Sound waves

• Sound waves are vibrations which pass through a medium.
• Sound waves are longitudinal waves.
• Sound waves travel at 330 m/s in the air. However, their speed depends on what the medium is that they are travelling through. If the medium is denser the it will travel faster, but if its less dense than it will be slower.
• Sound waves can't travel through a vacuum as there is no particles.
• How the ears work;

  1. Sound hits the eardrum which causes it to vibrate.
  2. These vibrations will travel through the ossicles (three small bones) which will go to the cochlea.
  3. The cochlea will turn these vibrations into electrical impulses.
  4. Then the electrical impulse is sent to the brain by the auditory nerve, which will interpret it as sound.
• Humans can hear from 20 - 20,000 Hz.
• The higher the frequency then the higher the pitch. The higher the amplitude then the louder the sound is.