Sound Computer Lab
Name: _______________
Questions
http://www.ndt-ed.org/EducationResources/HighSchool/Sound/speedinair.htm
1. What conclusion can you draw about the speed of sound relative
to the speed of light?
Sound travels slower than light which is why we see lightning first
and then hear thunder.
2. Explain whether or not the speed of sound is constant for all
materials.
N,o sound travels fastest through mediums with a lot of particles, so it
moves fastest through a solid but does not move at all through a vacuum
(outer space)
3. Describe how density affects the speed of sound.
The more dense (the closer the particles) a substance is, the faster sound can
move through it.
4. What happens when you change the material through which the
sound travels?
It changes speed and refracts.
5. Through which material does sound move faster? Why do you
think it is faster?
Sound travels fastest through mediums with a lot of particles, so it moves
fastest through a solid but does not move at all through a vacuum (outer
space)
6. What happens to the speed of sound when the temperature
changes?
Sound moves fastest through dense particles the colder
something is, the more dense their particles and the fastest
sound can move through that substance.
7. Does sound travel faster or slower as temperature increases?
Sound travels slower as temperature increases.
8. Explain what three things cause the differences in sounds.
Intensity, pitch and tone.
9. Discuss why some sounds are pleasing and others are not.
Sounds with identifiable pitches are pleasant while others are considered just
noise
10. What happens when you make a guitar string shorter? Longer?
Thicker? Thinner? Tighter? Looser?
11.What happens when you make a guitar string out of different
material?
12.Doppler Effect. If the noise the object makes is not changing,
why do you hear a change?
13.Sound Wave Interference. What is the difference in sound
between the overlap area and the single color area?
Louder sound
14. Sound Wave Interference . What is the difference in sound in
the white area? Softer sound
15.Define sound refraction and why it occurs. Refraction is when a
wave goes from one medium to another and bends because speed changes.
16.Describe what occurs when a sound wave reaches the critical
angle. It changes speed and bends
17.What happens to sound traveling in one material when it enters
another material at an angle normal to surface between the two
materials (90 degrees to the surface)? There is no refraction because
there is no angle.
18.What happens to sound traveling in one material when it enters
another material at an angle other than normal to surface
between the two materials? The speed of the wave will change and it
will bend.
19.What happens to the sound as the incident angle approaches
being parallel to the surface? The speed will change but the wave
will not bend.
20.Observe the experiment below and explain why the wave reacts
differently depending on what surface it hits.
21.Discuss how echoes are made. Echos are made when sound reflects off
a barrier.
22.Observe the experiment below and explain why the wave reacts
differently depending on what surface it hits. The barriers result in
sound waves changing their directions based on how they hit.
23.What happens when a sound wave hits a concave shaped surface?
It is reflected but only slightly.
24.Is the sound reflected back to the source from a concave shaped
surface more or less than that reflected from a flat surface?
Sound reflects more on a flat surface.
25.What happens when a sound wave hits the porous surface? Sound
waves are absorbed by a porous surface.
26.What happens when a sound wave hits an irregular surface?
Sound waves reflect in many different angles when they hit an
irregular surface.