Sound Class 8 Science Chapter 10 Notes are available here. These notes are prepared by the subject experts of our team.
Sound Class 8 Science Chapter 10 Notes
- You recognize the end of a school period by specific sounds or signals.
- The sound of knocking or a doorbell indicates someone is at the door.
- Approaching footsteps can signal someone’s presence.
- In hide and seek, the blindfolded person guesses the closest player by sound.
- Sound is crucial for communication and is present in various forms in our surroundings.
- List the different sounds you hear around you.
- Musical instruments in the school’s music room produce distinct sounds.
- The chapter will explore how sound is produced, travels, is heard, and why some sounds are louder than others.
Sound is Produced by a Vibrating Body
- Sound is produced by a vibrating body.
- Touching a school bell when it’s not in use versus when it’s producing sound can reveal its vibrations.
- Vibration is the to and fro or back and forth motion of an object.
- A tightly stretched band produces sound when plucked and stops producing sound when it stops vibrating.
- Vibrations produce sound, and in some cases, these vibrations are visible, while in others, the amplitude is too small to see but can be felt.
- Instruments like manjira (cymbals), ghatam, noot (mudpots), and kartal produce sound when beaten or struck.
Sound Produced by Humans
- Speaking loudly, singing, or buzzing produces vibrations felt in the throat.
- In humans, sound is produced by the voice box (larynx).
- The voice box is located at the upper end of the windpipe and contains two vocal cords.
- The vocal cords are stretched across the larynx, leaving a narrow slit for air passage.
- Sound is produced when air from the lungs forces through the slit, causing the vocal cords to vibrate.
- Muscles attached to the vocal cords can adjust their tightness, affecting the type or quality of voice.
- Tight and thin vocal cords produce a different voice quality compared to loose and thick cords.
- Vocal cord length varies: about 20 mm in men, 15 mm in women, and even shorter in children.
- The differences in vocal cord length result in different voice qualities among men, women, and children.
Sound Needs a Medium for Propagation
- Sound needs a medium to propagate or travel.
- When you call a distant friend, sound travels through the air to reach them.
- Decreasing air in a tumbler leads to decreasing loudness of a sound, implying air’s role in sound propagation.
- In a vacuum, sound cannot travel, demonstrating the need for a medium.
- Sound can travel through liquids, solids, and gases.
- An example activity to show sound traveling through a solid is placing your ear on one end of a table while someone scratches the other end.
- Making a toy telephone with strings illustrates sound traveling through strings.
We Hear Sound through Our Ears
- We hear sound through our ears.
- The outer part of the ear is shaped like a funnel, guiding sound into the ear canal.
- Sound travels down the ear canal to the eardrum, a thin stretched membrane.
- The eardrum vibrates when sound vibrations hit it, similar to a stretched rubber sheet.
- The eardrum sends these vibrations to the inner ear.
- From the inner ear, the signal is transmitted to the brain.
- This process allows us to hear sound.
Amplitude, Time Period and Frequency of a Vibration
- Vibration (to and fro motion) is also known as oscillatory motion.
- The number of oscillations per second is called the frequency of oscillation.
- Frequency is measured in hertz (Hz), with 1 Hz equal to one oscillation per second.
- Example: An object oscillating 20 times per second has a frequency of 20 Hz.
- Amplitude and frequency are key properties that make sounds different and recognizable.
- Sounds can be differentiated based on their amplitudes and frequencies.
Loudness and Pitch
- The loudness of sound depends on its amplitude; larger amplitudes produce louder sounds, while smaller amplitudes produce feeble sounds.
- Even if two sounds are equally loud, they can differ in other ways.
- Frequency determines the pitch or shrillness of a sound; higher frequencies result in higher-pitched sounds, while lower frequencies produce lower-pitched sounds.
- Examples: A drum produces a low-pitched sound due to its low vibration frequency, while a whistle produces a high-pitched sound due to its high frequency.
- Different animals, like birds and lions, produce sounds with varying frequencies and pitches.
- Children’s voices generally have higher frequencies than adults’ voices.
- Women’s voices typically have higher frequencies than men’s voices.
Audible and Inaudible Sounds
- A vibrating body is needed for the production of sound.
- Not all vibrating bodies produce sounds that are audible to the human ear.
- Sounds with frequencies less than 20 Hz are inaudible to humans.
- Sounds with frequencies higher than 20,000 Hz (20 kHz) are also inaudible to humans.
- The range of audible frequencies for humans is roughly from 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz.
- Some animals, like dogs, can hear sounds with frequencies higher than 20,000 Hz.
- Police use high-frequency whistles that dogs can hear but humans cannot.
- Ultrasound equipment operates at frequencies higher than 20,000 Hz and is used for medical investigations and tracking.
Noise and Music
- We hear different types of sounds around us.
- Some sounds are pleasing, while others cause discomfort.
- Unpleasant sounds, like those from construction sites or vehicle horns, are called noise.
- If all students in a classroom speak together, the resulting sound is considered noise.
- Musical sounds, such as those from a harmonium or sitar, are pleasing to the ear.
- Even musical sounds can become unpleasant if they are too loud.
What are the Harms of Noise Pollution?
- Excessive noise in the surroundings can cause health problems.
- Noise pollution can lead to lack of sleep, hypertension (high blood pressure), anxiety, and other health disorders.
- Continuous exposure to loud sounds can result in temporary or permanent hearing impairment.
Measures to Limit Noise Pollution
- To control noise pollution, we must control the sources of noise.
- Silencing devices should be installed in aircraft engines, transport vehicles, industrial machines, and home appliances.
- Noisy operations should be conducted away from residential areas.
- Noise-producing industries should be set up away from residential areas.
- The use of automobile horns should be minimized.
- TV and music systems should be operated at low volumes.
- Planting trees along roads and around buildings can reduce the harmful effects of noise pollution by cutting down on the sounds reaching residents.
Hearing Impairment
- Total hearing impairment is rare and usually present from birth.
- Partial hearing impairment often results from disease, injury, or age.
- Children with impaired hearing need special care and can communicate effectively by learning sign language.
- Hearing loss in children can lead to defective speech since speech develops as a direct result of hearing.
- Technological devices can improve the quality of life for the hearing-impaired.
- Society can improve the living environment for the hearing-impaired and help them live normal lives.