Starter quiz
- Which of the following describes the particles in air when there is no sound wave passing through?
- They are not moving.
- They are moving randomly. ✓
- They are moving back and forth.
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- What happens to the particles in air when a sound wave passes through?
- They move randomly but at greater speeds.
- They travel in the direction of the sound wave.
- They vibrate, but also have some random motion. ✓
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- Which of the following is the most accurate description of a sound wave?
- the transfer of energy from one place to another
- the movement of some particles through a material
- the movement of a material from one place to another
- a repeating pattern of pulses that travels through a material ✓
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- Which of the following words can be used to describe a region of a sound wave in which the particles are closer together than normal?
- compression ✓
- medium
- pitch
- wavelength
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- A very loud sound is made, and the sound wave hits a small feather which is hanging from a thread. What happens to the feather?
- It vibrates. ✓
- It moves towards the source of the sound.
- It moves away from the source of the sound.
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- Which of the following statements about sound waves are correct?
- They are transverse waves.
- They are longitudinal waves. ✓
- Particles vibrate at 90° to the direction of wave travel.
- Particles vibrate parallel to the direction of wave travel. ✓
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Exit quiz
- Match the following words with the correct definitions.
- amplitude⇔a measure of the size of the particle vibrations in a sound wave ✓
- pitch⇔how high or low a sound we hear is ✓
- frequency⇔the number of vibrations of a sound wave each second ✓
- volume⇔how loud or quiet a sound we hear is ✓
The diagram shows a human ear. Match each label with the name of the part.- A⇔pinna ✓
- B⇔ear canal ✓
- C⇔small bone ✓
- D⇔eardrum ✓
- E⇔nerve ✓
- F⇔cochlea ✓
- Which of the following statements about a sound wave is correct?
- It is a pattern of vibrations of particles. ✓
- It is the sensation of hearing something.
- It can travel through gases, but not liquids or solids.
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- Match each of the following types of wave with the correct frequencies.
- sound waves⇔20 Hz to 20 000 Hz ✓
- ultrasound waves⇔above 20 000 Hz ✓
- infrasound waves⇔below 20 Hz ✓
- Which of the following sound wave frequencies is the human ear most sensitive to?
- 20 Hz
- 800 Hz
- 3000 Hz ✓
- 12 000 Hz
- 25 000 Hz
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- Starting with vibrating air particles in the ear canal, sort the following statements to describe the steps between a sound wave reaching a person’s ear and the person hearing the sound.
- 1⇔Air particles in the ear canal vibrate, making the eardrum vibrate.
- 2⇔This makes three tiny bones vibrate, acting as levers.
- 3⇔This makes a liquid inside the cochlea vibrate.
- 4⇔This makes tiny hair cells vibrate.
- 5⇔They send electrical signals along nerve cells.
- 6⇔The brain creates the sensation of hearing a sound.
Worksheet
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Presentation
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Lesson Details
Key learning points
- Sound waves cause our eardrums, tiny bones within our ears, and the cochlea to vibrate.
- Specialised cells in the cochlea sense vibrations and cause electrical signals to be sent to the brain along a nerve.
- The brain creates the sensation of hearing a sound when it receives signals from the ear through a nerve.
- Human ears can detect sound waves with frequencies between 20 Hz and 20 kHz, being most sensitive to 2–5 kHz waves.
- Sound waves below 20 Hz are called infrasound; above 20 kHz, ultrasound. They are not detected by human ears.
Common misconception
Sound waves are the same thing as the sound heard. Sound waves somehow 'have' sound.
Distinguish between the sound heard and the sound wave. The brain creates the sensation of hearing a sound when it receives nerve signals from the ear. The sound (heard) does not exist until created by the brain. Sound waves themselves have no sound.
Keywords
Sound wave - a ‘pulse’ that travels through a material, caused by forward and backward vibrations of particles
Eardrum - a membrane within the ear that is caused to vibrate by incoming sound waves
Sound - a sensation of hearing something
Amplitude - a measure of how far particles vibrate in a sound wave
Frequency - the number of vibrations each second
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