Ready for action?
Resources
Web links
It is also possible to watch experiments on YouTube.
Downloadable Resources
Tangible Resources
Guitar, trumpet, tambourine, rattles, cymbals, bells, musical triangles, drinking straws, glass bottles, wooden beater, various frequency tuning forks, combs with different tooth density, balloons, rice, a jar, scissors, adhesive tape, pestle, frying pan, tripod, ping-pong ball on a string, vacuum food containers or vacuum pump.
Human Resources
Music teacher (optional)
Preparation
Prepare instruments and resources, liaise with music teacher, prepare worksheets.
Goals, messages & concepts
Specific goals
- Introduce sound as a physical phenomenon.
- Observe the differences and similarities between tested sounds (different pitch, volume, timbre, tone).
- Establish the conditions necessary to create sound and understand why sound does not travel in a vacuum.
Specific messages
- A vibrating body can be a source of sound.
- A sound wave is a mechanical wave, travelling in a resilient material medium (e.g. in the air) from the sound’s source to the recipient’s ears.
Main terms
- sounds
- waves
- tones
- volume
- pitch
Practices & skills
STEM practices
- Analysing and interpreting data
- Engaging in argument from evidence
- Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information
- Asking questions and defining problems
- Planning and carrying out investigations
Soft skills
- Teamwork and collaboration
Management skills
- Planning
- Use of resources
Course of activity
step 1
Working in groups, students will listen to various sounds from different sources (instruments). Playing them, they observe the differences between the sounds of the various instruments. Students will answer questions and carry out the following experiments, guided by a worksheet. Experiments comprise:
- Tuning forks – frequency and pitch.
- Combs with different tooth density.
- Vibrations caused by hitting a frying pan.
- Making a sound in a vacuum.
- Ping-pong ball and tuning fork.
- Balloon and trumpet.
- Jars of water and pitch.
- Straws of different lengths.
step 2
After performing these simple experiments, each group will present the experiment and conclusions to the whole class. Then all groups will fill out the worksheets by answering the following questions:
- Why do instruments play?
- How do individual sounds form a melody?
- What does the volume of sounds depend on?
- What does the pitch of sounds depend on?
- Do we register sounds only with our ears? How can you feel sound?
- Why does a body vibrating in a vacuum not produce sound?
step 3
Each group will produce a summary of their work in any form (mind map, poster - iconography, cartoon, interview, classic answers). These will be shared with the class and the best one voted for by peers. The main questions that should be reflected in the summary are:
- What is sound?
- How is sound created?
- Why are sounds not created in a vacuum?
- How do sounds differ from one another?
- Hit the table and the scissors will ring - why?