Content

Chapter 21.

21.1
21.2
21.3
21.4
21.5

Sound waves

Propagation of sound waves

Sources of sound
Intensity of sound
Beat
Doppler effect

objectives
a) explain the propagation of sound waves in air
in terms of pressure variation and
displacement
b) interpret the equations for displacement, y =
yo sin ( t kx), and pressure, p = po sin ( t
kx + /2)
c) use the standing wave equation to determine
the positions of nodes and antinodes of a
standing wave along a stretched string
d) use the formula v = (T/ )1/2 to determine the
frequencies of the sound produced by
different modes of vibration of the standing
waves along a stretched string

objectives

What are sound waves?

describe, with appropriate diagrams, the

different modes of vibration of standing waves
in air columns, and calculate the frequencies
of sound produced, including the
determination of end correction
define and calculate the intensity level of
sound
use the principle of superposition to explain
the formation of beats
use the formula for beat frequency, f = f1 f2
describe the Doppler effect for sound, and use
the derived formulae (for source and/or
observer moving along the same line)

When we use Sound Waves

Music ties into Sound waves and
frequencies.
Each note has a different frequency.

A mechanical wave that vibrates a

medium (like air or water) with different
frequencies.
These frequencies are then picked up by
our ears.
They are created through a variety of
interactions, but all are mechanical
(Physical).

We talk through sound waves, and apply

meaning to certain sounds.
Dolphins and bats use sound wave (sonar
). Dolphins use it to communicate, like a
language, and bats use them to fly due to
poor eye sight.
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How they work

How they work

Sound waves travel in a

longitudinal way (vertical
fashion), as shown by the
tuning fork in the picture.
The sound vibrates the
medium between the

A sound wave is
measured in hertz
(Hz) =>
vibration/second
These are High and
Low frequency waves,
they show the
difference between
the two.

whatever is straight in
front of it.
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How they work

Frequencies

The periods, T between

the waves categorize
their frequencies, f as
low or high.
f 1/T
The higher frequency has
a smaller amount of time
between waves, while the
lower frequency has a
longer amount of time.

Interval

Frequency Ratio

Examples

Octave
Third

2:1
5:4

512 Hz and 256 Hz

320 Hz and 256 Hz

Fourth
Fifth

4:3
3:2

342 Hz and 256 Hz

384 Hz and 256 Hz

This chart explains sound waves pertain to

music
make music. For instance, raising a note an
octave would require multiplying the base note
by 2 (take a low c, with frequency of 261.5, to
raise it an octave: has frequency 523.)
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Sound

Frequency
Note

C C# D D# E F F# G G# A A# B C C# D

Octave 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2
Hz

10

262 278 294 311 330 349 370 392 415 440 466 494 523 554 587

This table shows the value in hertz of

certain notes (rounding applies).

A longitudinal traveling wave

Produced by vibrations in a medium
The disturbance is the local change in
pressure generated by the vibrating object
It travels because of the molecular
interactions.
The region of increased pressure (compared to
the normal pressure) is called condensation
The region of lower pressure is called
rarefaction.

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Sound

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21.1 Propagation of sound waves

The maximum increase in pressure (DPm) is

the amplitude of the pressure wave.
(measurable)
frequency: 20Hz to 20kHz.
Pressure waves below 20 Hz are called
infrasonic waves
Pressure waves over 20kHz are called
ultrasonic waves.

1. The propagation of sound waves occurs due

to the oscillations of individual particles with
the medium producing traveling waves of
pressure fluctuations
2. The general form of particle oscillation
y(x, t) = yo cos(kx - t) or
y = yo sin ( t kx)
where yo is the magnitude of the particle
displacement
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21.1 Propagation of sound waves

14

21.2 Sources of Sound

3. The general equation for the pressure

fluctuations:
P(x, t) = Po sin(kx - t) or
P = Po sin ( t kx + /2)

Musical instruments produce sounds in

various ways vibrating strings, vibrating
membranes, vibrating metal or wood
shapes, vibrating air columns.
The vibration may be started by plucking,
striking, bowing, or blowing.
The vibrations are transmitted to the air
and then to our ears.
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21.2 Sources of Sound: Vibrating Strings

The strings on a guitar
can be effectively
shortened by fingering,
raising the
fundamental pitch.
The pitch of a string of
a given length can also
be altered by using a
string of different
density.

21.2 Sources of Sound: Vibrating Strings

A piano uses both
methods to cover its
more than sevenoctave range: the
lower strings (at
bottom) are both
much longer and
much thicker than
the higher ones.

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21.2 Sources of Sound: Vibrating Air

Columns

18

21.2 Sources of Sound: Vibrating Strings

and Air Columns

Wind instruments
create sound
through standing
waves in a column
of air.

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21.2 Sources of Sound: Vibrating Strings

and Air Columns

A tube open at both ends (most wind

instruments) has pressure nodes, and therefore
displacement antinodes, at the ends.
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21.2 Sources of Sound: Vibrating

Membrane
A piece of elastic membrane can vibrate in the
modes as shown in the figure below:

Vibrating Membrane

A tube closed at one end (some organ pipes) has

a displacement node (and pressure antinode) at
the closed end.
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21.3 Intensity of sound

22

21.3 Intensity of sound

Waves transport energy without
transporting mass. The amount of energy
transported per second is the power (P)
of the wave (in W)
Intensity is a measure of power
transmitted by a wave per unit area:
I=
23

Power
P
=
=
Area
A

medium

wave

2 2
m

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21.3 Intensity of sound

Loudness & Decibels

The energy transmission (power) is

determined by the source.
The power is distributed (spreads) in all
directions. Far away from the source, the
power is spread over a greater area.
For a point source, intensity decreases
inversely with the square of the distance
from the source:
P
P
I(r) =
=
A
4 r2

1. The human does not perceive sound intensity

linearly but rather logarithmically
Perceived Loudness, Iperceived log (Iactual)
2. The average minimum perceivable sound
intensity:
-12 W/m2
Io
3. The decibel scale was been developed to
ear perception (intensity level, ):
= (10 dB). log(I/I0) = (10 dB). log(I + 12)
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21.4 Beats

26

21.4 Beats
2. When the amplitudes of the 2 waves are similar but
the frequencies are slightly different then:

1. When 2 sound waves the resultant wave

pattern exhibits both constructive and
destructive interference.
2. When the amplitudes of the 2 waves are
similar but the frequencies are slightly
different then:
a. The frequency of the resultant wave is
roughly the average frequency of the 2
waves

a. The combined effect of interference

produces periodic rises and drops in
loudness called beats
b. The frequency of the beats (fbeat) is equal to
the difference between the 2 sound
frequencies: fbeat = f1 - f2
3. Musicians often tune their musical
instruments by listening to beat frequency
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28

21.4 Beat

21.4 Beat
The superposition of 2 sound waves:

fwave1=159.2 Hz

When two sound waves

of different but nearly
equal frequency (f1 and
f2) superimpose, we an
intensity variation at the
difference frequency
The intensity variation is
1 beat
called beats
The beat frequency is
Used to tune musical
equal to the difference
instruments to same pitch
frequency | f1 - f2|

fwave1=148.0 Hz

The resulting beat frequency:

fbeat= fwave1 - fwave2 = 159.2 Hz - 148.0 Hz = 21.2 Hz
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21.4 Beat

21.4 Beat

Superimpose oscillations of equal amplitude,

but different frequencies
Not
A sin(2 f1t)

A sin(2 f 2t )

f2 )
( f1 f 2 )
t )cos(2
t)
2
2
( f1 f 2 )
( f1 f 2 )
2 A cos(2
t ) sin(2
t)
2
2

2 A sin(2

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( f1

examinable
Oscillation at the
average
frequency

Modulation of amplitude
frequency of pulses is | f1-f2 |
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interference in time

Consider two sound sources producing audible

sinusoidal waves at slightly different frequencies f1
and f2. What will a person hear? How can a piano
tuner use beats in tuning a piano? If the two waves at
first are in phase they will interfere constructively
and a large amplitude resultant wave occurs which
will give a loud sound. As time passes, the two waves
become progressively out of phase until they interfere
destructively and it will be very quite. The waves then
gradually become in phase again and the pattern
repeats itself. The resultant waveform shows rapid
fluctuations but with an envelope that various slowly.
CP 535
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21.4 Beat

interference in time

21.4 Beat

The frequency of the rapid fluctuations is the

average frequencies = f1 f 2
2
The frequency of the slowly varying envelope =
f1

interference in time

Since the envelope has two extreme values in

a cycle, we hear a loud sound twice in one
cycle since the ear is sensitive to the square of
the wave amplitude.
f beat f1 f 2
The beat frequency is

f2
2

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33

60
60

50
50

40

40

f =100
f = 120
beats

30

30

20

20

10

10

0.05

0.1

0.15

0.2

0.25

time

0.05

0.1

0.15

0.2

0.25

time

f1 = 100 Hz f2 = 110 Hz frapid = 105 Hz Trapid = 9.5 ms

f beat = 10 Hz Tbeat = 0.1 s (loud pulsation every 0.1 s)

f1 = 100 Hz f2 = 120 Hz frapid = 110 Hz Trapid = 9.1 ms

f beat = 20 Hz Tbeat = 0.05 s (loud pulsation every 0.05 s)
CP 535
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CP 535
36

21.5 Doppler effect

60

50

40

f =100
30

f = 104
beats

20

10

0.05

0.1

0.15

0.2

0.25

time

f1 = 100 Hz f2 = 104 Hz frapid = 102 Hz Trapid = 9.8 ms

f beat = 4 Hz Tbeat = 0.25 s (loud pulsation every 0.25 s)

One might wonder why the siren on a moving

ambulance seems to produce sound with a
higher pitch when it passes an observer and
decreases when it recede the observer.
Is this simply because of the relative distance
between the observer and the ambulance
(sound)?
Or is it because of the loudness of the sound
produced by the siren?

CP 535
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21.5 Doppler effect

21.5 Doppler effect

Christian Johann Doppler

(1803-1853)
Studied motion related
frequency changes (1842)

fo

fs

Doppler effect is the change in frequency of

a wave (or other periodic event) for
an observer moving relative to its source.

v vo
v vs

Source (s)

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fo

Observer (o)

fs

v vo
v vs

Source (s)
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Observer (o)
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21.5 Doppler effect

21.5 Doppler effect

of waves and the observer are approaching

each other, the sound heard by the observer
becomes higher in pitch, whereas if the source
and observer are moving apart the pitch
becomes lower.
For the sound waves to propagate it requires a
medium such as air, where it serves as a frame
of reference with respect to which motion of
source and observer are measured.

Applications:
police microwave speed units
speed of a tennis ball
speed of blood flowing through an artery
heart beat of a developing fetous
burglar alarms
sonar ships & submarines to detect
submerged objects
detecting distance planets
observing the motion of oscillating stars.

41

21.5 Doppler effect

42

21.5 Doppler effect

On right - source
approaching
source catching up on waves
wavelength reduced
frequency increased
On left - source receding
source moving away from
waves
wavelength increased
frequency reduced

Consider source of
sound at frequency fs,
moving speed vs,
observer at rest (vo = 0)
Speed of sound v
What is frequency fo
heard by observer?

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SITUATION 1 Stationary Source and

Observers (NO DOPPLER EFFECT)

44

SITUATION 1 Stationary Source and

Observers (NO DOPPLER EFFECT)

A stationary sound source S

emits a spherical wavefronts of

Thus, the frequency f heard by both stationary

observers is given by,

v relative to the medium air.

In time t, the wavefronts move a

distance vt toward the
observers, O1 & O2.

vt /
t

f - frequency of sound source

v - speed of sound waves
t - time
- wavelength

The number of wavelengths

detected by the observer infront
and behind the source are the
same and equal to vt
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46

SITUATION 2 Stationary Source;

Moving Observers

21.5 Doppler effect

Observer 1 moves a distance vot

toward the source at speed vo

What if both of the observers in figure 1 are

moving, is there any change in the frequency
and wavelength of the source?

We had known earlier that

wavefronts also move at speed v
towards O1 in time t at distance vt.
The distance traveled by the
wavefronts with respect to O1
becomes vt + vOt.
The number of wavelengths
intercepted by O1 at this distance
is (vt + v0t
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48

SITUATION 2 Stationary Source;

Moving Observers

SITUATION 2 Stationary Source;

Moving Observers

This shows that there is an increase in the

frequency heard by O1 as it goes nearer to the
sound source as given by,

f'
Since

(vt v0t ) /
t

v v0

(2)

= v/f, then

f'

(3)

v v0
v

If observer 2 moves away

from the sound source,
the distance traveled by
the wavefronts with
respect to O2 in time t, is
vt vot.
Consequently, there
would be a decrease in the
frequency heard by O2 as
given by,

f'

v v0
v

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SITUATION 2 Stationary Source;

Moving Observers

f'

v v0
f
v

(4)
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SITUATION 3 Moving Source;

Stationary Observers
As the source moves a
distance vST (T=1/f
period of wave) toward
O1 there is a decrease in
the wavelength of sound
by a quantity of vsT.
The shortened

(5)

In these situations only the frequency heard

by the observers changes due to there motion
relative to the source.
However the wavelength of sound remains
constant.

vsT

51

SITUATION 3 Moving Source;

Stationary Observers

SITUATION 3 Moving Source;

Stationary Observers
With respect to observer
2, the wavelength of
sound increases, where
vsT.
The frequency of sound
wave heard by O2
decreases as given by,

The frequency of sound wave heard by O1

increases as given by,

f'

v
'

v
vs T

f'

v
v/ f

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vs f

v
(6)

v vs

f'

v vs

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SITUATION 3 Moving Source;

Stationary Observers
f'
f'

v vs
v
f
v vs

SITUATION 4 Moving Source and

Observer
From the equations (5) and (8), we can now
derive the equation of general Doppler Effect
by replacing f in equation (5) with of
equation (8). This result to,

(6)

(7)

f'

Combining Equations (6) and (7), we have

f'

v
v vs

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v v0
v vs

(9)

(Moving source and observer)

(8)

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56

SITUATION 4 Moving Source and

Observer
f'

v v0
v vs

SITUATION 4 Moving Source and

Observer
f'

(9)

The signs correspond to the direction of the

source or observer when they are moving
relative to the other. These would determine
whether there is an increase or decrease on the
frequency heard by the observer during the
motion.

v v0
v vs

f'

Approaching observer,
receding source
If vo> vs , observed
frequency increases
If vo< vs , observed
frequency decreases

v v0
v vs

Receding observer,
receding source
Decrease in
observed frequency

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SITUATION 4 Moving Source and

Observer
f'

v v0
f
v vs

Approaching observer,
approaching source
Observed frequency
increases

f'

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Problem
A train has a whistle, which emits a 400 Hz
sound. You are stationary and you hear the
whistle, but the pitch is 440 Hz. How fast is
train moving towards or away from you?

v v0
f
v vs

Receding observer,
approaching source
If vo> vs , observed
frequency decreases
If vo< vs , observed
frequency increases
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Solution:

60

Summary: Sound waves

The pitch is higher, so the train is moving

towards you.
Its speed relative to you is found from
f = f0v/(v-vs). We have
(v-vs) = f0v/f = (400/s)(330 m/s)/(440/s)
= 300m/s.
Therefore vs = 330m/s 300m/s
= 30m/s

Propagation
Sources of sound

Open ends tube: Ln= n /2, fn = nv/2L

One Closed End tube: Ln = n /4, fn = nv/4L

Intensity level

I = P/4 r2
= (10 dB). log(I/I0)

Beat

f beat =| f1 - f2 |

Doppler effect

61

y = yo sin ( t kx)
p = po sin ( t kx + /2)

f[(v

v0)/(v

vs)]

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