TeacherP: January 2020

What else can you learn about sound and waves? Try out a few of these activities and take notes about what you learned.

Try out this online oscilloscope. Use these questions to guide you.

Sounds that are a mix of pitches make messy waves. Can you find a sound that makes a simple wave? (Try whistling.)
What happens to the oscilloscope picture when you make a sound louder or softer?
What happens when you make a sound higher or lower?

What is the highest and lowest pitch that you can hear?

The video starts with a tone so low you probably can't hear it. Keep listening.
When you do you start hearing the hum? Notice when it gets so high you can't hear it anymore.
While you're listening, watch the waves. They change with the pitch — from long wavelengths to short.

Video: Singing Roads

The pitch of a sound — how high or low it is — depends on the vibration that made the sound. The quicker the vibration goes back and forth, the higher the sound.
On this singing road, the vibrations of a car play a tune. Bumps in the road called rumble strips make the car vibrate.
Which set of rumble strips plays the higher note?

Now Hear This! The sound designed to drive teenagers away.