Sound

Key Stage 1

We hear sound with our ears.

Meaning

Sound is something that we hear with our ears.

Singular Noun: Sound

Plural Noun: Sounds

Verb: Sound

About Sound

A sound can be loud or quiet.

A sound can be low or high pitched.

Examples

The sound of a mouse's squeak is very 'high pitched'.	A tuba makes a deep or 'low pitched' sound.
Shouting, screaming and yelling are all loud sounds.	Whispering is a very quiet sound.

Key Stage 2

Meaning

Sound is a vibration that passes through the air to our ears.

About Sound

Sounds are caused by materials vibrating.

Sound has to travel through a medium. If there is no medium, sound cannot get form one place to another.

Sound travels through the air because it makes the air vibrate. If there were no air sound could not travel to our ears.

Sounds can be high or low pitched.

Sounds can be loud or quiet.

Pitch

Size

The size of an instrument can affect the pitch. Bigger instruments make a lower pitch sound.

A small 'soprano' saxophone makes a high pitched sound.	An 'alto' saxophone makes the second highest pitch.	A tenor saxophone makes the second lowest pitch.	A large 'bass' saxophone makes a low pitched sound.

Thickness of Strings

Thicker strings make lower pitched sounds.

A regular guitar has thin strings and can make high pitched sounds.	A 'bass' guitar has thick strings and makes low pitched sounds.

Length of Strings

The shorter the strings, the higher pitched a sound.

The shorter strings on a harp make a higher pitched sound.

Tightness of Strings

The tighter the strings the higher pitched the sound.

The pegs on the end of a stringed instrument can make the strings tighter or looser.

Volume

The bigger the vibration, the louder the sound.

When you hit a drum hard, it makes a louder sound because the vibration is bigger.	When you pluck a guitar string harder, it makes a louder sound because the vibration is bigger.	Blow harder down a tube it makes a louder sound because the vibration is bigger.

Key Stage 3

Meaning

Sound is a wave of compression that can pass through a material.

About Sound

Sound is a longitudinal wave.

Sound is transmitted by particles colliding with one another.

The speed of sound through air is 340m/s.

This is animation shows how sound travels along a material by particles colliding with one another.

Sound Waves

This animation shows a speaker creating a sound by making a wave of compression (dark grey) that passes through the air.

Medium

Sound waves can pass through solids, liquids and gases but sound cannot pass through a vacuum.

Sound travels fastest through a solid because the particles are already touching so they have little distance to travel to pass on the vibration.

Sound travels the slowest through a gas because the particles in a gas are spread far apart so they take some time before they collide with the next particle to pass on the vibration.

A diagram showing the particle model for solids, liquids and gases.

The speed of sound through air is 340m/s.

Sound Volume

The volume of a sound is how loud or quiet it is.

Volume is determined by the amplitude of the wave (how much the wave vibrates).

Longitudinal Waves cannot be easily pictured so they are represented by Transverse Waves on an Oscilloscope screen.

This is a high amplitude wave showing a sound with a high volume, so it is loud.		This is a low amplitude wave showing a sound with a low volume so it is quiet.

Pitch

A sound can be a high pitch or low pitch.

Pitch is determined by the frequency of the wave (how quickly the wave vibrates).

Longitudinal Waves cannot be easily pictured so they are represented by Transverse Waves on an Oscilloscope screen.

This is a low frequency wave showing a sound with a low pitch, so it is a deep sound.		This is a high frequency wave showing a sound with a high pitch.