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Noise: Good Vibrations

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Noise: Good Vibrations cover showing sound engineers preparing for a test. The image is in a duotone blue color.

Audience

Educators

Grade Levels

Grades K-4, Grades 5-8, Grades 9-12

Subject

Physical Science, Waves, Energy, Flight and Aeronautics, Forces and Motion, Sound

Type

Educator Guides, Hands-on Activities, Lesson Plans / Activities

Noise: Good Vibrations

The Noise: Good Vibrations lesson will help students learn about transfer of energy, motions and forces, and interactions of energy and matter as they learn about the following concepts:

  1. Several principles of sound.
  2. Noise from aircraft is a growing problem that NASA along with many others are working to reduce the amount of
  3. All sounds are caused by vibrations.
  4. Vibrations can be sensed in several ways (hearing, seeing and touching).
  5. Pitch is related to the speed or rate of vibration.
  6. Resonance
  7. Natural frequency of an object.

Noise: Good Vibrations (K-8)

Noise: Good Vibrations (9-12)

Time Required:
60 minutes

National Science Standards Addressed:

Science K-4:

  • Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry
  • Understanding about scientific inquiry
  • Properties of objects and materials
  • Position and motion of objects
  • Abilities of technological design
  • Understanding about science and technology
  • Personal health
  • Characteristics and changes in populations
  • Changes in environments
  • Science and technology in local challenges
  • Science as a human endeavor

Science 5-8:

  • Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry
  • Understanding about scientific inquiry
  • Motions and forces
  • Transfer of energy
  • Personal health
  • Populations, resources, and environments
  • Risks and benefits
  • Science and technology in society
  • Abilities of technological design
  • Understanding about science and technology

Science 9-12:

  • Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry
  • Understanding about scientific inquiry
  • Motions and forces
  • Interactions of energy an
  • Transfer of energy
  • Personal and community health
  • Environmental quality
  • Natural and human-induced hazards
  • Science and technology in local, national, and global challenges
  • Abilities of technological design
  • Understanding about science and technology

Topic: Sound, Vibrations, Waves, Noise, Frequency, Ptich, Beats, Resonance

Description: Three activities/demonstrations will help participants understand underlying concepts about sound.

  1. Tuning Forks Activity: Participants will engage in a series of demonstrations that illustrate the concept of vibrations, pitch, frequency, and beats.
  2. Thunder Drum Demonstration: Participants will see how adding a simple spring to the design of this drum results in some very unusual sounds.
  3. Resonator Activity: Participants will understand the concepts of natural frequency and resonance. They will directly observe resonance in a pair of demonstrations using a series of wooden dowels. In the first demonstration, four wooden dowels of various lengths are placed in the wooden base, which is then rocked back and forth. The different-size wooden dowels resonate at different times as the frequency of the back-and-forth motion of the base is varied. In the second demonstration, dowels of different diameter are used – varying the frequency of the back-and-forth motion of the wooden base again causes the dowels to achieve resonance at different times.

This activity is part of the Museum in a Box Lessons