Contents
Key Stage 1
We hear sound with our ears.
Meaning
Sound is something that we hear with our ears.
About Sound
- A sound can be loud or quiet.
- A sound can be low or high pitched.
Examples
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| The sound of a mouse's squeak is very 'high pitched'. | A tuba makes a deep or 'low pitched' sound. |
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| 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
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| 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
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| 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
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| The shorter strings on a harp make a higher pitched sound. |
Tightness of Strings
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| The pegs on the end of a stringed instrument can make the strings tighter or looser. |
Volume
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| 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 longitudinal wave of compression that can pass through a material.
About Sound
- Sound waves can pass through solids, liquids and gases but sound cannot pass through a vacuum.
- Sound is transmitted by particles colliding with one another.
- 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.
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| This is animation shows how sound travels along a material by particles colliding with one another. |
| Sound Waves |
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| This animation shows a speaker creating a sound by making a wave of compression (dark grey) that passes through the air. |