🔊 Sound Waves

Chapter: Waves · Level ★★☆ · Time: 30 min

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NameClassDate

After this worksheet you can

Understand: How Sound is ProducedUnderstand: Speed of SoundUnderstand: Pitch and LoudnessUnderstand: The Decibel Scale

📚 Quick Recap

Sound is a longitudinal mechanical wave created by vibrating objects, traveling through air (or other media) as a series of compressions and rarefactions.

🧠 Section A · Concept Check ● BEGINNER 4 × 1 = 4

1A sound wave has frequency 880 Hz, speed 343 m/s. Find wavelength.

2A sound wave has wavelength 1.7m at speed 343 m/s. Find its frequency.

3Why is the decibel scale logarithmic rather than linear?

4Does sound travel faster in water or in air?

🧮 Section B · Problem Solving ● INTERMEDIATE 4 × 3 = 12

5What physically constitutes the 'compressions' and 'rarefactions' of a sound wave?

6A dog whistle produces a frequency too high for humans to hear. What does this tell you about human hearing range?

7What produces the sound when you pluck a guitar string?

8Why does sound get quieter as you move farther from its source (in open air)?

🚀 Section C · Challenge ● CHALLENGE 2 × 2 = 4

9Approximately what is the speed of sound in air at room temperature?

10Why does thunder arrive after lightning is seen, even though they occur at the same moment?

💭 Reflection — the most useful thing I learned:

A ___/4 B ___/12 C ___/4 Total ___/20 Teacher's Signature Parent's Signature

✂ answer key — fold or cut before handing out

1 = 343/880≈0.39m 2 = 343/1.7≈202 Hz 3 = The human ear can detect an enormous range of sound intensities, and a logarithmic scale compresses this huge range into manageable numbers 4 = Water (denser medium transmits sound faster) | 5 = Regions of higher air pressure (compressions) and lower air pressure (rarefactions) as molecules bunch together or spread apart 6 = The whistle's frequency exceeds the upper limit of the typical human audible range (about 20,000 Hz) 7 = The vibrating string pushes and pulls on nearby air molecules, creating sound waves 8 = The sound energy spreads out over a larger area as it travels outward, reducing intensity at any given point | 9 = 343 m/s 10 = Light travels vastly faster than sound, so the flash is seen almost instantly while the sound takes noticeably longer to arrive