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Sound Vocabulary Complete Study Guide
compressional wave - -a wave in which matter
moves back and forth in the direction the wave is moving
sound intensity - -Amount of energy that a sound
wave brings to a unit area every second.
Loudness - -our perception of the intensity of a
sound
sonic boom - -The explosive sound heard when a
shock wave from an object traveling faster than the speed
of sound reaches a person's ears
speed of sound - -340 m/s through air on average
echo - -a reflected sound wave
Decibels - -A unit of measurement of loudness
wavelength - -The distance between two
corresponding parts of a wave
Amplitude - -A measure of how much energy is in a
sound wave by how compressed the particles are in a
compressional wave
Frequency - -The number of complete waves that
pass a given point in a certain amount of time
pitch - -How high or low a sound is
Doppler effect - -An observed change in the
frequency of a wave when the source or observer is
moving
echolocation - -the process of using reflected sound
waves to find objects; used by animals such as bats
Sonar - -a system that uses reflected sound waves
to detect and locate objects underwater
Ultrasound - -Sound waves with frequencies above
20,000 Hz.
sonogram - -an image formed using reflected
ultrasound waves
accoustics - -the scientific study of sound
medium - -Material through which a sound wave
travels
solids - -medium through which sounds travel the
best
outer space - -medium through which sound waves
cannot travel
Resonance - -the process by which an object is
made to vibrate by absorbing energy at its natural
frequencies
music - -A set of tones and overtones combined in
ways that are pleasing to the ear; organized sounds
noise - -a sound that consists of a random mix of
frequencies and rhythms
