Sound

Production of Sound

If somebody calls you from behind, you will quickly turn around. What makes you do
so?

We turn back in response to a call because of the sound heard by us. We are able to
talk to each other because of the sound produced by us. We are able to predict the
distance of a train only by listening to the sound it produces. Similarly, we can
distinguish between different musical instruments because of the sounds they produce.

How do you realize that an alarm bell is ringing?

So, what is sound?

Sound is a form energy that produces the sensation of hearing in our ears and vibrating
bodies produce sound.

Do you know how a sound is produced? To find out, let us perform the following
activities.

Take a frying pan and suspend it in air with the help of support. Hit the pan with a metal
spoon. Now, touch the pan. Can you feel the vibrations? When you beat an object,
you can feel its vibrations with the help of your sense of touch. Touch the pan when it is
not producing any sound. Can you feel the vibrations now?

Take a rubber band and stretch it between two poles (as shown in the given figure).
Now, pluck the rubber band in the middle. Can you hear any sound? Does the rubber
band vibrate when it produces a sound? On plucking a stretched rubber band or a
stretched string, it vibrates rapidly and produces a sound.
Take a cooking utensil and pour some water in it. Now, beat the utensil with a rod. You
will hear a sound. Carefully, observe the surface of water in the utensil. Do you see
concentric circles moving on the water surface? These are vibrations in water,
produced by vibrations of the utensil body, on beating.

Therefore, it can be concluded that a vibrating body produces sound.

The back and forth movement of an object produces sound. An object moving
back and forth is said to be in vibration. Hence, sound is produced by vibrating
objects.

Sound Requires Medium for Propagation

We are able to hear the bursting of crackers even when we are standing at a
distance. How is it possible? How does the sound produced by a cracker reach
us?

The sound of a bursting cracker reaches us through air. It shows that sound can travel
through air.

Let us try to understand this better.

A material medium is necessary for the propagation of sound. Vacuum is devoid

of any material. Hence, sound cannot travel through vacuum.

Outer space is devoid of any material medium. Hence, no sound can be heard in
outer spaces. To communicate in such areas, astronauts use walkie-talkies. A
walkie-talkie is an instrument, which uses radio waves for the transportation of
messages.

Can sound travel through liquids?

To find out whether sound can travel through liquids, let us perform the following
activity.
Take a metal plate and spoon. Place them inside a bucket filled with water. Hit the plate
with the spoon in such a way that it does not touch the body of the bucket.

Now, carefully place your ear near the surface of water. Are you able to hear the
sound produced?

You can hear the produced sound. Sound reaches your ear after travelling through
water. Hence, we can say that sound travels through liquids.

Dolphins communicate with each other by

sending high pitched squalls. It shows that
sound can travel through water.

Can sound travel through solids?

Place your ear on one end of a long table. Ask your friend to tap the table from the other
end. Do you hear any sound?

You can hear the produced sound. Sound reaches your ear after travelling through the
table. This indicates that sound can travel through solids.
 Stethoscope is an example of sound travelling through
solids. Doctors use stethoscopes to listen to your
heartbeat.

Sound can travel in solids, liquids, and gases. However, sound cannot travel in
vacuum.

Propagation of Sound
Production and Propagation of Sound: An Overview

An age-old philosophical question goes something like this: ‘If a tree falls in the woods
and there is no one to hear it, does it make a sound?’ Common sense tells us, ‘Yes, it
does make a sound.’ But what about sound itself? What is it? How is it produced? And
how does it reach our ears?

This lesson will introduce you to the basics of sound.

Did You Know?

The rattlesnake, commonly found in the deserts of the United States, makes a loud
rattling sound by using its tail. It produces this sound by beating the tail rapidly on the
ground. This sound is generally produced in order to ward off its enemies.
Sound Production

Sound is produced by vibrating objects. Let us see how sound is produced

by vibration.

A bob touching a vibrating tuning fork

Take a tuning fork, a rubber hammer and a bob with a thread attached to it. Suspend
the bob from the ceiling by the thread. Strike a prong of the fork with the rubber
hammer.

The tuning fork will start to vibrate. Bring it close to your ear. Do you hear any
sound? Bring one of the vibrating prongs in contact with the suspended bob. This will
cause the bob to be pushed away and start oscillating. Can you say why?

This activity helps us conclude that the tuning fork vibrates to produce sound. Any
vibrating object can produce sound. Sound can be produced by plucking a stretched
string, scratching a rough surface, rubbing our hands together and by blowing an object.
Our voices are the result of the vibrating vocal cords present in our throat. The sound of
the guitar is the result of the vibrations of its plucked strings.

Solved Examples

Medium
Example:

A bicycle bell stops ringing when you cover it with your hands. Can you say why?

Solution:

When you cover a ringing bicycle bell with your hands, the sound energy is transferred
from the bell to your hands. As a result, the bell stops vibrating. Consequently, the
ringing sound stops.

Sound is a form of energy that is produced when an object or a membrane vibrates to

and fro about a mean position. Therefore, we can produce a sound by producing
vibrations in an object. These vibrations create sound waves which travel through a
medium (air, water, etc.) before reaching our ears.

Whiz Kid

Fill a bathtub with water up to its brim. Strike a tuning fork against a hard surface to
make it vibrate. Bring the vibrating tuning fork in contact with the surface of the water in
the tub. Do you observe the ripples formed on the surface of water? Next, dip the
vibrating prongs in water. What do you observe in it?
 A vibrating tuning fork dipped in water

Propagation of Sound
The phenomenon of sound wave propagation has two main features. These are:

• The particles of a medium (like air) move and change its density (due to the vibration in
the source of sound).

• The change in density corresponds to a change in pressure.

Air is the most common medium through which sound travels. When you beat a drum,
the neighbouring air particles are set into vibration. As they move forward, they push the
air particles in front of them.

Consequently, a high-pressure region called compression (C) is created. As the

vibrating air particles move forward, a contrasting low-pressure region gets created.
This is called rarefaction (R). A series of compressions and rarefactions are produced
when an object rapidly moves to and fro.

These compressions and rarefactions of the air particles allow the sound wave to
propagate through it.

Pressure is directly proportional to the number of medium particles present in a given

volume of the medium, i.e., the higher the density of particles in a given volume of the
medium, the higher is the pressure, and vice versa. These pressure variations in the
medium enable sound to propagate.
 Compressions and rarefactions

Did You Know?

Astronomers cannot communicate on the moon by means of sound. This is because the
moon has no atmosphere and sound waves cannot travel in vacuum. Instead, they
communicate through walkie-talkies using radio waves.
Characteristics of Sound Waves
Characteristics of Sound: An Overview

We can distinguish the sounds made by two men, two women, two musical instruments,
two animals, etc. This is because sound waves differ in their quality or timbre. Quality is
a characteristic of sound that enables us to distinguish between sounds with the same
loudness and pitch. The following figures show the sound waves produced by a violin
and a flute.

Sound wave produced by a flute Sound wave produced by a violion

 A pleasant sound has a rich quality. The sound of a violin is more pleasant than that of
a flute. This is evident from their respective sound waves.

These sound waves depict the voices of a boy and girl. Can you identify the girl’s
sound wave?

Did You Know?

Two sounds with the same loudness, pitch and speed can be distinguished by their
quality or timbre. If a sound is pleasant to hear, then it is said to have a rich timbre. An
unpleasant sound has a poor timbre.
Characteristics of Sound

Sound is a longitudinal wave. A longitudinal wave manifests alternate regions

of compressions and rarefactions while travelling through a medium. A longitudinal
wave can be described by the five characteristics listed below.

• Amplitude
• Wavelength
• Frequency
• Time period
• Speed

These five characteristics are demonstrated in the following figure with the help of
a transverse wave. Note that the crests and troughs in a transverse wave are
equivalent to the compressions and rarefactions in a longitudinal wave, respectively.
Amplitude (A)

The amplitude (A) of a wave is the maximum displacement of the medium particles on
either side of their original, undisturbed position. In the following figure, the transverse
equivalent of a longitudinal sound wave is shown.

The maximum displacement of the medium particles is represented by the maximum

heights MP, ER and IT, and the maximum depths QC and SG. This maximum
displacement is the amplitude of the wave, i.e. MP = ER = IT = QC = SG = Amplitude of
the wave.

•The SI unit of amplitude is metre (m).

•The loudness of a sound is directly related to its amplitude. The amplitude of a loud
sound is larger than that of a soft sound.

•The amplitude of a sound wave determines the amount of energy it carries.

Did You Know?

The loudness of a sound is directly related to the amplitude of the wave. It is the
measure of our ears’ response to a sound. Our ears detect louder sounds better than
softer ones. A loud sound has greater amplitude than a soft sound.
Whiz Kid

Loudness and Intensity

It is quite common to use the terms ‘loudness’ and ‘intensity’ interchangeably. However,
the two are not the same.

Loudness is the measure of the human ear’s response to a sound. In contrast, intensity
is the amount of energy passing per unit area per unit time.

•A sound may be louder than another owing to a difference in their intensities.

Can you say which sound wave corresponds to the louder sound?

Wavelength (λ)

The distance between two consecutive compressions or rarefactions of a sound wave is

its wavelength (λ). In case of a transverse wave, wavelength is the distance between
two consecutive crests or troughs.

In the figure, the distances BF and DH represent the wavelength of the wave.

The SI unit of wavelength is metre (m).

Can you say which of these two waves has the longer wavelength ?

Frequency (f)

The frequency (f) of a source of sound is the number of cycles or vibrations produced
by it per second. It is the rate at which sound wave is produced by the source.

If five crests of a wave pass through a fixed point in one second, then the frequency of
the wave is five cycles per second.

The SI unit of frequency is hertz (Hz).

One hertz is equal to one vibration per second. Sometimes a bigger unit of frequency—
called kilohertz (kHz)—is used.

1 kHz = 1000 Hz

The frequency (f) of a wave is the reciprocal of its time period T, i.e.

f = 1/T

Note that the frequency of a wave is the same as the frequency of the vibrating body
that produces the wave. For example, the frequency of a tuning fork is marked as 256
Hz. This means that it can produce a sound wave of frequency 256 Hz.

The frequency of a wave remains constant in any medium, but its speed and
wavelength depend upon the nature of the medium.

Did You Know?

Pitch, Tone and Note

Pitch is defined as the shrillness of a sound. This highness or lowness of a sound is

proportional to the frequency of the sound.

The sound produced by a flute is of a higher pitch compared to the sound produced by
a drum. This is because the frequency of the former is higher than that of the latter.
Similarly, women produce higher-pitched sounds than men.
Tone is defined as a sound that has a single frequency.

Note is defined as a sound that has a mix of different frequencies.

Suppose two sounds, produced from two different sources, have the same amplitude
and speed. In this case, one sound can be distinguished from the other by its pitch,
which is directly related to its frequency. The female voice is high-pitched while the male
voice is low-pitched.

Quality or Timbre is that characteristic of a sound that helps in distinguishing various

types of sounds having same amplitude and frequency, but emitted from different
sources. Quality of sound depends on its waveform.

Both the sounds shown above have different quality as their waveforms are different.

Whiz Kid
Take a wide tub filled with water. Drop a pebble at the centre of the tub from a height.
You will observe ripples moving outwards in a transverse-wave-like motion. Count the
number of crests that hit a particular side of the tub. Note the time using a stopwatch.
Then, calculate the frequency of this wave. Share your result with friends.

Know Your Scientist

Heinrich Rudolph Hertz (1857-1894) was a German scientist. He was educated at the
University of Berlin. He confirmed James Clark Maxwell’s electromagnetic theory
through his experiments. He laid the foundation for the future development of the radio,
telephone, telegraph and television.

He died quite young, less than a month before his thirty-seventh birthday. The SI unit of
frequency is named in his honour.
Sonic Boom

Sonic boom occurs when an aircraft breaks the sound barrier. An aircraft travelling with
a supersonic speed will produce a pressure wave of sound in the shape of a cone
whose vertex will be formed at nose of the aircraft and its base will be behind the
 aircraft. So, when the edge of the cone intersects with our ears, we hear a loud sound
known as sonic boom.

Time Period (T)

The time required to complete one complete oscillation or cycle is called the time
period (T). It is also defined as the time interval between two consecutive crests or
troughs of a wave.

• The SI unit of time period is second (s).

• It is the inverse of the frequency of a wave, i.e. T = 1/f.

A flat sound is a low-pitched sound.

This is a periodic wave. Its time period is represented by length on the time axis,
e.g. ab, cd and ef.

Solved Examples

Easy

Example 1:

The frequency of a source of sound is 400 Hz. Calculate the number of times the
source vibrates in one minute. Also calculate the time period.

Solution:

Frequency of the source of sound = 400 Hz

Number of vibrations of the source per second = 400

Number of vibrations of the source per minute = 400 × 60 = 24000

We know that time period (T) is the inverse of frequency (f). So,

T = 1/f

= 1/400

= 0.0025 s

Speed

The distance travelled by a wave in a given interval of time is called its speed (v). Its SI
unit is metre per second (m/s). Hence, we can write:

Suppose a wave can travel a distance λ in T seconds with a speed v. Then, these terms
are related as follows:

We know that

f = 1/T

So,

v=f×λ

Therefore, speed is the product of frequency and wavelength.

Now, the sound travels with much greater speed in solids than in liquids and than
in gases.
Medium Speed of sound (m/s)
Solid (Iron or steel) 5000
Liquid (Water) 1500
Gas (Air) 330

Did You Know?

According to Albert Einstein’s special theory of relativity, nothing can travel faster than
the speed of light. The speed of light in air (3 × 108 m/s) is about 10,00,000 times
greater than the speed of sound in air (344 m/s).
Solved Examples

Easy

Example 1:

What is the speed of sound with frequency 20 Hz and wavelength 0.2 m?

Solution:

Speed (v) = Frequency (f) × Wavelength (λ)

= 20 × 0.2 = 4 m/s

Example 2:

If twenty pulses are produced per second, then what is the frequency of the wave
in hertz?

Solution:

The frequency of a wave in hertz is equal to the number of pulses produced per second.

Number of pulses produced by the wave per second = 20

Frequency of the wave = 20 Hz

Medium

Example 3:

A sound wave travelling at a speed of 330 ms-1 has a wavelength of 2 cm.

Calculate the frequency of the wave. Will it be audible to humans?

Solution:

Speed of the sound wave = 330 m/s

Wavelength = 2 cm = 0.02 m
 We know that

Hence, the frequency of the sound wave is 16.5 kHz.

Now, we know that human hearing ranges from 20 Hz to 20 kHz. Since the frequency of
the given sound wave is 16.5 kHz, it will be audible to humans.

Example 4:

Sound waves travel at a speed of 330 m/s. Calculate the frequency of a sound
wave whose wavelength is 0.75 m.

Solution:

• Distance from the source

Given:

Speed (v) of the wave= 330 m/s

Wavelength λ = 0.75 m

We have to find the frequency (f) of the wave.

We know that

v=f×λ

f = v/λ

Hence, the frequency of the sound wave is 440 Hz.

Hard

Example 5:
A wave pulse on a string moves a distance of 10 m in 0.05 s. Find the velocity of
the pulse and the wavelength of the wave if its frequency is 300 Hz.

Solution:

We know that

Therefore, the speed or velocity of the pulse is 200 m/s.

We also know that

Speed = frequency × wavelength

In the given case:

Frequency = 300 Hz

Therefore, the wavelength of the wave is 0.67 m.

Whiz Kid

Attach one end of a coiled spring to a wall. Compress the spring and then release it.
You will observe a longitudinal wave produced in the spring, with alternating
compressions and rarefactions. Count the number of compressions or rarefactions
passing from the fixed point. Note the time using a stopwatch. Then, calculate the
frequency of this wave.
Factors Affecting the Speed of Sound

We know that sound waves require a medium to travel. The temperature, humidity and
nature of a medium affect the speed of sound travelling through it. Let us see how.

Temperature

The temperature of a medium is directly related to the speed of sound travelling through
it. The speed of sound increases with an increase in the temperature and decreases
with a decrease in the temperature. For example, the speed of sound in air at 0°C is
about 332 m/s whereas its speed in air at 25°C is about 346 m/s.

Humidity

Like temperature, humidity is directly related to the speed of sound. For example, the
speed of sound in dry air is 334 m/s; in moist air, it is 338 m/s.

Nature

The speed of sound varies according to the nature of the medium it travels through. The
speed of sound in a gaseous medium is less than that in a liquid medium. Also, the
speed of sound in a liquid medium is less than that in a solid medium. For example, at
25°C, the speeds of sound in hydrogen, water and iron are about 1284 m/s, 1500 m/s
and 5130 m/s respectively. Hence, we can conclude that

vg < vl < vs

Here, vg = Speed of sound in a gaseous medium; vl = Speed of sound in a liquid

medium; vs = Speed of sound in a solid medium

Whiz Kid

The given table lists the speeds of sound in various materials at different temperatures.
Medium Temperature (°C) Speeds of sound (in m/s)
Dry air 0 332
Dry air 20 344
Dry air 25 346
Hydrogen 0 1280
 Hydrogen 25 1284
Distilled water 20 1498
Sea water 37 1531
Blood 20 1570
Copper 20 3750
Aluminium 20 5100
Aluminium 25 6420
Iron 20 5130
Glass 20 5170

Did You Know?

Here is an interesting natural phenomenon related to the speed of sound. When

lightning strikes, the flash is seen a few seconds before the sound is heard. Why does
this happen?

This happens because the speed of sound in air (332 m/s) is much less than that of light
(300000000 m/s). Hence, there is a difference between the time taken by the two to
cover the same distance.

Here are two other phenomena indicating that light travels faster than sound.

1. When a cracker bursts, we first observe the light and then hear the sound.
2. When a gun is fired from a distance, we first notice the flash of the gun and then hear
the gunshot.

Solved Examples

Easy

Example 1:

A person hears a thunder four seconds before the flash of lightning. What is the
distance between the person and the point where lightning occurs in the sky?
(Speed of sound in air = 330 m/s)

Solution:

We know that

In this case:
Speed = 330 m/s

Time = 4 s

Distance = Speed × Time

= 330 × 4 = 1320 m

Hence, the distance between the person and the point of lightning in the sky is 1320 m
or
1.32 km.

Hard

Example 2:

Ravinder throws a stone vertically upward with a velocity of 50 m/s. It hits a bell
hanging at a height of 125 m. The bell rings as the stone hits it. How long after his
throw will Ravinder hear the ring of the bell? (Take the speed of sound as 344 m/s
and acceleration due to gravity as 10 m/s2.)

Solution:

Let us first calculate the time taken (t) by the stone to reach a height of 125 m.

Now, let us calculate the time taken (t') by the sound of the ring to reach the ground. We
can do so by dividing the height of the bell by the speed of sound.
 Hence, Ravinder will hear the sound of the ring 5.36 (5 + 0.36) seconds after his throw.
Musical Sound

Sound maybe of two types: noise and musical sound. Musical sounds are produced by
musical instruments like flute, guitar, violin, etc. They produce a pleasant effect on the
listener. On the other hand, noise is produced by a person's shouts, thunderstorm etc.
They produce an unpleasant effect on the listener.

Characteristics of musical sound:

(i) Loudness - This characteristic property of sound distinguishes two sounds of same
frequency. It depends upon the intensity of vibration, which is proportional to the square
of amplitude. So, larger the amplitude, louder is the sound. Loudness also depends on
the following factors:

• Density of air
• Sensitivity of the ear
• Distance from the source
• Velocity and direction of wind

(ii) Pitch - Pitch is the characteristic of sound which differentiates the notes. Pitch of the
sound depends on the frequency of the sound. A sound is said to have high pitch or is
shrill if it is produced by a vibrating body of high frequency. If a body vibrates with low
frequency, then it produces a flat sound. For example, a male voice is flat while a
female voice is shrill.

(iii) Quality - Quality is the characteristic of sound that differentiates two sounds of
same pitch and loudness. The sound produced by the musical instruments are made up
of waves of definite frequency but contain a series of tones of different frequencies.
They are called Overtones and the tone of smallest frequency is called the fundamental
tone. Larger the number of overtones, higher is the quality of sound.((i

Musical scale:
When two notes are sounded simultaneously and produce a pleasant sensation in the
ear, then it is a concord or a consonance.

If the notes produce an unpleasant sound in the ear, then it is a dischord or

a dissonance.

Harmony - Harmony is the pleasant effect produced due to concord, when two or more
notes are sounded together.
 Melody - Melody is the pleasant effect produced by two or more notes, when they are
sounded one after the another.

Musical intervals - Musical interval is the ratio of frequencies of two notes in the
musical scale.

Musical scale - Musical scale is the series of notes separated by a fixed musical
interval. Keynote is the starting note of a musical scale.

A diatonic scale contains a series of eight notes.

An octave is the interval between the keynote and the last tone.

Advantages of a diatonic scale

• This scale provides the same order and duration of chords and intervals, which succeed
each other, that are required for a musical effect.

• This scale can produced a musical composition with the lower and higher multiples of
frequencies of the notes.

Loudness and Intensity

Loudness of sound

Loudness is the characteristic of sound by virtue of which a loud sound can be

distinguished from a feeble one, both having the same pitch and timbre. It depends
upon the amplitude of the wave. The unit of loudness is phon and decibel (dB).
 On comparing the waves of the above graphs, which are produced on striking a tuning
fork with a rubber band first gently and then strongly, we observe two waves have same
frequency (i.e. same pitch) and same waveform (i.e. same quality or timbre), but they
differ in amplitude. Evidently, the loud sound corresponds to the wave of the large
amplitude.

Loudness of sound

• is directly proportional to the square of amplitude

• inversely varies with the square of distance from the source
• is directly proportional to the surface area of vibrating body
• is directly proportional on the density of the medium
• increases with the presence of resonating bodies near the vibrating body

Intensity of sound

It is the amount of sound energy passing per second normally through the unit area
around a point in a medium. Its unit is watt per meter2 .

The intensity of sound wave is proportional to

• square of the amplitude of vibration

• square of the frequency of vibration
• density of air

Subjective nature of loudness and objective nature of intensity

The loudness of a sound depends on (1) intensity and (2) sensitivity of the ears of the
listener i.e. the sound of the same intensity may appear to be of different loudness to
different persons. Moreover, two sounds of the same intensity but of different
frequencies may differ in loudness to the same listener because listeners' ears are
sensitive to different frequencies.

Thus, loudness is subjective in nature but intensity is objective in nature as it being a

measurable quantity.

Relationship between loudness and Intensity

According to the Weber and Fechner, relationship between loudness and intensity is
given as

L = K log10 I

Here, K is the constant of proportionality.

For an equally loud pure sound of frequency 1 kHz, the loudness of a sound in phon is
the loudness in decibel.

Let I1 and I0 be the intensities of two sounds of loudness L1 and L0, respectively. Using
the relation between loudness and intensity, we have

L1 = K log10 I1 and L0 = K log10 I0

If taking L as the difference of loudness of two sounds, then

Noise pollution

Noise pollution is the disturbance produced by noise which has harmful impact on
humans and animals. When sounds of level above 120 dB is produced from various
sources such as loudspeakers, moving vehicles etc., then such sounds are reffered as
noise.

Now, when these sounds of level above 120 dB are constantly heard, then these can
cause severe headache or permanent damage to the ears of listeners. Sounds with
such level also have adverse effects on various birds and animals.

Musical Instruments

You know that a vibrating body produces sound.

The back and forth movement of an object produces sound. An object moving
back and forth is said to be in vibration. Hence, sound is produced by vibrating
objects.

Sound produced by musical instruments

Musical instruments such as flute, guitar, tanpura, etc. produce sounds by vibrations of
their vibrating parts. A guitar produces sound because of the vibrations in its plucked
strings. When we hit the skin of a tabla, it starts vibrating. This produces sound. The
skin of a tabla is known as stretched membrane.

The following table lists some musical instruments with respect to their vibrating parts.
Musical instrument Vibrating part that produces
sound
Stretched membrane

Stretched string

Stretched string

Air-column

Air-column
 Stretched membrane

List some musical instruments that produce sound on beating.

When you beat the skin of a drum, it vibrates and hence, produces sound. The sound
produced by a drum is not only that of the skin, but the drum is itself forced to vibrate.
Hence, the sound produced by a drum is the sound of vibration of the whole instrument.

Ways of changing the pitch in different musical instruments

• In stringed instruments: Frequency of vibration of string depends on the

• tension in string: If the string of the instrument is under high tension, then the pitch of
the note produced on plucking the string will be high i.e. the note will be shriller because
frequency of vibration of the string will be high.

• thickness of string: If the string of the instrument is thin, then the pitch of the note
produced on plucking the string will be high as frequency of vibration of the string will be
high.

• position of plucking of string: If a string stretched between two fixed ends is plucked
closer to one of the fixed ends, then the pitch of the sound produced will be high.

• In wind instruments: High pitch sound is produced by these instruments if the length
of the air column in these instruments is reduced. The length of the air column can be
reduced by opening more number of holes present in these instruments.

• In membrane instruments: Pitch of the sound produced by striking the stretched

membrane depends on the

• tension of membrane: More the membrane of the instrument is stretched and

tightened
 i.e. higher is the tension of the membrane, higher will be pitch of the sound produced.

• size of membrane: Smaller is the size of the membrane, higher will the pitch of the
sound produced.

Monotone

A single frequency sound is known as monotone. The only source to produce a

monotone is tuning fork.

Tuning fork are set into vibrations when one of its prongs is struck with a rubber pad. It
vibrates with its own frequency when struck with a rubber pad. The frequency produced
by the tuning fork is marked on it.

Jaltarang

It is a musical instrument, which uses different water levels in different bowls to produce
a melodious sound.

On striking water-filled glasses gently using a pair of pencils, you can produce a
pleasant and melodious sound.