Sound Study Guide

Sound waves are transferred by the compression of particles. The closer the particles are to one another, the faster the energy is transferred. Therefore, sound energy directly depends upon the __________ of the medium.

• density

• mass

• pressure

• volume

While watching a recent science fiction movie, one Klingon spaceship blows up a Droid spaceship with a laser gun. The Klingon crew watches out the port window and covers their ears to muffle the noise from the explosion. Specifically, this scene is inaccurate because...

• light cannot reflect off objects in the vacuum of space.

• they would not be able to see anything outside the window.

• lasers cannot be transmitted through the vacuum of space.

• the sound of the explosion would not be transmitted back to their ship.

Dolphins communicate using compression waves. Some of these sounds are outside the range of human hearing. Upon spotting a hungry shark, dolphin A sends a message to dolphin B. To send this message as quickly as possible dolphin A would

• send the message under water

• send the message above water

• sound the message out as loud as possible.

• sound the message as soft as possible.

The speed of sound is greater through a solid than through a gas because the molecules in a solid are

• still

• vibrating

• farther apart

• closer together

Compare the sounds produced by wave A and Wave B. The human ear would hear

• wave A as a louder sound than wave B

• wave A as a higher pitched sound that wave B

• wave A and B with the same pitch, but wave A as louder

• wave B has a loud and higher pitched sound than wave A

The speed of sound waves through 2 different media, steel and air, was recorded. According to the graph, sound waves travel

• through steel, but not air

• faster through steel than through air

• faster through air than through steel

• through steel and air at similar speeds

A police car is parked by the side of a highway and its siren emits a sound measuring 750Hz. As you approach the police car from a distance, you hear a change in the sound. The change is in the sound's

• frequency only

• pitch only

• frequency and wavelength

• frequency and pitch

Sound energy and loudness are functions of wave ___________. Amplifiers increase sound energy and decibel level or loudness so sounds can be heard at greater distances.

• amplitude

• rarefaction

• speed

• wavelength

A woman lives several miles from this explosion. Which statement is most likely true?

• She will see the explosion before she hears it.

• She will hear the explosion before she sees it.

• She won't be able to see the explosion, but she'll hear it.

• She won't be able to hear the explosion, but she'll see it.

In the old west, a cowboy would put their ear on the railroad track to determine if a train if a train was coming. Using this method, they could tell if the train was coming sooner than just listening for the train.

A good explanation for this would be that

• sound and vibrations travel faster through gases than solids.

• sound and vibrations travel faster through solids than gases.

• sound and vibrations dissipate faster in solids than in liquids or gas

• sound and vibratins are more concentrated in solids than in liquids or gases.