Sound Vibrations and Waves Summary Flashcards

A set of vocabulary flashcards covering the properties of sound, hearing mechanics, and different types of waves based on the summary sheets.

Sound

A way of transferring energy made when things vibrate.

Medium

A substance (solid, liquid, or gas) required for sound vibrations to pass through.

Frequency

The number of complete waves passing a point each second, measured in hertz ($Hz$).

Pitch

How high or low a sound is, determined by the frequency of the sound wave.

Amplitude

How far the particles move as the vibrations pass; the larger the amplitude, the louder the sound.

Decibels ($dB$)

The units used to measure the loudness, volume, or intensity of a sound.

Reflection

The process that occurs when sound waves bounce off a material, usually happening if the material is hard.

Absorption

The process where soft materials take in some of the sound that reaches them.

Cochlea

The part of the ear containing liquid and tiny hairs that detect vibrations and send impulses along the auditory nerve to the brain.

Three small ear bones

Bones that pass on and amplify vibrations from the eardrum to the cochlea.

Auditory range

The specific range of frequencies of sound that an animal is capable of hearing.

Ultrasounds

Sounds with frequencies greater than $20\,000\,Hz$.

Infrasounds

Sounds with frequencies less than $20\,Hz$.

Sonar

A human use of ultrasound to find the depth of the sea or locate fish or submarines.

Transverse waves

Waves, such as those on the surface of water, where particles vibrate at right angles to the direction the wave is travelling.

Longitudinal waves

Waves, such as sound waves, where particles vibrate in the same direction as the wave travels.

Superposition

The phenomenon where waves affect each other by having their effects add up or cancel out.