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Chapter 21 - PS
Chapter 21 Vocabulary - The Nature of Sound
Word | Definition |
---|---|
sound wave | a longitudinal wave that is caused by vibrations and that travels through a material medium |
medium | a physical environment in which phenomena occur |
pitch | a measure of how high or low a sound is perceived to be, depending on the frequency of the sound wave |
Doppler Effect | an observed change in the frequency of the wave when the source or observer is moving |
loudness | the extent to which a sound can be heard |
decibel | the most common unit used to measure loudness (symbol, dB) |
echo | a reflected sound wave |
echolocation | the process of using reflected sound wave to find objects; used by animals such as bats |
interference | the combination of two or more waves that result in a single wave |
sonic boom | the explosive sound heard when a shock wave from an object traveling faster then the speed of sound reaches a person's ears |
standing wave | a pattern of vibration that stimulates a wave that is standing still |
resonance | a phenomenon that occurs when two objects naturally vibrate at the same frequency; the sound produced by one object causes the other to vibrate |
sound quality | the result of blending several pitches through interference |
noise | a sound that consists of a random mix of frequencies |