The Science of Sound Waves

The Science of Sound Waves — page 1 — SOUNDS ALL AROUND Have you heard about sound It is all around you Your alarm clock rings and jolts you out of bed in the morning The toaster dings and up pops your breakfast A loud bell calls you to school and later sends you home again Your parrot squawks a horn honks your smartphone buzzes and your music plays until it is time for bed You hear all sorts of sounds from morning to night but what is sound an TIME FOR SCHOOL SOUND IS ENERGY Sound is a form of energy Energy is the power to do work There are many other forms of energy on Earth Light is a form of energy that you can see Heat is a form of energy that you can feel Sound is energy that you can hear with your

The Science of Sound Waves — page 2 — SHARING INFORMATION Sounds help us send and receive messages The wail of a siren tells us a fire truck is on the way The whistle of a kettle tells us it is time for hot cocoa Sounds also help us communicate When people communicate they share ideas and information People communicate in all sorts of ways with spoken words They share stories whisper secrets and sing songs Think of all the sounds you hear each day What information do they give you How do you use sounds to communicate with others WITHOUT A WORD People also communicate without using any words at all You might sigh and tap your fingers when you are bored You might whistle when it is time for recess and groan when you get homework We can interpret the sounds people make to get information about them To interpret means to understand the meaning behind an action mood or

The Science of Sound Waves — page 3 — WHAT IS THE MATTER There are sounds all around you But did you know that there is matter all around you too Matter is anything that takes up space and has mass Mass is the amount of material in an object There are some types of matter you can see Hamsters running shoes and milk are matter you can see There are other types of matter such as air that you cannot see Air is a gas D All of these things are made of matter This is a turning fork It vibrates when it is hit and makes a sound A MOVING MATTER and D sena Vibration Sounds are produced when matter vibrates To vibrate means to shake or move back and forth with very short quick movements Matter vibrates when a force is applied to it A force is a push or pull that can make an object move When the object vibrates it produces the sound energy that we hear 6

The Science of Sound Waves — page 4 — TO SEE OR NOT TO SEEM LO Sometimes you can see matter vibrate and produce sound When you pluck a guitar string the force of your finger makes the string move quickly You can see the string vibrate You can hear the sound of the music that the guitar makes When you use an electric toothbrush you can see and feel it vibrating in your hand You hear the buzzing sound that it makes You cannot see them in action but your vocal cords vibrate when you talk or sing Vocal cords are thin body parts in your throat that help you make sounds with your voice You can feel your vocal cords vibrating if you touch your throat with the tips of your fingers while you hum TOO SMALL TO SEE Usually you cannot see matter vibrate That s because the vibrations are too small to see When you shoot a hockey puck the force of your shot makes the puck vibrate You cannot see the vibrations but you can hear the sound when your stick hits the puck When you open a jar of jam you cannot see the lid vibrating But you can hear the sound energy that it produces If you dropped the jar that would make a vibration too You would hear a crash and find yourself in quite a

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