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11th grade Sound: speed, pitch and loudness worksheet

6 printable versionsBuilding Confidence10 questions · answer keyFree · no account

Level: Building Confidence · On Level · Challenge Me

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Sound: speed, pitch and loudness

Grade 11 Science Worksheet - Building Confidence

NameDate

Circle the best answer, or write your answer on the line.

  1. One cricket chirps at 30 dB where Ari stands. 100 identical crickets chirp together at the same spot. What level is measured, to the nearest dB?

  2. One cricket chirps at 25 dB where Bo stands. 1000 identical crickets chirp together at the same spot. What level is measured, to the nearest dB?

  3. One cricket chirps at 20 dB where Esme stands. 10000 identical crickets chirp together at the same spot. What level is measured, to the nearest dB?

  5. What is the frequency of trace P, Jun?

    • 50 Hz
    • 500 Hz
    • 5 Hz
    • 5,000 Hz

  6. How does trace Q compare with trace P, Kira?

    Use the picture in question 4.

    • The same pitch, with twice the intensity
    • A higher pitch, with 4 times the intensity
    • The same pitch, with 4 times the intensity
    • The same pitch, with 10 dB more than P

  7. How does trace R compare with trace P, Luz?

    Use the picture in question 4.

    • 1,000 Hz, and 3 dB louder
    • 1,000 Hz, and twice as loud
    • An octave higher at 1,000 Hz, equally loud
    • An octave lower at 250 Hz, equally loud

  8. Read this first

    Speed of sound (Engineering ToolBox)

    MaterialSpeed (m/s)
    air at 20 °C343.3
    fresh water at 20 °C1481
    steel (1% carbon)5940

  9. How long does sound take to cross 1,481 m of lake water, Milo?

    • 4.3 s
    • 0.23 s
    • 1.0 s

  10. A 440 Hz tone passes from air into fresh water. What is its wavelength in the water, Noah?

    • About 0.18 m
    • About 3.4 m
    • About 0.78 m

  11. The same 440 Hz tone passes from air into fresh water. What is its frequency in the water, Pia?

    • 440 Hz, the same as in air
    • About 1,900 Hz, since sound is 4.3 times faster
    • About 102 Hz, since sound is 4.3 times faster

  12. NIOSH: 85 dBA is safe for 8 hours, and each 3 dB more halves the safe time. How long is 94 dBA safe for, Ren?

    • 2 hours
    • 1 hour
    • 4 hours
    • 30 minutes
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11th grade Sound: speed, pitch and loudness worksheet – printable
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About this worksheet

Sound: speed, pitch and loudness. Every version has 10 questions, and the answer key prints on the second page.

What your child will learn

  • I can add decibel levels for many identical sources (10 × log of the number), and find the level at a new distance when intensity falls with the square of distance.
  • I can read frequency from a microphone trace (cycles ÷ time) and say what a taller trace means (amplitude squared is intensity).
  • I can use speed of sound in air, water and steel, find wavelengths, and find the gap between two arrivals.
  • I can use NIOSH's 3 dB rule for safe listening time, and strings, beats and equal-temperament semitones.

Standard: HS-PS4-1

Words to know

pitch: How high or low a sound is; set by frequency

loudness: How strong a sound seems; grows with amplitude

decibel (dB): A unit for sound level; 10 dB more is 10 times the intensity

intensity: The power of a sound wave over an area

ultrasound: Sound above about 20,000 Hz, too high for people to hear

octave: A doubling of frequency; the note sounds like the same note, higher

beats: The slow rise and fall in loudness when two close frequencies sound together

exposure limit: Longest safe listening time at a given sound level

Common mistakes

Your child added the logarithm without the factor of ten. Each tenfold increase in intensity adds 10 dB, so 100 sources add 20 dB.

Your child used the distance ratio instead of its square. Intensity falls with the square of distance, so the level drops 20 times the log of the distance ratio.

Your child used only the air speed. The gap comes from the difference between the air time and the steel time.

Questions parents ask

What is the most common mistake with sound: speed, pitch and loudness?

Your child added the logarithm without the factor of ten. Each tenfold increase in intensity adds 10 dB, so 100 sources add 20 dB.

Are these 11th grade science worksheets free to print?

Yes. All 6 printable versions at each level are free to print, with the answer key, and no account is needed.

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