Sound

List and illustrate as many sounds as you can think of.

Describe the process of how sound occurs, how you hear, or why sounds are different.

Write a story using as many onomatopoeia-based words as you can.

Using the decibel information from the National Institute of Health, create one card for each sound. Have students place them in order. Use this chart if you'd like one card for every student in the class.

Using this National Weather Service site, have students estimate how far away the lightning is by measuring the time it takes for the thunder sound to travel. Use a video of thunder and lightning, or if you are lucky enough to experience an actual storm, do this in real time. You may wish to use the Thunderstorm Stopwatch to count the time intervals, and help students draw a number line to calculate the "divide by 5" step.

Create a ratio table comparing the pitch of bottles of water with the amount of water in each. Assign a value to each pitch or use the internet to find the numerical representation for each pitch.

Sound can make matter vibrate, and vibrating matter can make sound. Examples of vibrating materials that make sound could include tuning forks and plucking a stretched string. Examples of how sound can make matter vibrate could include holding a piece of paper near a speaker making sound and holding an object near a vibrating tuning fork.

Examples of devices could include paper cup and
string “telephones” and a pattern of drumbeats. People use a variety of devices to communicate (send and receive information) over long distances.

Animals have body parts that capture and convey different kinds of information needed for growth and survival. Animals respond to these inputs with behaviors that help them survive. Different animals use their body parts in different ways to see, hear, grasp objects, protect themselves, and move from place to place.

Energy is present whenever there are moving objects, sound, light or heat. When objects collide, energy can be transferred from one object to another. In such collisions, some energy is typically also transferred to the surrounding air; as a result, the air gets heated and sound is produced. Energy can also be transferred from place to place by electric currents, which can then be used locally to produce motion, sound, heat or light.

Examples of devices could include electric circuits that convert electrical energy into sound. Devices should be limited to those that convert motion energy into electric energy or use stored energy to produce sound. Possible solutions to a problem are limited by available materials and resources (constraints). The success of a designed solution is determined by considering the desired features of a solution (criteria). Different proposals for solutions can be compared on the basis of how well each one meets the specified criteria for success or how well each takes the constraints into account.

Waves are regular patterns of motion. Waves of the same type can differ in amplitude (height of the wave) and wavelength (spacing between wave peaks.) Examples of models could include diagrams, analogies, and physical models using wire to illustrate wavelength and amplitude of waves.

Examples of solutions could include drums sending coded information through sound waves.  Different solutions need to be tested in order to determine which of them best solves the problem, given the criteria and the constraints. Digitized information can be transmitted over long distances without significant degradation. High-tech devices can receive and decode information—convert it from digitized form to voice—and vice versa.

Different sense receptors are specialized for particular kinds of information, which may be then processed by the animal’s brain. Animals are able to use their perceptions and memories to guide their actions.

A simple wave has a repeating pattern with a specific wavelength, frequency, and amplitude. Emphasis is on describing waves with both qualitative and quantitative thinking.

A sound wave needs a medium through which it is transmitted.

Digitized signals (sent as wave pulses) are a reliable way to encode and transmit information. Emphasis is on a basic understanding that waves can be used for communication
purposes. Examples could include conversion of stored binary patterns to make sound.