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Contents

• Introduction
• Kit Topics
• Objectives
• Themes and Concepts
• District Standards
• Assessment

Introduction

The Physics of Sound unit is a Full Option Science System (FOSS) kit created by the Lawrence Hall of Science at the University of California, Berkeley. It is published by Delta.

Sounds are important to our understanding of the world. They provide us with information about our environment and allow us to communicate across distances. Every object, when excited or energized, makes a distinctive sound that helps us to identify that object.

The Physics of Sound kit consists of four sequential activities, each designed to expose a specific set of concepts. Students are asked to observe, record, compare, and organize information they gather through investigations. They learn to discriminate between sounds generated by dropped objects, how sound travel through a variety of materials, how sounds get from a source to a receiver, and how sound can be made louder or softer, higher or lower. They learn that sounds are caused by vibrations.

Kit Topics

Activity 1: Dropping In

Part 1: Drop Challenge

Part 2: Drop Codes

Activity 2: How Sound Travels

Activitiy 3: Good Vibrations

Activity 4: Sound Challenges

Objectives

Students are expected to:

• observe and compare sounds to develop discrimination ability.
• communicate with others using a "Drop Code"
• learn that sound originates from a source that is vibrating and is detected at a receiver, such a the human ear.
• understand the relationship between the pitch of a sound and the physical properties of the sound source (i.e. length of vibrating object, frequency of the vibrations, or tension of vibrating string).
• compare methods to amplify sound at the source and at the receiver.
• use knowledge of the physics of sound to solve simple sound challenges.
• acquire the vocabulary associated with the physics of sound.
• exercise language and math skills in the context of the physics of sound.
• develop and refine the manipulative skills required for investigating sound.
• collaborate in working on mini-activities.
• gain experiences that will contribute to their understanding of several pervasive themes that relate one scientific idea to another: Pattern, Structure, and Interactions

Themes and Concepts

Activity 1: Dropping In

Themes:

• Pattern
• Structure

Concepts:

• Objects can be identified by the sound they make when dropped: the sounds are determined by the objects' properties.
• A code can be a set of sound signals representing letters or numbers.

Activity 2: How Sound Travels

Themes:

• Pattern
• Structure
• Interaction

Concepts:

• Sound receivers detect sounds. Ears are an example of a sound receiver.
• Sound can travel through solids, water, and air.

Activity 3: Good Vibrations

Themes:

• Pattern
• Structure
• Interaction

Concepts:

• Sounds begin at sources that are vibrating.
• The pitch of a vibrating object is related to the length of the object.
• The pitch of a sound made by a vibrating string is related to the tension on the string.

Activity 4: Sound Challenges

Themes:

• Structure
• Interaction

Concepts:

• The outer ear is designed to capture sounds.
• A megaphone can amplify sound either at the sound source or at the sound receiver.

District Standards

The Physics of Sound kit meets the following State/District Standards:

Standard 1: Students understand the processes of scientific investigation and design, conduct, communicate about, and evaluate such investigations (1.a, 1.b, 1.c, 1.d)

Standard 2: Phyical Science: Students know and understand common properties, forms, and changes in matter and energy. (2.1.a, 2.1.b, 2.2.a, 2.2.b, 2.2.c, 2.3.b, 2.3.c)

Standard 5: Students know and understand interrelationships among science, technology, and human activity and how they can affect the world. (5.a, 5.b, 5.c)

Standard 6: Students understand that science involves a particular way of knowing and understand common connections among scientific disciplines. (6.a, 6.b, 6.c, 6.d)

Assessment

There are three different types of assessments in the Physics of Sound kit. These assessments include Hands-on, Pictorial, and Reflective Questions. There are Teacher's Charts for each of these assessments. These charts allow teachers to determine if students mastered the concepts that were being tested. The assessments and charts are located in the assessment section of the teacher's guide.

This web page is maintained by Joan E. Grant.