Name ___________________________________ Date ___________________________________
Energy Transfer Simulation
Sound CD-ROM
Activity 1
Introduction
Your favorite song, a crowd cheering at a ball game, a passing car, your friend’s voice: every sound you
hear travels in waves that spread out from the sound’s source. What makes these waves – and the whole
reason sound travels – are air molecules that push against each other. When a force acts over a distance,
work is performed. Work is a form of energy. So, air molecules pushing against each other are the basis of
a sound wave. As a sound wave moves through air, energy is transferred from one place to another. Sound
can travel through solids and liquids in the same way – passing energy between molecules.
Directions
Use the simulation to compare how sound waves are transmitted through different mediums.
Procedures
1. From the Main Screen select the Simulations icon. Then click the Energy Transfer icon.
2. Read Start Here and close the window. For more information, click Background and close the
window. For detailed directions, click Help and read “How to Use this Simulation.”
3.
4.
Trial 1 Click Type of Energy and select Sound Waves. Click Medium and select Solid (Granite).
Next, click Detect Energy. Was the energy transmitted across the medium? How were the energy
waves detected? How much energy was transferred? (Note: These are rough estimations, using a
simple scale of 1-6.) Record your results in the chart below.
See how this same type of energy is transmitted through the other mediums: liquid (water), gas (air),
and a vacuum. Select each Medium, click Detect Energy, and record the results below. When you’re
done, click Reset.
Energy Type
Medium
Transmitted?
(Yes/No)
How was the energy
detected?
Amount of
Energy
(scale of 1-6)
TRIAL
1
5.
Through which medium do sound waves transmit the most amount of energy? Which medium does not
transmit sound waves at all?
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6.
Molecules are packed more densely in solids than liquids, and more densely in liquids than in gases.
With this in mind, since a sound wave consists of molecules pushing against each other, through which
medium do you think sound travels fastest, granite or air? Do you think sound travels faster through
water or air?
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7.
Imagine you put your ear directly to a table and knock. Would it be louder or softer than if you took
your ear away? Why?
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