I understand that the question is, if no one is around to hear it, did it make a sound?
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It depends on your definition of “sound”. Here’s how [one Wikipedia article](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sound) on sound defines it:
>In [physics](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physics), **sound** is a [vibration](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vibration) that propagates as an [acoustic wave](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acoustic_wave) through a [transmission medium](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transmission_medium) such as a gas, liquid or solid.
This is arguably the main article that Wikipedia has on sound. Its URL is en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sound. But note that it does specify that this is the definition *in physics*. If you look at the disambiguation page for “sound”, it has the following (emphasis mine):
>[**Sound**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sound) is an audible mechanical wave propagating through matter, *or the perception of such waves by the brain.*
This really sums it all up. It’s either the underlying physical phenomenon that we can sense, or it’s the sensation of that phenomenon (or both). If you use the physics definition, then yes, the tree most definitely made a sound. If you (strictly) apply the perception definition, then you could say there was no sound.
Personally, I would say the physics definition is the stronger one. The perception definition doesn’t really describe sound – it describes *hearing*. If a tree falls in the woods with no one around, then the sound wasn’t *heard*. But there was a sound. Also, even if you concede that “sound” could refer to one’s perception of an acoustic wave, that doesn’t negate the physics definition.
It’s also worth considering that we don’t ask this about other things that we can perceive, like seeing or smelling. We don’t ask: if a tree falls in the woods, but there was no one there to see it, did the tree still reflect the sunlight that hit it? Or: did it still give off aromatic chemicals? We understand that there is the physical phenomenon, and our sensation of that phenomenon, and that the former happens with or without the latter.
To sum up, I would say the answer to the question is: yes, it made a sound, but no sound was heard.
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