SOUND

H
ow do you come to know that a Sound plays an important role in our
‘period’ is over in your school? life. It helps us to communicate with one
You come to know easily that another. We hear a variety of sounds in
someone is at your door when he knocks our surroundings.
or you hear the sound of the doorbell. Make a list of sounds you hear in
Most of the time you can make out that your surroundings.
someone is approaching you by just In the music room of your school you
hear the sounds made by musical
hearing the foot steps.
instruments like flute, tabla,
You might have played a game called
harmonium etc. (Fig 13.1).
hide and seek. In this game a person is How is sound produced? How does it
blind-folded and has to catch the travel from one place to another ? How
remaining players. How is the blind- do we hear sound? Why are some sounds
folded person able to guess which player louder than others? We shall discuss
is closest to her? such questions in this chapter.

Tabla

Sitar

Flute
Harmonium

Fig. 13.1 : Some musical instruments

13.1 Sound is Produced by a Activity 13.2
Vibrating Body Take a rubber band. Put it around
Touch the school bell when not in use. the longer side of a pencil box
What do you feel? Again touch it when (Fig. 13.3). Insert two pencils
producing sound. Can you feel it between the box and the stretched
vibrating? rubber. Now, pluck the rubber band
somewhere in the middle. Do you
Activity 13.1 hear any sound? Does the band
vibrate?
Take a metal plate (or a shallow
frying pan). Hang it at a convenient
place in such a way that it does not
touch any wall. Now strike it with a
stick (Fig.13.2). Touch the plate or
pan gently with your finger. Do you
feel the vibrations?

Fig. 13.3 : Plucking the rubber band

The to and fro or back and forth

motion of an object is termed as
vibration as you learnt in Class VII.
When a tightly stretched band is
plucked, it vibrates and produces
sound. When it stops vibrating, it does
not produce any sound.

Activity 13.3
Take a metal dish. Pour water in it.
Strike it at its edge by a spoon (Fig.
13.4). Do you hear a sound? Again
strike the plate and then touch it.
Can you feel the dish vibrating?
Strike the dish again. Look at the
Fig. 13.2 : Striking a frying pan
surface of water. Do you see any
Again strike the plate with the stick waves there? Now hold the dish.
and hold it tightly with your hands What change do you observe on the
immediately after striking. Do you surface of water? Can you explain
still hear the sound? Touch the the change? Is there a hint to
plate after it stops producing sound. connect sound with the vibrations
Can you feel the vibrations now? of a body?
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 Table 13.1 : Musical instruments and
their Vibrating Parts.

S.No. Musical Vibrating part

Instrument producing sound
1. Ve e n a Stretched string
2. Tabla Stretched
membrane
3. Flute Air -column
Fig. 13.4 : Vibrating plate produces waves
4. _________ _________
in water
5. _________ _________
We see that a vibrating object 6. _________ _________
produces sound. In some cases, the
7. _________ _________
vibrations are easily visible to us. But
in most cases, their amplitude is so small
that we cannot see them. However, we Many of you might have seen the
can feel them. manjira (cymbals), the ghatam, and the
noot (mudpots) and the kartal. These
Activity 13.4 instruments are commonly used in
many parts of our country. These
Take a hollow coconut shell and musical instruments are simply beaten
make a musical instrument Ektara. or struck. Can you name a few other
You can also make it with the help musical instruments of this type?
of an earthen pot (Fig. 13.5). Play You, too can make a musical
this instrument and identify its instrument.
vibrating part. Ghatam

Fig. 13.5 : Ektara

Make a list of familiar musical

instruments and identify their vibrating
Manjira
parts. A few examples are given in Table
13.1. Complete the rest of the Table. Fig. 13.6 : A few more musical instruments
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Activity 13.5
Take 6-8 metal bowls or tumblers.
Fill them with water up to different
When we speak, does
levels, increasing gradually from any part of our body
one end to the other. Now take vibrate?
a pencil and strike the bowls gently.
Strike all of them in succession. You
will hear a pleasant sound. This is
13.2 Sound Produced by
your Jaltrang (Fig.13.7). Humans
Speak loudly for a while or sing a song,
or buzz like a bee. Put your hand on
your throat as shown in Fig. 13.8. Do
you feel any vibrations?
In humans, the sound is produced
by the voice box or the larynx. Put your
fingers on the throat and find a hard
bump that seems to move when you
swallow. This part of the body is known
as the voice box. It is at the upper end
of the windpipe. Two vocal cords, are
stretched across the voice box or larynx
in such a way that it leaves a narrow
slit between them for the passage of air
(Fig.13.8).

Fig. 13.7 : Jaltrang

When we pluck the string of an

instrument, like the sitar, the sound
that we hear is not only that of the
string. The whole instrument is forced
Fig.13.8 : Voice box in humans
to vibrate, and it is the sound of the
vibration of the instrument that we When the lungs force air through the
hear. Similarly, when we strike the slit, the vocal cords vibrate, producing
membrane of a mridangam, the sound sound. Muscles attached to the vocal
that we hear is not only that of the cords can make the cords tight or loose.
membrane but of the whole body of When the vocal cords are tight and thin,
the instrument.
the type or quality of voice is different
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from that when they are loose and The vocal cords in men are about
thick. Let us see how the vocal cords 20mm long. In women these are about
function. 5mm shorter. Children have very
short vocal cords. This is the reason
Activity 13.6 why the voices of men, women and
children are different.
Take two rubber strips of the same
size. Place these two pieces one
13.3 Sound Needs a Medium
above the other and stretch them
tight. Now blow air through the gap for Propagation
between them [Fig. 13.9(a)]. As the When you call up your friend who is
air blows through the stretched standing at a distance, your friend is
rubber strips, a sound is produced. able to hear your voice. How does the
You can also take a piece of paper sound travel to her?
with a narrow slit and hold it
between your fingers as shown in Activity 13.7
Fig. 13.9 (b). Now blow through the
slit and listen to the sound. Our Take a metal glass tumbler. Make
vocal cords produce sound in a sure that it is dry. Place a cell phone
similar manner. in it. (Remember that the cell phone
must not be kept in water.) Ask your
friend to give a ring on this cell
phone from another cell phone.
Listen to the ring carefully.
Now, surround the rim of the
tumbler with your hands (Fig.
13.10). Put your mouth on the

(a)

(b)
Fig. 13.9 (a), (b) : Working of vocal cords Fig. 13.10 : Sound needs a medium to travel

SOUND 163
 opening between your hands. Place your ear gently on the water
Indicate to your friend to give a ring surface (Fig. 13.11). (Be careful :
again. Listen to the ring while water should not enter in your ear).
sucking air from the tumbler. Can you hear the sound of the bell?
Does the sound become fainter Does it indicate that sound can
as you suck? travel through liquids?
Remove the tumbler from your
mouth. Does the sound become
loud again?
Oh ! That is how whales
Can you think of an explanation? Is and dolphins might be
it possible that the decreasing amount communicating under
of air in the tumbler had something to water.
do with decreasing loudness of the ring?
Let us find out if sound can travel
Indeed, if you had been able to suck
through solids also.
all the air in the tumbler, the sound would
stop completely. Actually, sound needs a
Activity 13.9
medium to travel. When air has been
removed completely from a vessel, it is said Take a metre scale or a long metal
that there is vacuum in the vessel. The rod and hold its one end to your
sound cannot travel through vacuum. ear. Ask your friend to gently
Does sound travel in liquids? Let us scratch or tap the other end of the
find out. scale (Fig. 13.12).

Activity 13.8
Take a bucket or a bathtub. Fill it
with clean water. Take a small bell
in one hand. Shake this bell inside
the water to produce sound. Make
sure that the bell does not touch
the body of the bucket or the tub.

Fig. 13.12 : Sound travelling through a me-

tre scale

Can you hear the sound of the

scratch? Ask your friends around
you if they were able to hear the
Fig. 13.11 : Sound travelling through water same sound?

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 You can also perform the above 13.4 We hear Sound through
activity by placing your ear at one end Our Ears
of a long wooden or metallic table and
asking your friend to gently scratch the The shape of the outer part of the ear is
other end of the table (Fig. 13.13). like a funnel. When sound enters in it,
it travels down a canal at the end of
which a thin membrane is stretched
tightly. It is called the eardrum. It
performs an important function. To
understand what the eardrum does, let
us build a tin can model of the eardrum.

Activity 13.10
Take a tin can. Cut its ends. Stretch
a piece of rubber balloon across one
Fig. 13.13 : Sound can travel through solids
end of the can and fasten it with a
We find that sound can travel rubber band. Put four or five grains
through wood or metal. In fact, sound of dry cereal on the stretched rubber.
can travel through any solid. You can Now ask your friend to speak
perform interesting activities to show “Hurrey, Hurrey” from the open end
that sound can also travel through (Fig.13.15). Observe what happens
strings. Recall if you made a toy to the grain. Why do the grains
telephone (Fig. 13.14). Can you say that jump up and down?
the sound can travel through strings?

Fig. 13.14 : A toy telephone

We have learnt so far that vibrating

objects produce sound and it is carried
in all directions in a medium. How do
we hear it? Fig. 13.15 : Tin can eardrum

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 The eardrum is like a stretched You have already learnt in earlier classes
rubber sheet. Sound vibrations make about the oscillatory motion and its
the eardrum vibrate (Fig. 13.16). The time period.
eardrum sends vibrations to the inner The number of oscillations per
ear. From there, the signal goes to the second is called the frequency of
brain. That is how we hear. oscillation. Frequency is expressed in
hertz. Its symbol is Hz. A frequency of
1 Hz is one oscillation per second. If an
object oscillates 20 times in one second,
what would be its frequency?
You can recognise many familiar
sounds without seeing the objects
producing them. How is it possible?
These sounds must be different to
enable you to recognise them. Have you
ever thought what factors make them
different? Amplitude and frequency are
two important properties of any sound.
Can we differentiate sounds on the basis
of their amplitudes and frequencies?

Loudness and Pitch

Eardrum
Activity 13.11
Take a metallic tumbler and a
Fig. 13.16 : Human ear tablespoon. Strike the tablespoon
gently at the brim of the tumbler.

We must NEVER put a sharp,

pointed or hard thing into our
ear. It can damage the
eardrum. The damaged
eardrum can impair hearing.

13.5 Amplitude, Time Period

And Frequency Of A
Vibration
We have learnt that the to and fro motion
of an object is known as vibration. This Fig. 13.17 : Thermocole ball touching the
motion is also called oscillatory motion. vibrating glass tumbler

166 SCIENCE
 Compare the sound of a baby with
Hear the sound produced. Now bang
that of an adult. Is there any difference?
the spoon on the tumbler and hear
Even if two sounds are equally loud,
the sound produced again. Is the
they differ in some way. Let us see how.
sound louder when the tumbler is
struck hard?
Now suspend a small thermocole I wonder why my voice
ball touching the rim of the tumbler is different from that of
(Fig. 13.17). Vibrate the tumbler by my teacher.
striking it. See how far the ball is
displaced. The displacement of the The frequency determines the
ball is a measure of the amplitude shrillness or pitch of a sound. If the
of vibration of the tumbler. frequency of vibration is higher we say
Now, strike the tumbler gently that the sound is shrill and has a higher
and then with some force. Compare pitch. If the frequency of vibration is
the amplitudes of vibrations of the lower, we say that the sound has a lower
tumbler in the two cases. In which pitch. For example, a drum vibrates with
case is the amplitude larger? a low frequency. Therefore, it produces

Loudness of sound is proportional to

the square of the amplitude of the
vibration producing the sound. For
example, if the amplitude becomes
twice, the loudness increases by a
factor of 4. The loudness is expressed
in a unit called decibel (dB). The
following table gives some idea of the
loudness of sound coming from
various sources.

Normal breathing 10 dB
Soft whisper (at 5m) 30 dB
Normal conversation 60 dB
Busy traffic 70 dB
Average factory 80 dB

Above 80 dB the noise becomes

physically painful.

The loudness of sound depends on

its amplitude. When the amplitude of
vibration is large, the sound produced
is loud. When the amplitude is small, Fig. 13.18 : Frequency determines the
the sound produced is feeble. pitch of a sound

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a low-pitched sound. On the other 13.7 Noise and Music
hand, a whistle has a high frequency
We hear different types of sounds
and therefore, produces a sound of
around us. Is the sound always
higher pitch (Fig. 13.18). A bird makes
pleasing? Does a sound sometimes
a high-pitched sound whereas a lion
cause discomfort to you? Some sounds
makes a low-pitched roar. However, the
are pleasant to the ear, whereas some
roar of a lion is very loud while the are not.
sound of the bird is quite feeble. Suppose construction work is going
Every day you hear the voices of on in your neighbourhood. Are the
children and adults. Do you find any sounds coming from the construction
difference in their voices? Can you say site pleasing? Do you enjoy the sounds
that the frequency of the voice of a child produced by horns of buses and trucks?
is higher than that of an adult? Usually Such unpleasant sounds are called
the voice of a woman has a higher noise. In a classroom, if all the students
frequency and is shriller than that of a speak together, what would the sound
man. produced be called?
On the other hand you enjoy sounds
13.6 Audible and Inaudible from musical instruments. Musical
Sounds sound is one which is pleasing to the
ear. Sound produced by a harmonium
We know that we need a vibrating body
is a musical sound. The string of a sitar
for the production of sound. Can we
also gives out a musical sound. But, if
hear the sound of all vibrating bodies?
a musical sound becomes too loud,
The fact is that sounds of frequencies
would it remain melodious?
less than about 20 vibrations per second
(20 Hz) cannot be detected by the human 13.8 Noise Pollution
ear. Such sounds are called inaudible.
On the higher side, sounds of frequencies You already know about air pollution.
higher than about 20,000 vibrations per Presence of unwanted gases and
second (20 kHz) are also not audible to particles in air is called air pollution.
the human ear. Thus, for human ear, Similarly, presence of excessive or
the range of audible frequencies is unwanted sounds in the environment
roughly from 20 to 20,000 Hz. is called noise pollution. Can you list
some sources of noise pollution? Major
Some animals can hear sounds of causes of noise pollution are sounds of
frequencies higher than 20,000 Hz. vehicles, explosions including bursting
Dogs have this ability. The police use of crackers, machines, loudspeakers etc.
high frequency whistles which dogs can What sources in the home may lead to
hear but humans cannot. noise? Television and transistor radio
The ultrasound equipment, familiar at high volumes, some kitchen
to us for investigating and tracking appliances, desert coolers, air
many medical problems, works at conditioners, all contribute to noise
frequencies higher than 20,000 Hz.
pollution.
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 What are the harms of noise must be installed in air craft engines,
pollution? transport vehicles, industrial
Do you know that presence of machines and home appliances.
excessive noise in the surroundings may How can the noise pollution be
cause many health related problems. controlled in a residential area?
Lack of sleep, hypertension (high blood- The noisy operations must be
pressure), anxiety and many more health conducted away from any residential
disorders may be caused by noise area. Noise producing industries
pollution. A person who is exposed to a should be set up away from such
loud sound continuously may get areas. Use of automobile horns
temporary or even permanent should be minimised. TV and music
impairment of hearing. systems should be run at low
volumes. Trees must be planted along
Measures to Limit Noise Pollution the roads and around buildings to
To control noise, we must control the cut down on the sounds reaching the
sources of noise. How can this be residents, thus reducing the harmful
achieved? For this, silencing devices effects of noise pollution.

Hearing Impairment
The total hearing imparment, which is rare, is usually from birth itself. Partial
disability is generally the result of a disease, injury or age. Children with impaired
hearing need special care. By learning sign language, such children can
communicate effectively. Because speech develops as the direct result of hearing,
a child with a hearing loss may have defective speech also. Technological devices
for the hearing-impared have made it possible for such persons to improve their
quality of life. Society can do much to improve the living environment for the
hearing-impaired and help them live normal lives.

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KEYWORDS WHAT YOU HAVE LEARNT
AMPLITUDE
Sound is produced by vibrating objects.

In human beings, the vibration of the vocal
AUDIBLE
cords produces sound.
EARDRUM
Sound travels through a medium (gas, liquid
or solid). It cannot travel in vacuum.
HERTZ (Hz)

The eardrum senses the vibrations of sound,
LARYNX It sends the signals to the brain. This process
is called hearing.
LOUDNESS

The number of oscillations or vibrations per
NOISE second is called the frequency of oscillation.

The frequency is expressed in hertz (Hz)
OSCILLATION

Larger the amplitude of vibration, louder is
PITCH the sound.

Higher the frequency of vibration, the higher
SHRILLNESS
is the pitch, and shriller is the sound.
TIME PERIOD
Unpleasant sounds are called noise.

Excessive or unwanted sounds lead to noise
VIBRATION pollution. Noise pollution may pose health

VOICE BOX problems for human beings.

Attempts should be made to minimise noise
WIND PIPE pollution.

Plantation on the roadside and elsewhere can
reduce noise pollution.

Exercises

1. Choose the correct answer :

Sound can travel through
(a) gases only (b) solids only
(c) liquids only (d) solids, liquids and gases.

2. Which of the following voices is likely to have minimum frequency?

(a) Baby girl (b) Baby boy
(c) A man (d) A woman

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 3. In the following statements, tick T against those which are true, and F
EXERCISES against those which are false:
(a) Sound cannot travel in vacuum. (T/F)
(b) The number of oscillations per second of a vibrating object is called
its time period. (T/F)
(c) If the amplitude of vibration is large, sound is feeble. (T/F)
(d) For human ears, the audible range is 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz. (T/F)
(e) The lower the frequency of vibration, the higher is the pitch. (T/F)
(f) Unwanted or unpleasant sound is termed as music. (T/F)
(g) Noise pollution may cause partial hearing impairment. (T/F)
4. Fill in the blanks with suitable words.
(a) Time taken by an object to complete one oscillation is called
................... .
(b) Loudness is determined by the .........................of vibration.
(c) The unit of frequency is..........................
(d) Unwanted sound is called ......................... .
(e) Shrillness of a sound is determined by the ................. of vibration.

5. A pendulum oscillates 40 times in 4 seconds. Find its time period and

frequency.
6. The sound from a mosquito is produced when it vibrates its wings at an
average rate of 500 vibrations per second. What is the time period of the
vibration?
7. Identify the part which vibrates to produce sound in the following
instruments:
(a) Dholak (b) Sitar (c) Flute
8. What is the difference between noise and music? Can music become noise
sometimes?

9. List sources of noise pollution in your surroundings.

10. Explain in what way noise pollution is harmful to humans.
11. Your parents are going to buy a house. They have been offered one on the
roadside and another three lanes away from the roadside. Which house
would you suggest your parents should buy? Explain your answer.
12. Sketch larynx and explain its function in your own words.

13. Lightning and thunder take place in the sky at the same time and at the
same distance from us. Lightning is seen earlier and thunder is heard
later. Can you explain?

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 Extended Learning — Activities and Projects
1. Visit the music room of your school. You may also visit musicians
in your locality. Make a list of musical instruments. Note down the
parts of these instruments that vibrate to produce sound.

2. If you play a musical instrument, bring it to the class and

demonstrate how you play it.
3. Prepare a list of famous Indian musicians and the instruments
they play.
4. Take a long thread. Place your hands over your ears and get some
one to place this thread round your head and hands. Ask her to
make the thread taut and hold its ends in one hand. Now ask her
to draw her finger and thumb tightly along the thread (Fig. 13.19).
Can you hear a rolling sound like that of a thunder? Now repeat
the activity while another friend stands near both of you. Can he
hear any sound?

Fig. 13.19
5. Make two toy telephones. Use them as shown in Fig. 13.20. Make
sure that the two strings are taut and touch each other. Let one of
you speak. Can the remaining three persons hear? See how many
more friends you can engage in this way. Explain your observations.

Fig. 13.20

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 6. Identify the sources of noise pollution in your locality. Discuss with
your parents, friends and neighbours. Suggest how to control noise
pollution. Prepare a brief report and present it in the class.
You can read more on the related topics on the following websites:

www.physicsclassroom.com/Class/sound/soundtoc.html

health.howstuffworks.com/hearing.htm

www.jaltarang.com for jaltarang

www.tempro/com/articles/hearing.html

www.cartage.org.lb/en/themes/sciences/physics/mainpage.htm

Did You Know

Golconda fort, near Hyderabad, is one of the most magnificient

forts in India. It is famous for many engineering and architectural
marvels. One of the marvels is the water supply system. But,
perhaps, more astonishing is a dome near the entrance to the fort.
A hand-clap at a particular point under the dome reverberates
and can be heard at the highest point of the fort, about a kilometre
away. This was devised as a warning system. If a guard saw a
suspicious movement outside the fort, he clapped at the particular
point under the dome, and the army inside the fort was alerted to
the danger of the approaching enemy.

Golconda fort

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