Science Companion Project: Sound
Exploring sound
Drum vibrations
This afternoon we explored how sound is made on musical instruments. Mrs Jeffery showed us her cello and talked about how sound is made on it. We talked about the size of the strings and how this links to pitch. We also discussed how all sound is to do with vibration. We all had a go on the cello ourselves and looked closely at the vibrations of the strings, felt the vibration of the whole instrument, looked at the thick (low) string and (thinner) high string.
We then watched how lentils moved on a snare drum when play the instrument loudly and quietly and talked about how when we put more energy into producing the sound, more vibrations are produced and the sound is louder.
We then looked at a recorder and compared how sound is made in a wind instrument compared to a string instrument.
Sound and Distance Investigation
Today we investigated the question, ‘How does the volume of a sound change when the distance changes?’
We set up the investigation making sure it was a fair test. One person played a recorder (sound source) stood on the same spot each time. We measured the volume of the sound using a sound meter, increasing the distance by 2m each time. We found that the further away the sound meter was, the quieter the sound.
- Spilsby Primary School
- Woodlands Avenue,
- Spilsby,
- Lincolnshire,
- PE23 5EP
- T: 01790 752503