Sound In Air
Aim:
To be able to describe how sound travels through air
What is sound?
VIBRATIONS
Extension: Also explain what these are.
A: When particles move back and forth, but stay in the same position
Sound travels through materials (or medium)
SOLIDS
Particles are
close together
LIQUIDS
GASES
Particles are far
apart
Sound travels faster in:
solids
Extension: Also explain why.
A: Because in solids the particles are closer together and so the
vibrations get passed on more easily
Test it – hit the table
Task 1 – Will sound be louder through a table or through air?
Hint: Think about the difference between solid and gas
Domino rally
• When vibrations or collisions travel we call it a
wave
Extension: Also give examples, through different
types of materials if possible
Solids: e.g. earthquakes
Liquids: e.g. whale song
Air: e.g. trumpet
Summary
When a sound is made , v__________
VIBRATE
VIBRATIONS cause air to v________
PARTICLES
WAVE
This causes air p___________
to collide and a w___________
travels
through the air.
A more complete answer might be:
When a table is hit, the particles in the table vibrate. The surface particles collide with air
particles next to the table and cause them to vibrate and move. These in turn collide with
further air particles in a domino effect. This creates a sound wave through the air to our ears.
Pupil particles
1. What do the pupils represent?
2. What happened when the first
pupil was ‘hit’ (made to move)?
3. How does this represent sound?
Possible Keywords
P__________
C_________
W______
V___________
D_________ e_________
Pupil particles
1. What do the pupils represent? 1. Particles
2. What happened when the first 2. There were collisions between
pupil was ‘hit’ (made to move)?
particles, which caused a
domino effect
3. How does this represent sound?
3. These collisions caused a
vibration or wave through the
Possible Keywords
pupil
particles.
Particles
Collisions
Waves
Vibrations
Domino effect
What is different for sound in air?
• How can we change the solid particles to be air particles?
Sound in Air
In air:
1. Particles are (further apart / closer together)
2. This makes it ( easier / harder) for sound to travel than in solids
Key points
In air:
1. Particles are (further apart /
2. This makes it (
)
/ harder) for sound to travel than in solids
Draw a diagram and use it to explain how
sound travels through air.
Higher level: Why is sound
louder through the
table??
Possible Keywords
Particles
Collisions
Waves
Vibrations
Domino effect
Key Ideas
When the table is hit:
A. Particles in the table v__________
B. They have c_________ with air p__________
C. Which have collisions with more air p___________
D. This causes a v_________ to travel through the air (or d______ e______)
E. We call this a sound w________
Key Ideas
When the table is hit:
A. Particles in the table vibrate
B. They have collisions with air particles
C. Which have collisions with more air particles
D. This causes a vibration to travel through the air (or a domino effect)
E. We call this a sound wave
Extension Questions
• Does all of the air move to one side?
• Does sound push air out of the way?
• Does wind push air out of the way?
• What happens to sound in wind? Why?