Sound Waves & Hearing

This lesson covers:

  1. How sound waves travel through materials
  2. How human hearing works

Sound waves are:

Longitudinal waves

Transverse waves

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Diagram showing regions of compression in a longitudinal wave where particles are closest together.

In a longitudinal wave, the regions where the vibrating particles are closest together are called:

Compressions

Rarefactions

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Diagram illustrating the regions in a longitudinal wave where vibrating particles are furthest apart.

In a longitudinal wave, the regions where the vibrating particles are the furthest apart are called:

Compressions

Rarefactions

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True or false? In a solid, sound waves travel by particles vibrating and colliding with their neighbours.

True

False

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What happens when sound waves travel from a less dense medium, to a more dense medium?

Their speed increases

Their speed decreases

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gases / liquids / solids


Sound travels at different speeds in different materials. Rank the speed of sound in the three states of matter in order of fastest to slowest:


Fastest:

Middle: 

Slowest:

Solids
Liquids
Gases

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Sound waves can be:

(Select all that apply)

Translated

Reflected

Refracted

Absorbed

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The frequency of a sound wave determines the pitch of the noise we hear. We hear higher frequency sounds as having a ________ pitch.

lower

higher

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The role of the ear drum is to:

Transmit the vibrations of the sound wave to the ossicles 

Transmit the electrical signals from the cochlea to the brain

Amplify the vibrations 

Convert the vibrations into electrical signals 

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Diagram of the ear showing the cochlea, ossicles, ear drum, and semicircular canals labelled with letters A to D.

Match the letters A to D on the diagram above with the following labels:


Cochlea:

Ossicles:

Ear drum:

Semicircular canals:


D
C
A
B

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Can sound waves travel through a vacuum?

Yes

No

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The role of the auditory nerve is to:

Transmit the vibrations of the sound wave to the ossicles 

Transmit the electrical signals from the cochlea to the brain

Convert the vibrations into electrical signals 

Amplify the vibrations 

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The range of human hearing is approximately Hz to 20,000 Hz

20

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Illustration of an elderly person with a cane representing changes in hearing range with age.

As people get older, their hearing range can:

Decrease 

Increase

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The role of the cochlea is to:

Transmit the electrical signals from the cochlea to the brain

Convert the vibrations into electrical signals 

Amplify the vibrations 

Transmit the vibrations of the sound wave to the ossicles 

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