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Sound and Vibrations Exploration

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Sound and Vibrations Exploration

Explore how vibrations make sound. Read the sound lab notes, then solve the challenges. You can try safe experiments with an adult, or use the evidence provided.

Sound Lab Notes

A sound begins when something vibrates, which means it moves back and forth quickly. Vibrations travel through materials such as air and can reach our ears. Pitch tells us whether a sound is high or low. Volume tells us whether it is loud or quiet. In a bottle experiment, tapping the side of bottles with different amounts of water can make different pitches. More water usually makes the tapped bottle sound lower. Blowing across the top can give a different result: more water leaves less air space, so the note is usually higher.

1.What must happen to an object to start making a sound?

It must vibrate.
It must change colour.
It must become colder.

2.Maeve taps the side of two bottles. Bottle A has a little water and Bottle B has more water. Which bottle will usually make the lower-pitched sound?

3.In the sound lab notes, what does volume describe? Choose the best answer.

Whether a sound is loud or quiet
Whether a sound is high or low
How far an object moves

4.True or false: Sound can travel through air to reach our ears.

TrueFalse

5.Complete the sentence: A sound with a very high pitch might be a bird’s .

6.Match each sound to the pitch it is most likely to have.

Small bird chirping
A deep drum beat
A whistle
Distant thunder rumbling

Low pitch
Low pitch
High pitch
High pitch

The Bottle Band Challenge

A group taps the sides of four bottles. Their results are shown below. Use the evidence to answer the next questions.

Bottle A — little water — high note

Bottle B — some water — middle note

Bottle C — more water — lower note

Bottle D — most water — lowest note

7.Put the bottles in order from the highest note to the lowest note.

8.What pattern do you notice between the amount of water and the pitch when the bottles are tapped?

9.Finn blows across the tops of the bottles instead of tapping their sides. According to the notes, what happens to the pitch when there is more water?

10.Design a safe sound-maker using household objects. Name the objects and explain how you would make them vibrate to create a sound.

11.Imagine you can hear a sound but cannot see what made it. What could you listen for to decide whether it has a high or low pitch?