soundwaves

• Sound is a wave created by vibrating objects and propagated through a medium from one location to another
• Sound waves have a medium that carries the disturbance from one location to another
• In soundwaves, there is an original source of the wave, some vibrating object capable of disturbing the first particle of the medium
• Sound waves are transported from one location to another by means of particle interaction
• A sound wave is characterized as a mechanical wave because it is a disturbance transported through a medium via particle interaction
• Sound, being a pressure wave, moves through dense objects quicker
• The speed of sound is greater in solids and liquids than in gases
• Sound cannot travel in a vacuum because there are no particles to collide
• Sound waves are longitudinal waves because particles of the medium vibrate parallel to the direction in which the sound moves
• Compressions are regions of high air pressure, while rarefactions are regions of low air pressure
• Density has the largest effect on a sound wave
• Higher density means faster movement of sound waves
• Closer molecules make it easier to transfer energy
• Higher temperatures cause sound to move faster
• Higher temperatures have more energy, so molecules move faster
• Reverberation is the repeated reflection that results in the persistence of sound in a large hall
• Sound is a longitudinal wave consisting of compressions and rarefactions traveling through a medium
• Crest is the highest point on the wave above the equilibrium (undisturbed) position
• Trough is the lowest point on the wave below the equilibrium (undisturbed) position
• Compression is the region in a longitudinal wave where the particles are closest together
• Rarefaction is the region in a longitudinal wave where the particles are farthest apart
• Wave Height is the vertical distance between crest and trough
• Wavelength is the horizontal distance between successive crests or troughs
• Wave Period is the time it takes for one complete wave to pass a particular point
• Wave Frequency is the number of waves that pass a particular point in a given time period
• Amplitude is the wave height or the distance from either the crest or the trough to the equilibrium (undisturbed) position
• Direction of Propagation is the direction in which a wave is travelling
• A sound with a single frequency is called a pure tone
• Each cycle of the sound wave includes one compression and one rarefaction
• Infrasonic sound waves are those below the range of normal human hearing, occurring below 20 Hz
• Ultrasonic frequencies occur above the range of normal human hearing, above 20 kHz
• The brain interprets the frequency detected by the ear as a subjective or perceived quality called pitch
• A pure tone with a high frequency is interpreted as a high-pitched sound
• A pure tone with a low frequency is interpreted as a low-pitched sound
• Loudness depends primarily on the amplitude of the wave
• Sound waves carry energy as they move from one place to another
• Intensity of a sound wave is the energy transported past a given area per unit of time
• When the amplitude of a sound wave increases, the energy and intensity of the wave also increase
• As a sound wave travels away from its source, the intensity decreases because the wave spreads out over a larger area