Sound Devices

The following students made devices to communicate with friends across the room.

Student 1: Uses paper to make a megaphone

Student 2: Uses cups and strings to make a telephone

Student 3: Uses metal cans to build a drum

What is similar about how all three of these devices will be used to communicate?

• Only students 1 and 2 created a device to communicate with sound.

• They are all created in order to speak to one person to another.

• They will all produce vibrations, which will result in a sound.

• They are all created in order to communicate with light.

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS4-2

Madelyn and Andrew are using a rubber band, 2 markers, and a box to learn about pitch. First, they stretch a rubber band around a box. Next, they place markers under the rubber band. They can move these markers to make the section of the rubber band that’s being plucked shorter and longer. 

Andrew makes a sound by placing the markers as seen in the picture below. He plucks the rubber band with his finger. 

             

Madelyn wants to make a higher pitch sound than the one that Andrew made. Which picture shows how she should place the markers so that when she plucks the rubber band, it will result in a higher pitch?

• 
• 
• 

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS4-1

Students are going camping and are creating a signal sound to use whenever they want their friends to come find them. Which of the following can the students do?

• The students should use mirrors to reflect light across the campsite.

• The students should create a campfire to send smoke signals.

• The students should use flashlights and point them at the sky.

• The students should use whistles made out of clay.

Tags

NGSS.MS-ETS1-1

NGSS.MS-ETS1-2

Santiago is investigating how to produce a sound. He taps a metal fork with a metal spoon. What will most likely happen?

• The fork vibrates and makes a sound.

• The fork does not vibrate or make a sound.

• The fork vibrates but does not make a sound.

• The fork does not vibrate but does make a sound.

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS4-1

What will happen if you pluck a guitar string with more force?

• The pitch will get higher.

• The pitch will get lower.

• The volume will get louder.

• The volume will get softer.

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS4-1

Fourth grade students all created different ways to investigate sound.

Group 1: Wrapped rubber bands around a shoe box.

Group 2: Hang a ruler off the edge of a desk.

Which of the following will both groups encounter when producing sound?

• Only group 1 will hear sound because rubber bands are used to create vibrations when pulled on.

• Both groups will have an object that will create a response with a sound and vibrating objects.

• Only group 2 will hear sound because the ruler will vibrate and create a sound.

• Both groups will hear a sound, but only group 1 will observe vibrations.

Tags

NGSS.4-PS3-2

NGSS.4-PS4-1

Ben is playing outside. He wants his brother to come outside and play with him. Ben

bangs on his drum to signal his brother inside the house. What did Ben's device use to communicate information?

• wind

• heat

• light

• sound

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS1-8

A waterproof speaker is lowered into a pool.  What happens when music is played through the speaker?

• The speaker vibrates and makes a sound.

• The speaker does not vibrate nor make a sound.

• The speaker vibrates but does not make a sound.

• The speaker does not vibrate but does make a sound.

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS4-1

NGSS.MS-PS4-2

Annie is working on her plan to create a device that will use sound waves to communicate yes or no answers to her friend’s questions. She fills two glass bottles with the same amount of water. The picture shows her device. She will tap each of the bottles once with a spoon to create two different sounds. One bottle will produce a high pitch sound when tapped with the spoon, and the other bottle will make a low pitch sound. She explains to her friend that the lower pitch means “no” and the higher pitch means “yes.” Will her device be able to communicate the yes or no messages using different pitches?

• Yes, she will be able to create different pitches of sound because both bottles are filled with water all the way to the top.

• Yes, she will be able to create different pitches of sound if she hits one bottle lightly and the other bottle very hard.

• No, she will not be able to produce any sound at all because the jars are filled with water.

• No, she will not be able to produce different pitches. Both bottles will have the same pitch when tapped with the spoon because the water levels are the same.

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS4-1

How does sound travel when someone knocks on a wooden door?

• vibrations stop sound waves from entering the door

• vibrations bounce sound waves off of the door

• sound waves carry vibrations through the door

• sound waves bounce vibrations off the door

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS4-1

NGSS.MS-PS4-2