Physical Science Project on sound

By: Kyle Wittkowski

Sound is used to communicate Without any sound, the world would be quiet People make sounds to communicate by

speaking from their vocal chords People speak in different tones and pitches based

on their emotion (ex. A girl screaming at a boy because he took her toy; this shows high pitch)

Other animals such as dolphins and whales also use sound to communicate and use echolocation to find prey

How sound is used to communicate

Terms to know:

Pitch- The perception of the frequency of a sound and it describes how high or low the sound seems (Pitch depends on the frequency; the higher the frequency of a wave, the higher the pitch, and the lower the frequency of a wave, the lower the pitch)

Frequency- The number of vibrations that occur per second Intensity- The amount of energy per second carried through

a unit by a wave (Sound waves of a higher amplitude (the height), have a greater intensity)

Loudness- Perception of the intensity of a sound wave (the greater the intensity (the energy), the louder the sound)

Definitions

This instrument is called a guitar and there are

a variety of different types, but I am only going to be describing a homemade version of the acoustic guitar

It is a string instrument, therefore its sounds are formed from the different strings

The sound is formed by simply plucking the strings

This instrument does not need electricity, unlike the electric guitar

The acoustic guitar

The tightness of the string determines the pitch of the

sound because it changes how frequent the strings vibrate When the string is tighter, it creates more tension making

the string vibrate quicker, creating a higher pitch. When the string is looser, it creates less tension making

the string vibrate slower, creating a lower pitch When determining the pitch of the strings sound, you must

look for the frequency of the waves (how frequent it vibrates) and see if the wave vibrates fast (high) or slow (low)

How its pitch works

When you pluck the string softly, the intensity of it is

low; therefore, it sounds soft When you pluck the string more powerfully, the

intensity is a lot more high, so the sound is a lot louder When determining the loudness of the instruments

sound, you must look for the amplitude (the height of the wave) and see if the wave is short (soft) or tall (loud)

How hard you pluck the string determines the volume because it shows how much energy you’re putting into the string

How its Volume/Amplitude works

This is the original sound wave

Original wave

Sound with higher pitch

- This is the original sound wave from instrument

- This is the higher pitch sound wave from instrument- The waves frequency is faster making the pitch higher

Sound with lower pitch

- This is the original sound wave from instrument

- This is the lower pitch sound wave from instrument- The waves frequency is slower making the pitch lower

Sound with a louder volume

This is the original sound wave from instrument

- This is the louder volume sound wave from instrument- The waves amplitude is tall making the volume louder

Sound with a lower volume

- This is the original sound wave from instrument

- This is the softer volume sound wave from instrument- The waves amplitude is very short making the volume very soft

http://

www.ndt-ed.org/EducationResources/HighSchool/Sound/frequencypitch.htm

I also used the notes for the definitions

Cited Sources