Facts About Sound That All Kids Should Know

Sridevi Tolety
Jan 23, 2023 By Sridevi Tolety
Originally Published on Jan 21, 2022
Edited by Kelly Quinn
Fact-checked by Nishtha Dixit
Facts About Sound That All Kids Should Know
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Age: 3-18
Read time: 6.3 Min

Sound waves are responsible for the creation of sound. 

Sound is audible when it travels via a medium to the ear. Molecular vibrations produce all sounds; the object vibrates when a person strikes a drum or a cymbal. 

The vibrations cause air molecules to move, and sound waves go away from their source. When the vibrating air molecules reach our ears, they cause the eardrum to vibrate. The ear bones vibrate in the same way that the item that caused the sound waves to vibrate. The stronger a sound wave is, the higher it goes.

There are three types of media: solids, liquids, and gases. Because the particles in a solid are closer together than those in a gas or liquid, sound travels faster through solids.

Sound waves are two-part longitudinal waves with compression and rarefaction. The component of the sound waves when the air molecules are forced (compressed) together is known as compression. The wave region where the molecules are widely apart is referred to as rarefaction. Sound waves are made up of compression and rarefaction steps.

How Sound Works

Sound is a type of energy that is produced when anything vibrates. When an item travels faster back and forth, it vibrates. The more vibration there is, the more sound energy there is.

Sound travels in different ways via various substances, and the spacing between matter particles causes the difference. The particles in gases, such as air, are farther apart than in liquids, and the particles in liquids, such as water, are farther apart than solids.

Sound vibrations move in different ways via various sorts of substances. Particles that seem close together transfer sound energy to one another more easily. Because most solids' particles are close together, sound travels quicker through them. Sound travels significantly more slowly because the particles in liquids and air are so close together. The speed of sound varies in general, notably in gases. Because the particles in colder air are closer, sound travels faster in warmer air.

The ears greatly influence the capacity to perceive sounds. The outer ear is merely a minor player in the hearing process. It functions as a sound collector. Its shape aids in collecting sound waves and their transmission to the middle ear. The middle and inner ear send sound waves to nerves that provide impulses to the brain. The brain then analyzes the sound and sends orders to your body to respond to the sound.

Facts About Hearing

Let us discover some fascinating facts on sound and how it affects us. People of all ages may benefit from these sound facts!

The loudspeakers used in major concerts (where sounds may reach 120 dB) can cause damage to your ears in as little as 7.5 minutes! You may want to keep away from music that loud.

One out of every three people over the age of 65 have hearing-related issues; most people with hearing impairment are actually below the age of 65.

In the United States, one of the three major health concerns is hearing loss. The most common reason for hearing loss is excessive loud exposure.

The bones of the ear can fit on the surface of a penny. The smallest bone in the body is found in the ears.

The rim of the inner ear is just the size of a pencil eraser.

Anthropologists have used earwax to analyze humanity's early migratory habits.

Facts About Wavelength

The shortest recurring component of a sound wave is defined as its wavelength. All waves may be created by combining sound waves, and each wave is a sum of sound waves that can be recognized using Fourier analysis.

The sound wave has a repeating pattern, and the wavelength is the length of this repeating portion of the sound wave. The wavelength may be calculated by taking measurements or distance between one sound wave peak and the next. The wavelength can also be discovered in a variety of other methods.

Other features of waves and sound waves include frequency, phase, speed, amplitude.

Light wavelength is connected with color perception in humans. We connect red with longer wavelengths within the visible spectrum, greens with intermediate wavelengths, and blues and violets with shorter wavelengths. The amplitude of light waves is related to human perception of brightness or color intensity, with bigger amplitudes looking brighter.

Light and sound may be characterized as waveforms having physical properties such as amplitude, wavelength, and timbre, because wavelength and frequency are inversely related; longer waves have lower frequencies, while shorter waves have higher frequencies.

Fun Facts About Sound

We're all surrounded by sound. There are several sounds. No matter where you go, your ears may pick up on some form of sound. Air molecules vibrate in and around our ears here on Earth.

Here are some useful facts to get you up to speed.

The sound intensity is approximately 767 mph (1,230 kph).

Acoustics is the study of sound waves. Music is complex to describe; however, it's sometimes described as an appealing or significant organization of sounds.

When items vibrate, they produce sound. The object's vibration causes the air surrounding it to vibrate, and the air vibrations enter your ear. They are perceived as noise by you. The vibrations are not always visible, but if something is creating a sound, some component is constantly vibrating.

Some sounds may be classified as belonging to more than one category. The sound created as an airplane takes off, for example, is both loud and unpleasant for some people. 

Noise is a sound that is classified as unwelcome, irritating, unpleasant, or loud. Our ears are good at detecting noise, and the most prevalent type of noise is an obnoxious tone that produces mild to severe discomfort or annoyance.

Pink noise is a constant background sound. It filters out items that may disturb you, such as people chatting or automobiles passing by, so that they do not disrupt your sleep. It's also known as background noise. It's a continuous background hum that, like white noise, may help you sleep better.

Dogs are efficient at hearing sounds at a considerably higher frequency than humans can. They can detect sounds or noises that humans cannot because the intensity of sound energy is typically assessed using a normal hearing person's perception. Sound energy is measured in terms of its pressure and intensity.

Thunder is caused by quickly heated air surrounding lightning, which expands faster than the speed of sound.

A sound is considered audible to the human ear if its frequency is between 20 and 20,000 vibrations per second. Sound energy is measured in terms of its pressure and intensity. We can hear distinct sounds because the ear vibrates as the sound (vibrations) enters it as particles travel with every vibration and constantly collide with one another. 

An orchestra performing classical music at 120 dB will cause hearing impairment as much as hard rock band music at 120 dB. 

As water particles are closer together than air particles, sound may travel four times faster in water.

Many animals use sound to detect danger, alerting them to potential assaults before they occur.

Superior Canal Dehiscence patients may have a symptom where they hear their body noises at high levels, including eye movements.

Infrasound, which is audible to humans but not to animals, is widely employed in horror films; when it is played, it causes trembling, uneasiness, and even irregular heartbeat in humans.

Humans have discovered new methods to utilize sound in modern times. Sound waves are used to look for schools of fish in ocean waters. Anglers can use this listening technique to detect fish under their boats. Many animals have built-in sound systems to assist them in navigating and finding food.

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Written by Sridevi Tolety

Bachelor of Science specializing in Botany, Master of Science specializing in Clinical Research and Regulatory Affairs

Sridevi Tolety picture

Sridevi ToletyBachelor of Science specializing in Botany, Master of Science specializing in Clinical Research and Regulatory Affairs

With a Master's degree in clinical research from Manipal University and a PG Diploma in journalism from Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Sridevi has cultivated her passion for writing across various domains. She has authored a wide range of articles, blogs, travelogues, creative content, and short stories that have been published in leading magazines, newspapers, and websites. Sridevi is fluent in four languages and enjoys spending her spare time with loved ones. Her hobbies include reading, traveling, cooking, painting, and listening to music.

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