Sound Energy

What is sound?

Sound is– A form of energy made by vibrations.

– When an object vibrates it causes the air particles around it to move.

– These particles bump into particles close to them and this continues until they run out of energy.

Try this:

Put your finger on your neck and say “aah” as loud as you can.

Now say it as soft as you can.

You can not only hear the sound, but you can feel the vibration inside your throat.

How does sound travel?

Sound travels through all forms of matter— gases, liquids and solid.

These are called the medium.

Sound cannot travel through a vacuum.

What is pitch?

Pitch is how high or how low a sound is.

This is a high pitched sound.

This is a low pitched sound.

Pitch is how high or how low a sound is.

This is a high pitched sound.

This is a low pitched sound.

How does sound travel?

Sound passes through the medium as longitudinal waves.

When the vibrations are fast you hear a high pitch. When they’re slow, you hear a low pitch.

High Pitch Low Pitch

Louder

Softer

How else can we change sound?

We can make it louder or softer by changing the amplitude of the height of the wave.

The higher the amplitude, the louder the sound. The lower the amplitude the softer the sound.

How do musical instruments create sound?

It depends on the type of instrument. There are four types.

– Woodwind– String– Percussion– Brass

Woodwinds Instruments

Woodwinds make music by blowing on the top of the instrument or on a reed.

Flute

Oboe

Clarinet

Bassoon

Piccolo

String Instruments

Strings make music by plucking or strumming the strings.

Violin

Cello

ElectricGuitar

Guitar Harp

Percussion Instruments

Percussion instruments make music by striking, shaking or scraping them.

Drum

Cymbals

Tambourine

Xylophone

Piano

Maracas

Brass Instruments

Brass instruments make music by buzzing lips while blowing.

French Horn

Trumpet

Trombone

Tuba

Did you know?

Sound travels 4 times faster through water than through air.

There is no sound in space.

Geologists use their knowledge of how sound travels through rocks to help them find oil fields.