Explain how sound is produced by your school bell? Why are sound waves called mechanical waves?

Sound is produced by your school bell through a process that involves the vibration of an object, the transmission of these vibrations through a medium (usually air), and the reception of these vibrations by our ears. Here's a breakdown of how this works:

Vibration: Inside the school bell, there is a clapper or striker, which is a metal piece that moves back and forth. When the bell is activated, an electromagnet or a mechanical mechanism causes the clapper to strike the bell's surface.

Vibration of Bell: When the clapper strikes the bell's surface, it sets the bell into vibration. These vibrations occur because the energy from the impact causes the molecules in the bell to move. This movement results in the bell's surface oscillating back and forth.

Transmission through Air: The vibrating bell surface disturbs the surrounding air molecules. As the bell vibrates, it pushes and pulls on the air molecules in its vicinity. This creates a series of compressions (where air molecules are pushed together) and rarefactions (where air molecules are spread apart) that propagate outward in all directions from the bell.

Sound Waves: The compressions and rarefactions of air molecules form a pressure wave that moves through the air. This wave is what we perceive as sound. It travels in all directions from the source (the school bell) and eventually reaches our ears.

Ear Reception: When these pressure waves reach our ears, they cause our eardrums to vibrate. Our ears then convert these mechanical vibrations into electrical signals that are sent to our brain. Our brain processes these signals, allowing us to perceive the sound.

Sound waves are called mechanical waves because they require a medium (such as air, water, or a solid) for propagation. In the case of sound, the medium is typically air. Mechanical waves are characterized by the fact that they involve the physical movement of particles within the medium. In the case of sound, the air molecules vibrate as the wave passes through, and this vibration is what carries the energy of the sound from one place to another. Other examples of mechanical waves include water waves and seismic waves (earthquakes). In contrast, electromagnetic waves, like light and radio waves, can travel through a vacuum and do not require a physical medium for propagation.