Sound Effects

Simple Ideas
COOL SOUNDS

What did you discover about:
1.  What you need to make a sound?
2.  How sound travels to your ear?

Take a look at these variations on the experiments you did.

Sound in a Vacuum

Take a look at this experiment with a ringing alarm hanging inside a jar with no air.

The alarm is ringing inside the glass jar.

The pump slowly sucks the air out of the jar.

What happens?
What does this mean?
What can you say about what the sound needs to be able to your ear?

This experiment might also answer the question:
Is there sound in space?

Instrumental Inspiration

With a little science knowledge and a creative idea it's possible to make music with the simplest things.

What's vibrating to make the sound?

How is the note changed in these different instruments?

Could you make a crazy band of your own?

What sort of instruments could you make?

Ingredients - Materials: 

330ml glass bottle

500 ml plastic bottle

Some rubber bands

Some drinking straws

Some string

See Sound Travel

What We Did
In this experiment everyone stood in a line facing away from the source of the sound.  

When a whistle is blown the people in the line put up their hands.

What Happened
Watch to see what happens

What we saw... The people in the line  put their hands up at different times.  The closer people to the sound put up their hands first.  The people far away put up their hands last.

What is Happening
The people hear the sound at different times and so put there hands up at different times.

What does this MEAN?
Sound takes time to travel to your ears.  

Take a look at this video of an explosion.
Look closely.  What do you see?

Photos and Work Samples

String Telephones - A four way conversation

Sound through a string!

I can still hear you!

Experiment - Investigation Booklet

Skills of a Scientist

Make a Comment

Click on the "What we Learnt" tab at the top of the page 
and post a comment about your learning.

Our Videos Rm1 and Rm20

These videos will be available for a short time and then removed.  Use them to show family and friends what you have been learning.

How does sound travel?
What does it need to travel?
What makes a sound?
How do you hear?

Speed of Sound Experiment

Musical Straw

Straw Oboe - link

Seeing Sound

Watch the videos below and think about what is happening.

What does this show about sound?

What happens when the sound changes?

How we Hear

How we Hear

Watch this film then talk with 

a buddy about how the ear hears sound.

Speed of Sound

Before watching these videos do the Line of Sound experiment.


Things to adapt and change 

• try to race sound 
• test the speed of sound against the speed of light
• become a human sound chain - squeeze hands

What is happening in this picture?

What happens in this film?

What do you hear and how is this sound made?

Why do balloons go BANG! when they burst?

Contrary to popular belief, the loud noise you hear when Latex balloons burst is not due to the sudden release of high pressure gas contained inside the balloon...such pressure isn't all that great. Rather, the BANG is caused by the tightly stretched ends of the torn Latex balloon pieces exceeding the speed of sound (and, thus, creating a "sonic boom" ) as they quickly snap back to their pre-inflated size. Specifically, when a tiny crack develops in the surface of an inflated Latex balloon (such as when a pin pricks it) the resulting rapid release of energy stored in the stretched Latex accelerates the crack to near the speed of sound in rubber.  Since this speed is much higher than the speed of sound in air, the running crack actually breaks the sound barrier!   The loudness of the bang is usually dependent on how much the Latex is stretched before it bursts. This is why even small Latex balloons stretched to their limits will often make a much louder BANG when they burst than a larger balloon that is not stretched as tightly.

Sound Splash

Equipment: 

Glass of water and a tuning fork

Steps:  

• Tap the prong end of the tuning fork on a wooden block or rubber bung
• Hold the joined end
• Slowly lower the prong end towards the surface of the water
• Use your observational skills - watch carefully to see what happens
• Listen 
• Draw a set of pictures to show what happens
• Add labels to your pictures

Focus Questions

• What do you see when the tuning fork touches the water?
• What do you hear when the tuning fork touches the water?
• What is happening?
• Why does this happen?
• What does this tell us about how sound is made?

Telephones

Equipment: 

• 2x tin cans
• a length of string
• hammer
• small nail
• a buddy to work with

Method 

Steps:  

• Make a small hole in the end of your tin cans
• Thread the end of the string through the small hole
• Tie a knot in the string so that it cannot be pulled back through the hole
• Pull the string tight between the two cans
• Speak into one can while the other person listens at theirs
• Take turns to speak and listen
• Send messages
• Twang the string and listen
• Draw a set of pictures to show what is happening here
• Add labels to your pictures to show your understanding

Focus Questions

• What does this system need to make the telephone work?
• How is the sound travelling?
• Can you send secret messages?  
• What is happening?
• Why does this happen?
• What does this tell us about how sound travels?

Chicken Sounds From a Plastic Cup

Sound Gun

Equipment: 

• Candle
• Inside of a toilet roll
• 2X elastic bands
• Scrap paper
• A pencil

Steps:  

• Fit two pieces of paper to the ends of the toilet roll and attach them with the elastic bands - when you are done it will look like a small drum
• Make a small hole on the middle of one of the paper ends.  You have now made a simple sound gun
• Light the candle
• Hit the closed end of the toilet roll with the top of your pencil
• Aim the open end of the toilet roll at the candle
• Watch

Focus Questions

• What do you see when you aim the sound gun at the candle? 
• What is happening?
• Why does this happen?
• What does this tell us about how sound travels?

Bottle Band

The Bottle Band

How do they get the different notes?

Make a Rubber Band Guitar and Play!!!

Musical Fork

Equipment: 

• Fork or spoon
• Length of string
• A buddy

Steps:  

• Tie the spoon or fork onto the middle of the piece of string
• Press the ends of the string onto the bones near your ear canal
• Make the spoon hand loose in front of you
• Get your buddy to hit the spoon
• Listen

Focus Questions

• What do hear when the fork is hit?
• Hat happens if the spoon of fork is not dangling loose?
• What is happening?
• Why does this happen?
• What does this tell us about haw sound can travel?

See a Sound Wave

How can a SLINKY help us understand sound?

Singing Glass

Equipment: 

• Wine glass
• Dish washing liquid
• Towel
• Water

Steps:  

• Start by washing your hands really well with dish washing liquid to remove all natural oils from your hands
• Put a little water into your wine glass
• Press and run a wet finger around the rim of the glass

Focus Questions

• What do you hear?
• What do you see when you do this?
• What happens to the water in the glass?
• Try different amounts of water and notice and changes
• What is happening?
• Why does this happen?
• What does this tell us about how sound is made?

Now to see what's possible - watch this video