Sound

Essay by OnitHigh School, 11th gradeA-, June 2006

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In my essay about sound, I am going to explain how different forms of sound are created, how they are heard, what a frequency is, how certain vibrations can decide the pitch, loudness and frequency of a sound wave. I am also going to explain how music is created, how every note has a different frequency, that harmony is very important when making music. I am also going to tell you about sound recording, replaying music, analogue and digital, microphones and loudspeakers.

Sound:

By "plucking" a violin string, you enable the strings to vibrate very quickly and you automatically hear a sound. This happens because the air carries the vibrations made by the violin strings into your ear. Once inside your ear, the vibrations are immediately become electrical signals that are then sent to your brain. Sound waves are also vibrations that pass from one set of particles to the next.

When humans talk we blow air from our lungs past the vocal cords, the vocal cords vibrate and create the air to vibrate too. When the vibrations must be amplified the chest, mouth and throat vibrate as well. All of these vibrations mixed together make a sound loud enough to be heard.

Every sound has a frequency. Frequency means the number of vibrations made in a second. A high frequency will create a high-pitched sound. A low frequency will create a low-pitched sound. Every animal can hear a range of different frequencies. The lowest sound humans can hear has 20 vibrations in a second. The highest sound we can hear had 20,000 vibrations in a second. As you get older you become less sensitive to high-pitched sounds.

Sounds that are very loud are made by big vibrations and sounds that are very soft are made by small vibrations.