What is Sound?

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Sound is a form of energy. It is created when something vibrates and in turn causes the medium (water, air, etc.) around it to vibrate. Traveling longitudinal waves are vibrations in the air, which we are able to pick up with our ears. Sound waves are made up of regions of high and low pressure named compressions and rarefactions. Sound is a longitudinal wave in which the oscillations take place in the direction of the wave travel i.e. backwards and forwards rather than from side to side. The backwards and forwards displacement results in a sequence of compression and rarefactions. Sound waves cannot be transmitted through vacuum. The transmission of sound requires at least a medium to be present to carry on oscillations. Most of the sound waves that reach the ear travel through the air, but it is also possible to hear sounds when swimming underwater.
Diagrams of sound production:

Tuning fork # 1 tuning fork #2 tuning fork#3
Tuning fork # 1: Molecules in the atmosphere enclave the turning fork when it is not moving.
Tuning fork #2: When a vibration occurs the tuning fork’s prong separates and the molecules in front of it are cramped up and hit against each together.
Tuning fork#3: When the prongs return back together, it leaves a space that has less number of molecules in it.
Where the molecules are jammed up together is called a compression and where the molecules are scattered is called a rarefaction. When the fork vibrates, the vibration moves the molecules close to it and they in turn move other molecules close to them and the sequence continues. This is a group of compressions and rarefaction. This clearly demonstrates how sound is produced.

Equations relating to sound: Frequency is the number of complete wave...

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...ventually the string may break.
Compare that instrument with other instruments its type (string instruments)
Explain why they are different
Define its resonance. The strings alone can hardly make any noise because they are so thin they can move in the air and not create much disturbance. Therefore vibrations are transferred to the top plate of the guitar because the strings of the guitar need the vibrating top plate in order to produce sounds better. To hear a resonance take place, the open ‘A’ string needs to be strummed and a piece of paper is to be inserted back and forth across the sound holes. A base response is the result obtained when you close the hole, this is because the paper stops the resonance or either changes it to a much lower frequency. The resonance of both the front and back plates creates a resonance about an octave above the main air resonance.

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