Physics of Sound

Jane and Sophie were playing a game in the pool.  Jane would ask a question andthen both girls would go under the water where Sophie would say the answer.  The girls observed that the sound was different under water.  Why is the sound different?

• Sophie didn’t speak loudly enough.
  

• Sound doesn’t vibrate in the water.

• Ears don’t receive sound under water.

• Sound moves differently through the water than the air.

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS4-2

You and your father inspect an empty house with the hopes of buying it. You walk through the rooms talking to one another, and you notice that your voices and footsteps are echoing in the big, empty house. What causes the echo?

• sound waves reflecting off smooth, flat surfaces throughout the house

• sound waves moving around the large rooms

• sound waves moving slowly through air

• sound waves refracting around corners in the empty rooms

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS4-2

The delay time between light of thunder and sound of thunder is 2 seconds. If the speed of sound at the air is 340 m/s, how far the thunder from you?

• 680 m

• 170 m

• 342 m

• 338 m

Dan was sitting outside playing his new drum when his dog knocked some sand on it.  Afterwards, each time Dan thumped the drum, he noticed the sand on top of the drum bounced.  Which of the following is the best explanation for why this happened?  

• Sand moves easily on drums.
  

• Dan was thumping the drum too hard.

• Vibrations moved from the drum to the sand.

• Vibrations moved from the sand to the drum.

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS4-1

NGSS.MS-PS4-2

Jaylen put a different amount of water into three different jars.  He tapped each of the jars with a spoon and found that the jar with the least amount of water has the highest pitch.  Jaylen added another jar, but left it empty.  What would be the pitch of the empty jar when tapped with a spoon?

• The pitch would be lower than the other jars.

• The pitch would be higher than the other jars.

• The pitch would not change, but the volume of the sound would increase.

• The pitch would not change, but the volume of the sound would decrease.

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS4-1

When tapped by a spoon, the jar with the most water has the lowest pitch of all three jars.  What does this say about the vibrations of jar with the most water?

• all the jars vibrate the same

• the jar with the most water vibrates faster than the other jars

• the jar with the most water vibrates slower than the other jars

• none of the jars vibrate 

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS4-1

As more water is added to the jars, the sound created by tapping itwith a spoon has a lower pitch.  What does this say about the volume?

• A lower pitch means the volume is softer.

• A lower pitch means the volume is louder.

• The volume does not change just because the pitch changes.

• There is no volume at all

Adjusting the amplitude of a wave changes....

• ...the height of the peaks and the depths of the troughs.

• ...the length of the waves.

• ...the frequency of the waves.

• ...the speed of the waves.

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS4-1

What is an echo

• deflected sound

• refracted sound

• reflected sound

• diffracted sound

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS4-2

What is ultrasound?

• Sound with a frequency higher than 20.000 Hz

• Sound with a frequency lower than 20 Hz

• Sound with a frequency 20 Hz

• sound with a frequency 20.000 Hz

Tags

NGSS.HS-PS4-1