and guitar (stringed
instruments) or harmonium and piano (reed instruments) may be played to produce
sound of the same loudness and pitch. But a listener knows exactly which instrument
he is listening to. Similarly, you can recognise the voice of a person over the phone
without confusion. It is because the sound produced by a particular instrument or a
person has different quality.
The property of a musical sound by virtue of which we can distinguish between two
different musical instruments or voices is called the quality or timbre of the sound.

4. REFLECTION OF SOUND

You saw that sound is produced by the vibrations of an object. When these
vibrations reach your eardrum, you perceive the sound. When sound strikes a hard
surface, like that of wood, brick or wall, it is reflected back. The bouncing back of
sound on striking a hard surface is called reflection of sound.

Sound does not reflect the same way from all objects Hard materials such as
metallic sheets, plane polished smooth walls are good reflectors of sound and
these produce good echoes too.
Soft, fluffy, light and porous materials such as plywood, curtains, carpets, foam,
gunny bags, paper, thermocol etc. are bad reflectors.
These do not reflect but absorb most of the sound striking them. Thus, the walls,
ceilings and floors of auditoriums and cinema houses are covered with sound
absorbing materials like thick sound proofing tiles, curtains and carpets, that reduce
the reflection of sound and hence echoes are not formed In this way, the audience in
the auditorium or cinema hall can hear only the sound coming from the speakers.
Also music recording studios
use sound absorbing materials on their walls to eliminate any undesired or outside
sounds.

Did You Know?

The Gol Gumbaz, situated in Bijapur, is an astounding engineering feat. Its
enormous "Whispering" dome stands unsupported by pillars. The inner structure of
the dome is designed such that it carries the faintest whisper around the dome and
returns to the listener nine times.

Echo
An echo is a reflected sound produced by a hard surface like a cliff, wall etc.

Why do we not hear echo in a room?

We have seen that sound gets reflected. Does it mean sound gets reflected in a
room also? Yes, it does. Then why do we not hear that reflected sound? The sound
is reflected from walls on all sides of the room, but human ear can hear the echo
only when the effect of the original sound is no more on their ears.
The effect of sound remains on our hearing sense for 1/10th of a second. So, if an
echo is heard within 1/10th of a second of the original sound, you cannot distinguish
the echo from the original sound.
During this period, the sound travels from the source to the obstacle (reflector) and
travels the same distance back from the reflector to the source.

SONAR

SONAR stands for SOund Navigation And Ranging. It is a technique used to

determine the depth of sea at a place and to locate underwater objects like
submarines, reefs etc. A SONAR unit is mounted on the bottom of a ship. It consists
of a transmitter and a detector. High frequency waves (ultrasonic) waves are sent
from the transmitter towards the floor or the bed of the sea. The ultrasonic wave
reflected from the seabed is received in the ship. They travel from the ship
downwards to the seabed and on reflection at the sea bed, travels from the seabed
to the ship. Thus, the distance travelled is twice the depth of the sea. Knowing the
speed of ultrasonic wave in the sea water and the time taken by the sound to return
to the ship, we can find the depth of the sea
Bats and dolphins navigate with a natural sonar system called echo location that
enables them to know the distance between them and the objects that may obstruct
their path or the distance to their prey.

5. DIFFERENT TYPES OF SOUNDS

All sounds can be classified broadly into two types, musical sound and noise. Sound
is further subdivided into loud and soft sounds, as well as low and high pitch sounds.

A. MUSICAL SOUND AND NOISE

The sounds produced by a tuning fork, violin, veena, flute or piano are pleasing to
the ear. They are called musical sounds. They are produced by vibrations which are
regular and periodic as shown in Figure 1.15 below.

On the other hand, certain sounds such as thunder, the rattling of wheels on a rough
road or a large number of people talking at the same time inside a room are
unpleasant to hear. This is called noise and it is produced by irregular and non-
periodic vibrations.

Let's see the difference between musical sound and noise.

Table 1.2 Differences between Musical Sound and Noise
Musical Sound Noise
1. Musical sound has a Noise does not have a
pleasing effect on the pleasing effect on the
ears. ears.
2. It is produced by regular It is produced by
vibrations in a material. irregular vibrations in a
material.
3. Sounds produced by a Thunder, the rattling of
tuning fork, violin, veena, wheels, a large number
flute or piano are of people talking
examples of musical together are examples of
sound. noise.

B. MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
Musical instruments produce sounds which feel pleasant to our ears, Each musical
instrument produces a characteristic sound which is unique to it. There are three
basic types of musical instruments:

1. Wind instruments
Wind instruments are played by blowing air through their
columns. For exampte, a saxophone, a flute, a clarinet, a shehnai, a whistle etc. In
these instruments, the frequency of sound can be changed by increasing or
decreasing the length of the air column.

2. Percussion instruments:
A bass drum, mridangam, conga, dholak, tabla, bongo
etc are examples of percussion instruments. When the stretched membrane of these
instruments is beaten with a stick (hammer) or with the hands, it starts vibrating. As a
result, air molecules inside the instrument vibrate and sound is produced. Cymbals,
a gong and bells are also known as percussion instruments that produce sound on
being shaken or clashed together. The frequency of the sound produced depends on
the size and the nature of the membrane.

Did You Know?

Guiro is a type of percussion instrument where sound is produced by scraping.
Conga

3. String instruments:
A guitar, a violin, a veena, a sarangi etc. are examples of
string instruments. Strings of specific metal and thickness are made to vibrate in
them to produce sound. The frequency of sound produced by a string instrument
depends upon the length, material, thickness and tightness of the string

Did You Know?

The didjeridoo, an Australian wind instrument, is traditionally made by craftsmen with
the help of termites! The craftsmen spend a lot of time looking for a branch or trunk
of a tree that has been hollowed out just the right amount by these tiny

B. HIGH AND LOW PITCH SOUNDS

The pitch of a sound suggests how low or high it is. A sound of a low pitch is called a
flat or a hoarse sound but the sound of a high pitch is called a sharp or shrill sound.
The voice of a crow is flat but that of a cuckoo is shrill. Again, you can distinguish
between the sounds of a grown man and those of a child based on the pitch of their
voices.

Table 1.3 Differences between High and Low Pitch

High Pitch Low Pitch
- Vibrations produced are Vibrations produced are
fast. slow.
Frequency of the Frequency of the
vibrations is high. vibrations is low.
3. Shrill sound is produced. Flat sound is produced.
C. SOFT AND LOUD SOUNDS
Those sounds which have a high intensity (force or degree or strength) are called
loud sounds while those with low intensity are called soft sounds. The chirping of
birds is a soft sound, while a jet plane flying produces a loud sound.
Table 1.4 Differences between Soft and Loud Sound
Soft Sound Loud Sound
Soft sounds have low Loud sounds have high
intensity. intensity.
Examples of Soft sound Examples of Loud sound
are are Jet plane flying,
Chirping of birds, siren of an ambulance
blowing wind, flowing etc.
river water etc.

6. DECIBEL SCALE
The honking of cars, a moving train, flying jet planes, loud noises created by heavy
machinery, loud music played on the street, the use of loudspeakers etc cause noise
pollution. Different kinds of sound have different levels of loudness. This loudness of
sound is measured on the decibel scale (dB). The loudness of sound is considered
normal if it is between 50 dB and 60 B. A normal person can tolerate sound of
Toudness level up to 80 dB. Sounds above 80 B are painful and cause noise
pollution.
The lowest sound that we can hear corresponds to 'O' decibels and the highest
sound our ears can tolerate is 120 decibels
Table 1.5 Loudness Level of Some Characteristic Sounds
Source of Sound Loudness level in Sensation of Sound
Decibels
Ordinary conversation 10 Very very faint
Telephone Bell 20 - 25 Very faint
Heavy city traffic 80 - 90 Very loud
Factory Noise 100 - 110 Painfully loud
DJ or Rock Band 120 Painfully loud
Take off of a Jet plane 140 Very painfully loud
Take off of a Rocket 200 Dangerously loud