Sound and music quiz

55) A piano tuner knows that a key on the piano is tuned to the frequency of his tuning fork when he strikes them at the same time and the number of beats he hears each second is A) 0. B) 1.

0.

40) A 340-hertz sound wave travels at 340 m/s in air with a wavelength of A) 1 m. B) 10 m. C) 100 m.

1 m

15) Compared to a sound of 40 decibels, a sound of 50 decibels is A) 10 times as intense. B) 100 times as intense. C) 1000 times as intense.

10 times as intense

14) A wave having a frequency of 1000 hertz vibrates at A) less than 1000 cycles per second. B) 1000 cycles per second. C) more than 1000 cycles per second.

1000 cycles per second

16) Compared to a sound of 30 decibels, a sound of 60 decibels is A) twice as intense. B) 10 times as intense. C) 100 times as intense. D) 1000 times as intense

1000 times as intense

48) Suppose you sound a 1056-hertz tuning fork at the same time you strike a note on the piano and hear 2 beats/second. You tighten the piano string very slightly and now hear 3 beats/second. What is the frequency of the piano string? A) 1053 hertz B) 1054 hertz C) 1056 hertz D) 1058 hertz E) 1059 hertz

1059 hertz

5) The approximate range of human hearing is A) 10 hertz to 10,000 hertz. B) 20 hertz to 20,000 hertz. C) 40 hertz to 40,000 hertz.

20 hertz to 20,000 hertz

53) A general rule for estimating the distance in kilometers between an observer and a lightning bolt is to count the number of seconds between seeing the lightning and hearing it, and dividing by A) 2 B) 3 C) 4 D) 5

3

54) Two tuning forks produce sounds of wavelengths 3.4 meters and 3.3 meters. Approximately what beat frequency is produced? A) 0.1 hertz B) 1.0 hertz C) 2.0 hertz D) 3.0 hertz E) 4.0 hertz

3.0 hertz

18) About how many octaves are present between 100 hertz and 1600 hertz? A) 4 B) 5 C) 6

4

46) The beat frequency produced when a 240 hertz tuning fork and a 246 hertz tuning fork are sounded together is A) 6 hertz. B) 12 hertz.

6 hertz

17) About how many octaves are present between 20 hertz and 2560 hertz? A) 5 B) 6 C) 7

7

11) The frequency of a note one octave higher in pitch than a 440-Hz note is A) 1760 Hz. B) 880 Hz. C) 440 Hz.

880 Hz

10) The fundamental frequency of a violin string is 440 hertz. The frequency of its second harmonic is A) 220 hertz. B) 440 hertz. C)880 hertz

880 hertz

11) Sound waves cannot travel in A) air. B) water. C) steel. D) a vacuum

A vacuum

20) In perceiving its environment, a dolphin makes use of A) echoes. B) the Doppler effect. C) ultrasound. D) all of the above choices are correct

All of the above choices are correct

37) For AM radio, the A stands for A) acceleration. B) authorized. C) amplitude.

Amplitude

4) The loudness of a musical sound is a measure of the sound wave's A) wavelength. B) frequency. C) speed. D) amplitude

Amplitude

28) The least energy required to produce forced vibration in an object occurs A) below its natural frequency. B) at its natural frequency. C) above its natural frequency.

At its natural frequency

41) When the handle of a tuning fork is held solidly against a table, the sound becomes louder and the time that the fork keeps vibrating A) becomes longer. B) becomes shorter.

Becomes shorter

18) Refraction of sound can occur in A) air. B) water. C) both air and water.

Both air and water

19) A dolphin perceives its environment by the sense of A) sight. B) sound. C) both sight and sound.

Both sight and sound

35) In the case of radio, which has the higher frequency? A) carrier wave B) sound wave C) Neither. Both may be of the same frequency.

Carrier wave

2) As we become older, the frequency range of human hearing A) decreases. B) increases. C) remains relatively constant.

Decreases

50) Repeatedly tap the side of a drinking glass with a spoon while filling it with water and you will notice that the pitch of the sound A) increases. B) decreases.

Decreases

49) Which type of radio wave produces the least static in a radio receiver? A) AM B) FM C) Both have equal amounts of static.

FM

44) Inhaling helium increases the pitch of your voice. One reason for this is that sound travels A) slower in helium than in air. B) faster in helium than in air. C) the same speed in helium, but the wavelength is greater.

Faster in helium than in air

1) The pitch of a musical sound depends on the sound wave's A) wavelength. B) frequency. C) speed.

Frequency

36) For FM radio, the F stands for A) frequency. B) forced vibration at which resonance occurs. C) foul. D) female. E) fax.

Frequency

8) High pitched sound has a high A) speed. B) frequency. C) number of partial tones.

Frequency

52) A neon atom has a larger atomic number than a helium atom. At the same temperature and pressure, how does the speed of sound in helium gas compare to the speed of sound in neon gas? A) greater in neon than in helium B) greater in helium than in neon

Greater in helium than in neon

7) The quality of a musical note has to do with its A) loudness. B) frequency. C) harmonics.

Harmonics

3) As we grow older, we have the greatest difficulty hearing frequencies that are A) low. B) mid-range. C) high.

High

43) In which one of these media does sound travel the fastest? A) water vapor B) water C) ice

Ice

21) The energy of sound in air eventually becomes A) increased internal energy of the air. B) weaker and weaker until it disappears. C) cancelled by destructive interference.

Increased internal energy of the air

5) The loudness of a sound is most closely related to its A) speed. B) frequency. C) wavelength. D) intensity

Intensity

32) The phenomenon of beats results from sound A) refraction. B) reflection. C) interference.

Interference

51) Xenon has atomic number 54, while Krypton has atomic number 36. Given that both gases are at the same temperature, in which medium does sound travel faster? A) Xenon gas B) Krypton gas

Krypton gas

42) Resonance can be looked at as forced vibration with the A) least amount of energy input. B) maximum amount of energy input. C) matching of wave amplitudes.

Least amount of energy input

23) The wavelengths of sound that carry farther in air are relatively A) long. B) short. C) ultrasonic.

Long

7) A sound wave is a A) longitudinal wave. B) transverse wave. C) standing wave.

Longitudinal wave

8) Compressions and rarefactions are characteristic of A) longitudinal waves. B) transverse waves. C) both longitudinal and transverse waves.

Longitudinal waves

6) A decibel is a measure of a sound's A) frequency. B) wavelength. C) speed. D) loudness

Loudness

22) The frequencies of sound that carry farther in air are A) low. B) high. C) ultrasonic.

Low

14) All other things being the same, strings having more mass than other strings will produce A) higher frequency notes. B) lower frequency notes. C) the same frequency notes.

Lower frequency notes

45) An explosion occurs 34 km away. Since sound travels at 340 m/s, the time it takes for the sound to reach you is A) 0.1 second. B) 1 second. C) 10 seconds. D) 20 seconds. E) more than 20 seconds.

More than 20 seconds

12) What is the threshold of hearing? A) 10 decibel B) 1 decibel C) 0.1 decibel D) none of the above are correct

None of the above are correct

56) Longitudinal waves of different lengths are traveling though a long metal rod. Those that travel at the greatest speed are A) the shortest. B) those of medium length. C) the longest. D) impossible to predict without knowing the type of metal. E) None of the above choices are correct.

None of the above choices are correct

6) We are best at hearing A) infrasonic sound. B) ultrasonic sound. C) both infrasonic and ultrasonic sounds. D) None of the above choices are true.

None of the above choices are true

4) Double the frequency of sound and you also double its A) wavelength. B) speed. C) amplitude. D) none of these

None of these

47) A 1056-hertz tuning fork is sounded at the same time a piano note is struck. You hear three beats per second. What is the frequency of the piano string? A) not enough information to be certain B) 1056 hertz

Not enough information to be certain

2) A sound source of high frequency emits a high A) speed. B) amplitude. C) pitch.

Pitch

33) Which doesn't belong to the same family? A) infrasonic waves B) ultrasonic waves C) radio waves

Radio waves

15) Reverberation is actually a case of A) sound interference. B) forced vibrations. C) re-echoed sound.

Re-echoed sound

29) Caruso is said to have made a crystal chandelier shatter with his voice. This is a demonstration of A) an echo. B) sound refraction. C) beats. D) resonance. E) interference.

Resonance

34) When you tune a radio to a certain station, you match the frequency of the internal electrical circuit to the frequency of the wanted radio station. In so doing you are employing the principle of A) forced vibrations. B) resonance. C) beats. D) reverberation. E) wave interference.

Resonance

26) The natural frequency of an object depends on its A) size, shape and elasticity. B) size and shape. C) size and elasticity.

Size, shape and elasticity

27) The object with the highest natural frequency is a A) small bell. B) large bell. C) medium size bell.

Small Bell

25) A base fiddle is louder than a harp because of its A) thicker strings. B) sounding board. C) lower pitch.

Sounding board

16) The explanation for refraction must involve a change in A) frequency. B) wavelength. C) speed.

Speed

10) Sound travels faster in A) air. B) water. C) steel.

Steel

38) On some days, air nearest the ground is colder than air that is higher up. On one of these days, sound waves A) tend to be refracted upward. B) tend to be refracted downward.

Tend to be refracted downward

12) The speed of a sound wave in air depends on A) its frequency. B) its wavelength. C) the air temperature.

The air temperature

9) Compressions and rarefactions normally travel in A) the same direction in a wave. B) opposite directions in a wave. C) directions that are at right angles to the wave direction.

The same direction in a wave

9) Reverberation is a phenomenon you would be most likely to hear if you sing in A) the shower. B) a small drape-covered room. C) a large drape-covered room.

The shower

13) Fourier discovered that periodic waves can be represented by A) a series of non-periodic waves. B) the summation of a series of simple sine waves. C) a binary code.

The summation of a series of simple sine waves

31) Sound waves can interfere with one another so that no sound results. A) True B) False C) Either true or false, depending on the air temperature.

True

17) When the speed of sound near the ground is greater than it is at higher altitudes, the sound tends to be bent A) upward. B) downward.

Upward

39) Sound refraction depends on the fact that the speed of sound is A) constant. B) variable. C) proportional to frequency.

Variable

1) The source of every sound is something that is A) vibrating. B) moving. C) accelerating.

Vibrating

13) Sound travels faster in air if the air temperature is A) warm. B) cold. C) average.

Warm

30) In designing a music hall, an acoustical engineer deals mainly with A) modulation. B) forced vibrations. C) resonance. D) wave interference

Wave interference

3) Double the frequency of a sound and you halve its A) wavelength. B) speed. C) amplitude.

Wavelength

24) Sound will be louder if a struck tuning fork is held A) in the air. B) with its base against a table top. C) with its prongs in shallow water.

With its base against a table top