Question

Explain why, if we strike a steel tumbler with a metal spoon lightly, we hear a feeble sound but if we hit the tumbler hard, a loud sound is heard.

Answer 1

Sounds depend on the object that is vibrating. The loudness of the sound depends “on the amplitude of the vibration of the vibrating object.”

Let’s take the above example, when the metal spoon is struck lightly, the energy supplied to the object was less so, the sound was feeble. The amplitude of the vibration was less.

When the tumbler was hit hard, the energy supplied to the object was more so, loud sound was heard. “Greater the amplitude of vibration, louder the sound will be.”