Light and Sound
Light and Sound
Light and Sound
• Did you hear that sound? It was made by air vibrating. The
same is true for sounds made by musical instruments. The
difference between NOISE and MUSIC is that musical
sounds are organized into patterns that have pitch and
rhythm. Noise is just random, disorganized sounds. Sounds
are made and travel in the same way whether they are
musical sounds or noise.
• A musical sound is called a tone, and is produced by air
vibrating a certain number of times per second. These
vibrations are called waves.
EQ: What is sound?
• Sound is a form of energy, just like electricity
and light. Sound is made when air molecules
vibrate and move in a pattern called waves, or
sound waves.
• Think of when you clap your hands, or when you
slam the car door shut. That action produces
soundwaves, which travel to your ears and then to
your brain, which says, “I recognize that sound.”
• This is from Science Kids at Home.
SOUND
• Sound is a type of energy made by vibrations. When any object
vibrates, it causes movement in the air particles. These particles
bump into the particles close to them, which makes them vibrate
too causing them to bump into more air particles. This movement,
called sound waves, keeps going until they run out of energy. If
your ear is within range of the vibrations, you hear the sound.
• Picture a stone thrown into a still body of water. The rings of
waves expand indefinitely. The same is true with sound. Irregular
repeating sound waves create noise, while regular repeating waves
produce musical notes.
• When the vibrations are fast, you hear a high note. When the
vibrations are slow, it creates a low note. The sound waves in the
diagram show the different frequencies for high and low notes.
• Low frequency notes High frequency notes
Low Frequency Notes
High Frequency Notes
Quiz
1. The bending of a wave caused by the
change of speed that occurs when the
wave passes from one medium into
another is __________.