Sound waves

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Sound is a longitudinal wave – the direct of

the oscillation is parallel to the direction in which the wave is traveling

All sounds are produced by objects that are vibrating. These

sounds travel outwards, from the source as waves e.g. when we speak, our vocal

cords vibrate producing sounds

Sound waves travel from

vibrating objects to our ears by means of sound waves

As the object vibrates to the

right, it pushes the air particles close together, creating compression

As the object vibrates in the

opposite direction a region of spread out particles is created behind it this

is called rarefaction

When an object vibrates to the

right again, another compression is created. After several vibrations a series

of compressions and rarefactions have been created, this is called a sound wave

Sound waves are collected and

directed into the ear canal by the outer ear. When the sound waves hit the

eardrum, it vibrates the eardrum. The ear drum is connected to three tiny bones

called the hammer, the anvil, and the stirrup. As the eardrum vibrates, these

three bones amplify the vibrations so the ear can work better.

These vibrates then pass

through a liquid inside a long coiled structure called the cochlea hair cells

along the inside of the cochlea are simulated by the vibration traveling

through the liquid. Impulses are sent from the hair to the brain through the

auditory nerve. The brain then hears the sound

Sound waves can through solids,

liquids and gases because there are particles for the sound waves to vibrate of

but sound can’t travel through spaces without any particles

We can’t see sound waves but

using a oscilloscope we can produce a picture on the screen to represent this