Chapter 16: Sound Waves and Hearing-9/23/10

Sound waves are mechanical longitudinal waves that travel through the air or any other substance.
They are three-dimensional waves and allow us to communicate through speech. The speed o sound in
air at standard pressure and room temperature !1.013 " 10
#
$a and 20%& ' is about 3(( m/s) but it can
vary depending o air pressure and temperature. Sound can also travel through li*uids and solids at
higher speeds.
1. Answer the following questions about sound waves.
a) How do we know that sound waves are longitudinal?
b) How do you know that (in a longitudinal wave) the oscillators in the compressions are
instantaneously moving in the direction of the waves and the ones in the rarefactions are moving in the
opposite direction?
c) hat is the purpose of the slide in a trombone or the valves on a trumpet or the frets in a guitar?
d) !"plain why all harmonics are present in an organ pipe open at both ends# but only the odd
harmonics are present in a pipe closed at one end.
e) $ompare the frequency# wavelength# and speed of the standing wave in a string of a violin and the
wave that travels to your ear.
f) !"plain how the distance to a lightning bolt may be determined by counting the seconds between the
visible lash and the heard sound of the thunder. hy can we neglect the speed of light?
%. A stone is dropped into a deep canyon and is heard to strike the bottom 1& s after release. 'emember
g().* m+s
%
and v
sound
(,-- m+s. .his information can be used to determine the depth of the canyon.
a) As a first appro"imation you ignore the time it takes the sound to travel from the bottom of the
canyon. hat is this appro"imation to the depth of the canyon?
b) /se your appro"imation in (a) to determine the time it took the sound to travel from the bottom to
your ear. as it 0ustifiable to ignore that time?
c) 1ou can get a better appro"imation to the depth of the canyon by subtracting the time found in (b)
from the original 1& s and doing (a) again. hat 2 error would result from ignoring the speed of sound
the first time? (1ou can get an e"act answer by not neglecting the sound in the place and solving a
quadratic equation.)
,. .here are a number of formulas that predict the speed of waves in different media. 'eview the ones
discussed in class.
a) .he 3ulk modulus is equal to 4 where is a constant equal to 5+6 for air and 4 is the air pressure.
7etermine the speed of sound at 1 atm and &8$ when the density of air equals 1.%) kg+m
,
.
b) 3y proper e"citation it is possible to produce both longitudinal and transverse waves in a long metal
rod. A particular metal rod is 16& cm long and has a radius of &.%& cm and a mass of 6& g. .he 1oung9s
modulus for the material is :.* " 1&
1&
;+m
%
. hat must be the tension in the rod if the ratio of the speed
of longitudinal waves to the speed of the transverse waves is * to 1?
-. A <wave splitter= consists of two tubes# each 1.56 m in length. .he top tube contains air at &8$
(v
sound
(,,1 m+s) and the lower tube contains air at %&&8$ (v
sound
(-,6 m+s). .he sound signals travels
through the tubes and the two signals meet again at a receiver at the other end of the tubes.
a) hat is the lowest frequency that will produce an intensity minimum at the receiver?
b) How much would you have to change the length of one tube to turn that minimum into a ma"imum?
6. .wo loudspeakers are placed on a wall , m apart. A listener stands directly in front of one of the
speakers - m from the wall. .he speakers are being driven by a single oscillator at a frequency of %56
H>.
a) hat is the phase difference between the two waves when they reach the observer?
b) hat is the frequency closest to ,&& H> to which the oscillator may be ad0usted such that the
observer will hear minimal sound?
:A. $onsider the two e"amples of
a pair of identical point wave sources
vibrating in phase illustrated
on the right.
a) ?n each case draw lines identifying
the nodal lines and the antinodal
lines in each case.
b) $ompare the number of
the nodal and the antinodal lines
to the number of full wavelengths
between the sources.
:. .wo speakers are driven by the same oscillator of frequency %&& H>. .hey are located on the vertical
pole a distance - m from each other. A man walks directly toward the lower speaker in a direction
perpendicular to the pole as shown. .ake the speed of sound to be ,-& m+s and ignore any sound
reflections from the floor.
a) How many times will he hear a minimum in sound intensity? Hint@ As he
walks toward a speaker he crosses the nodal lines in that quadrant.
b) How far is he from the wall at these moments?
5. $learly distinguish between the pressure amplitude and the displacement amplitude of a sound wave.
'eview their relationship to each other and to the power of the wave.
a) An e"perimenter wishes to generate a sound wave in air with a displacement amplitude equal to 6.6
Am. .he pressure amplitude is to be limited to &.*- 4a. hat is the minimum wavelength that the sound
can have?
b) rite an e"pression that describes the pressure variation as a function of position and time for
sinusoidal sound wave described in (a).
c) rite the function that describes the displacement wave corresponding to this pressure wave.
*. Bor sound# the intensity is a very useful concept (?(4ower+Area). Assume that the intensity of a sound
wave at a fi"ed distance from a speaker vibrating at 1 kH> is &.:& +m
%
. 'eview the formulas for the
power and intensity of a sound wave and answer the following questions.
a) 7etermine the intensity at the receiver if the frequency of the source is increased to %.6 kH> while
keeping the displacement amplitude constant. hat happens to the pressure amplitude in this case? Has
the power output of the source of sound changed?
b) 7etermine the intensity at the receiver if the frequency of the source is reduced to &.6& kH> while the
displacement amplitude is doubled. hat happens to the pressure amplitude in this case? Has the power
output of the source changed?
c) Assuming that the displacement amplitude of the source doesn9t change# determine the intensity at the
receiver if the frequency of the source is increased to %.& kH> and the receiver is moved twice as far
away from the source (assume it is a point source). hat happens to the pressure amplitude in this case?
Has the power output of the source changed?
d) Assuming that the power output of the source doesn9t change# determine the intensity at the receiver
if the frequency of the source is increased to %.& kH> and the receiver is moved twice as far away from
the source (assume it is a point source). hat happens to the pressure and displacement amplitudes in
this case?
). hen adding sound levels you have to consider that what actually <adds up= are the intensity
(power+area) of the sources.
a) Cuppose two sources produce sound levels of 56 d3 and *& d3 separately at particular location. hat
is their combined intensity in +m
%
?
b) hat is their combined sound level?
D -m

c) 4rove that# in general# when adding two sources of sound levels (E
a
and E
b
)# the resultant sound level
is (E
ab
)( 1&logF1&
Ea+1&
G 1&
Eb+1&
H
1&. 3ecause the decibel scale is defined as a log function# when comparing d3 levels a dierence is
more logical comparison than a ratio. Bor e"ample# suppose you want to compare the sound level of
one source of sound to <;= sources of the same sound. ?t is easier to determine (E
;
I E
1
)# than (E
;
+E
1
).
a) 7erive a formula for the differential comparison (E
;
I E
1
).
b) As a numerical e"ample# imagine that in the afternoon the sound level of busy freeway is *& d3 with
1&& cars passing a given point every minute. Date night the traffic flow is only five cars per minute.
hat is the late night sound level?
11. A point source of sound would produce waves that spread out spherically from the center. Cince
intensity is the power+area (?(4+A) and the area of a sphere equals -Jr
%
# the intensity in this case is
<inverseKsquared= related to the distance from the source <r=.
a) Chow that the difference in decibel levels#
%
and
1
# from a point sound source is related to the ratio
of the distances# r
%
and r
1
# from the receivers by the formula@
%
K
1
( %& log(r
1
+ r
%
).
b) ?f you are close to a long vibrating string# the source of the sound is more <lineKlike= than <pointK
like= and the sound initially spreads out through cylindrical (rather than spherical) crossKsectional areas.
Chow that in this case# the difference in decibel levels at distances r
%
and r
1
from a line sound source is

%
K
1
( 1& log(r
1
+ r
%
). ?gnore the relatively small areas of the top and bottom of the cylinder.
1%. A fireworks rocket e"plodes at a height of 1&& m above ground. An observer on the ground directly
under the e"plosion e"periences an average sound intensity of &.&5 +m
%
for &.% s.
a) hat is the total sound energy of the e"plosion?
b) hat is the sound level in decibels heard by the observer?
1,..he pressure changes generated by spherical wave radiating from a point source is described by the
following formula@
p(r#t)( (%6+r) sin (1.%6r I 1*5&t)# where p is the gauge pressure in pascals#
r is in meters# and t in seconds.
a) hat is the ma"imum pressure amplitude - m from the source? hy does the amplitude decrease as
1+r instead of as 1+r
%
?
b) 7etermine the speed of the wave. ?f you have access to a table of wave speeds in different materials
you can determine the material the wave is in.
c) Bind the intensity of the wave in d3 at a distance - m from the source.
d) Bind the instantaneous pressure 6 m from the source at &.&* s.
1-. .wo small speakers emit sound waves of dierent re*uencies. Cpeaker A has an output of 1.& m
and speaker 3 has an output of 1.6 m. 7etermine the sound intensity level (in d3) at point $ is 6 m
from A and - m from 3. ;ote@ if the frequencies are different superposition cannot generate a fi"ed
interference pattern in space.
a) 7etermine the sound intensity level (in d3) at point $ if@ (i) only speaker A emits soundL (ii) both
speakers emit sound.
b) ?f both speakers had the same frequency# interference could make point $ a local ma"imum or
minimum# or something else. How would this affect the answers in (a)?
16. .he questions and problems below deal with the +oppler eect and related phenomena. 1ou should
be able to e"plain the following@
a) !"plain why the 7opplerKshifted frequency heard by the listener when he9s moving toward the source
is ;M. the same as when the source is moving toward the listener. hy is this ;M. a violation of the
Daw of ?nertia?
b) Highways often display signs that say <Cpeed checked by radar=. !"plain how police use the 7oppler
effect with microwaves to determine the speed of an automobile.
c) Cuppose that an observer and a source of sound are both at rest and a strong wind blows toward the
observer. 7escribe the effect of the wind (if any) on@ (i) the observed wavelength# (ii) the observed
frequency# and (iii) the wave velocity.
d) A binary star system consists of two stars revolving about each other. ?f we observe the light reaching
us from one of these stars as it makes one complete revolution about the other# what does the 7oppler
effect predict will happen to the observed light? 1ou should know that the frequency of light determines
its color.
1:A. 'eview the 7oppler effect for the basic <moving source= and <moving listener= cases.
a) !"plain why the difference in the frequency heard by the listener in these two cases is not a
violation of Nalilean relativity.
b) How would changing frames of reference affect the 7oppler formula?
c) $ompare the 7oppler e"amples of a sound reflecting off a reflector at rest (echo e"ample) and of
sound reflecting of a reflector in motion (radar e"ample).
1:. A fire truck moving to the right at -& m+s sounds its horn (f(6&& H>) at the two vehicles (a car and a
van) ahead of it. .he car is moving to the right at ,& m+s while the wan is at rest.
a) hat frequency is heard by the passengers in the car?
b) hat frequency is heard by the passengers in the van?
c) hen the fire truck is %&& m from the car and %6& from the van# the passengers in the car hear a sound
intensity level of )& d3. At that time# what is the intensity level heard by the passengers in the van?
15. A train is moving parallel to highway at %& m+s. A car is traveling in the opposite direction as the
train at -& m+s. .he car horn sounds at 61& H> and the train whistle sounds at ,%& H>. Assume the train
and car are in line.
a) hen the car is behind the train what frequency does a car passenger hear for the train whistle?
b) hat si>e wavelength reaches the car?
c) hen the car is in front of the train what frequency does a train passenger hear for the car horn?
hat si>e wavelength reaches the train?
1*. .wo ships are moving along a line due east. .he trailing vessel has a speed of :- km+h# and the
leading ship has a speed of -6 km+h relative to a landKbased observation point. .he two ships are in a
region of the ocean where the current is moving uniformly due west at 1& km+h. .he trailing ship
transmits a sonar signal at a frequency of 1%&& H>.
a) hat frequency value is picked up by the leading ship? .he speed of sound in ocean water is 16%&
m+s (6-5% km+hr).
b) 'edo the problem assuming that the trailing ship is actually moving west.
1). A skydiver carries a tone generator to determine her speed when falling. A friend on the ground
directly below has a receiver. hile the skydiver is falling at a constant terminal speed# her tone
generator emits a steady tone of 1*&& H>
a) ?f the friend on the ground receives waves of frequency %16& H># what is skydiver9s speed?
b) ?f the skydiver were also carrying a receiver sensitive enough to detect waves reflected from the
ground# what frequency would she receive?
c) hat si>e wavelength reaches the receiver on the ground? hat si>e wavelength reaches the skydiver
after reflection from the ground?
%&. 3ats navigate using sound echoes# a skill called echolocation. Cuppose a bat moving at 6 m+s is
chasing a flying insect. .he bat emits a -& kH> shirp and receives back an echo of -&.- kH>.
a) At what speed is the insect moving toward or away from the bat? ?s it possible to tell whether the
insect is moving toward or away from the bat?
b) hat is the wavelength of the sound generated by the bat?
c) hat is the wavelength of the sound reflected by the insect?
%1. A supersonic 0et traveling at Oack , (," the speed of sound) at an altitude of %& km is directly
overhead at time t(&.
a) How long will it be before a person on the ground encounters the shock wave?
b) here will the plane be when it is finally heard?
%%. An interesting e"ample of <shock waves= is the &eren,ov eect# which occurs when highKenergy#
charged particles move through a transparent medium with a speed greater than the speed of light in that
medium. !ven though particles cannot travel faster than light in a vacuum) light <travels= slower than
<c= in transparent media such as water or glass. .he &eren,ov eect can be observed in the vicinity of
the core of a swimmingKpool reactor due to highKspeed electrons moving through the water. e will
learn more about light waves in the optics unit of this course.
a) $alculate the speed of electrons in the water# given that the speed of light in water is %.%6 " 1&
*
m+s
and the angle of the <shock bow= is 6,8.
b) hat is the ratio of the speed of light in a vacuum (c(, " 1&
*
m+s) to the speed of light in water. .his
ratio is called the inde" o reraction of water.
%,. hile attempting to tune the note $ at 6%, H># a piano tuner hears % beats+s between the reference
oscillator and the string.
a) hat are the possible frequencies of the outKofKtune string?
b) hen the string is slightly tightened# the beat frequency changes to , beats+s. hat is the frequency
of the string?
c) 3y what percentage should the tension in the string be changed to bring it into tune?
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