Starter quiz
- Match the following key words to the correct definition.
- pitch⇔how high or low the note of a sound is ✓
- vibration⇔a regular, repeating back and forth movement ✓
- volume⇔how loud or quiet a sound is ✓
- How many of the following can make a sound: a vibrating string, a vibrating drum skin or vibrating air in a tube.
- 0
- 1
- 2
- 3 ✓
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- Match the following volumes of sound to a description of how it could be made.
- medium volume⇔a guitar string plucked normally ✓
- quiet volume⇔a guitar sting plucked very gently ✓
- loud volume⇔a guitar plucked with a lot of force ✓
- How would the sound of a wooden spoon hitting a pan change if the pan were hit harder?
- the volume of the sound would increase ✓
- the pitch of the sound would increase (a squeakier sound)
- the volume of the sound would decrease
- the pitch of the sound would decrease (a deeper sound)
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- Which of the following can cause the pitch of a sound to change?
- striking a key on a piano harder
- striking different keys on a piano ✓
- plucking different strings on a guitar ✓
- plucking the strings on a guitar more gently
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- Which of the following happen in our ears to allows us to hear a sound?
- sound enters our heads through a tiny hole
- sound makes our eardrums vibrate ✓
- sound moves air into our ears
- Sound makes the air in our ears vibrate ✓
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Exit quiz
- How would you describe the sound of thunder?
- high pitch and low volume
- high pitch and high volume
- low pitch and low volume
- low pitch and high volume ✓
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- How would you describe the sound of a mouse's squeak?
- high pitch and low volume ✓
- high pitch and high volume
- low pitch and low volume
- low pitch and high volume
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- Starting with what happens first, sort the following statements in the correct order to describe how we speak.
- 1⇔our vocal cords vibrate
- 2⇔the air in our throat, mouth and nose vibrates
- 3⇔our voice box (larynx) controls how the vocal chords vibrate to make a sound
- 4⇔different sounds can be made by changing our mouth shape and tongue position
- Louder sounds are caused larger vibrations. What word describes the size of a vibration?
- 'amplitude' ✓
- Making a guitar string tighter or shorter can make it vibrate more quickly. If a guitar string vibrates more times each second, it has a higher ______.
- 'frequency' ✓
- Which of the following statements about sound are related to the frequency?
- the number of vibrations per second ✓
- it sets the volume of the sound ✓
- it sets the pitch of the sound
- the size of a vibration from the rest position
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Worksheet
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Presentation
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Video
Lesson Details
Key learning points
- All sounds are caused by vibrations. Some vibrations are too small or too fast to see.
- The volume of a sound means how loud or quiet it is. The pitch of a sound means how high or low it is.
- Amplitude is a measure of the distance or size of a vibration. The greater the amplitude, the louder a sound.
- Frequency is a measure of how often the vibrations occur. The greater the frequency, the higher the pitch.
- Sounds of different volume and pitch can be produced by controlling the amplitude and frequency of vibrations.
Common misconception
Pupils often do not use the concept of vibrations to explain the source of a sound, if the vibrations are not obvious, such as vibrating air in a wind instrument or from two stones knocked together.
Include examples of sounds caused by vibrations that are not caused by something that is obviously vibrating, such as a string in a stringed instrument.
Keywords
Volume - Describes the loudness of a sound.
Pitch - Describes how high or low a note is.
Vibration - A repeated back and forth movement.
Amplitude - Measures the size of a vibration, i.e. how far an object vibrates.
Frequency - The number of vibrations that occur every second.
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