Lesson 1

Unit Title: Sound and Hearing
Caretaker: DO

Unit No   
 8L

Lesson Title: Sound Advice

NC Ref: 
 

Objectives:    

MK - Sound is made by vibrations and is a form of energy. Sounds have loudness and pitch
SK - The loudness of a sound is called Intensity
CK - That particles vibrate

Lesson outline: 

Starter activity:
 Ask the class for any words associated with sound.  Eg music, notes, bangs, pitch etc. List them on the board and highlight any key words . Draw out their ideas on what pitch is . They will need to know the difference between high and low pitch during the practical session.

Main course:
 A sound circus should be set up around the room. The class visits each activity. They make notes in their books on what is causing the sound and how they can change the loudness and pitch of the sound.

Pull the activity together by going round the circus and discussing each one. Draw out their ideas and conclusions. They should have found that 

• sound is caused by something vibrating. 

• to make a sound louder, we can increase the size of the vibration

• to change the pitch, we can :SEVERAL IDEAS HERE 

                   Change the tension of the strings         Change the thickness of the strings

                          Change the size of the thing that is vibrating

Notes in books 

Practical to make a musical instrument

They could use a selection of different materials to create some thing that they could play a tune on. It could be as simple as rubber bands stretched over an empty margarine tub, or filling different containers with water and tapping out a tune  or stretching strings over a tray, using different sized masses to put the strings in tension. Could turn this into a competition to see who makes the best one

Plenary: Groups show the class what they have made and how they changed the intensity and pitch of the sound
 

Timings:

10

15

5

20

10

Homework Suggestion: 
 Draw a diagram of their instrument and how they changed the intensity and pitch

none
 

Resources: 
 A sound circus comprising of: a guitar, a sonameter, a drum, a cymbal, tuning forks and beakers of water, a recorder or other wind instrument, a signal generator and large loudspeaker with some grains of rice, several bottles filled with water to different levels,

Materials to make instruments: rubber bands, bottles, string (different thicknesses), masses, empty trays, margarine tubs

Lesson 2 

Unit Title: Sound and Hearing
Caretaker: DO

Unit No   
 8L

Lesson Title: Music to your ears

NC Ref: 
 

Objectives:    

MK - How pitch and loudness of a note are changed
SK - How pitch and frequency, loudness and amplitude are related. Key words: wavelength, frequency, amplitude, Hertz, oscilloscope
CK - Light and sound are examples of transverse and longitudinal waves. Key words: compressions and rarefactions

Lesson outline: 

Starter activity:
 Question : How does sound travel??  Put their ideas on the board. The use a slinky spring to explain that sound travels as a wave. Top sets could be shown the difference between transverse and longitudinal waves. 

Question: What would the waves of loud, quiet, high pitch and low pitch sounds look like???

Main course

Class copy a diagram of a transverse wave and label with wavelength, amplitude. Also put down the definitions. Also explain the meaning of frequency ( and units - Hertz Hz ) and put that definition with diagram

Demo  Use a signal generator and oscilloscope to show loud and quiet sounds ( high and low intensity ). Also show high and low pitch sounds. They should see loud sounds have a larger amplitude and high pitch sounds have a high frequency and their waves are closer together. Let them make sounds into a microphone.

notes  diagrams to show what they have just seen. Use diagrams and notes in boardworks if you wish

Worksheet to do based on what they have just learned Worksheet 8Lb3

Plenary: Draw a wave in the centre of the board. Ask pupils to draw a wave that is: louder, quieter, higher pitched etc 

Timings:

10

10

10

10

10

10

Homework Suggestion: 
 Learn the key points of the lesson for a slip test next lesson

Resources: 

Signal generator, oscilloscope, microphone, loudspeaker
 

Lesson 3  

Unit Title: Sound and Hearing
Caretaker: DO

Unit No   
 8L

Lesson Title: Sound Travelling Light

NC Ref: 
 

Objectives:    

MK - Sound needs a medium to travel through. Sound cannot go through a vacuum but light can. Key word: vacuum
SK - The denser the medium, the closer the particles, the faster sound travels
CK - Sound travels fastest in solids and slowest in gases

Lesson outline: 

Starter activity:
 Start with a the simple Worksheet 8Lc2

Go through each situation on the worksheet with them. They need to know that sound can travel through gases, liquids and solids but not a vacuum

Main course:
 

Demo the bell in the jar to show sound cannot travel through a vacuum. You may need to explain exactly what a vacuum is

Ask the class which medium sound will travel through fastest: gas, liquid or solid. Put it to a vote and write results on the board. Also ask which will travel fastest Light or Sound. Again put it to a vote

Watch the video sci eye - hearing and sound (newer) (video 54, on the network) This video also covers the ear, so could be viewed again, in part, during the lesson on the ear.

Review the vote

Draw diagrams of the atomic structure of solids, liquids and gases on the board. Use them to explain why sound travels faster in solids than gases

Class copy diagrams off the board and add their own notes (in their own words)

Plenary: Use Q+A to summarise the key points of the lesson
 

Homework:   Worksheet 8Lc3

Resources:  Bell jar and vacuum pump, Video 54

Worksheets:  Worksheet 8Lc3

Risk Assessment:

Care should be taken with the vacuum pump  Do not let pupils use it  It has never happened to me but I have heard it can give you a nasty suck

Timings:

10

10

5

20

15

Lesson 4 

Unit Title: Sound and Hearing
Caretaker: DO

Unit No   
 8L

Lesson Title: 'Ear, 'Ear

NC Ref: 
 

Objectives:    

MK - Ears change sound energy to electrical energy. Loud sounds damage ears. Key words: ear drum and inner ear
SK - The brain translates electrical signals. Name some parts of the ear. Sound causes ear drum to vibrate. People have different audible ranges. Key words: Cochlea, auditory nerve, audible range
CK - Some animals use ultrasound. Key words : ultrasound, sonar, refraction

Lesson outline: 

Starter activity:
 Show the class the large model of the ear. Give the names of all the parts and explain how sound passes through the ear.

Main course:
 Use Worksheet 8Ld2. They cut and stick a jigsaw of the ear and label it up

Show them the large model ear again. Make sure they can name all the bits. Ask them if they can explain how the sound travels through the ear, and where the sound signal (energy) is changed into an electrical signal (energy)

Could  get them to explain how sound travels through the ear in their own words in their books

Or Use Exploring Science 8 page 146 and do the questions

Or Show the video clip from last lesson (or just the relevant bits)

Plenary:
  Ask groups to explain what they have learned about the ear during the lesson

Timings:

15

15

10

15

5

Homework Suggestion: 
 Either: Worksheet 8Ld3  Or  They have to find out what the units of sound intesity are (decibels )

Resources: 
 The large model of the ear,  Scissors and glue

Lesson 5 

Unit Title: Sound and Hearing
Caretaker: DO

Unit No   
 8L

Lesson Title: Annoyed by Noise

NC Ref: 
 

Objectives:    

MK - Unpleasant sounds are called noise. Sound proofing can reduce noise. Key words: noise, sound proofing
SK - Decibel is unit of sound. Key words: decibel, sound intensity, sound intensity meter, threshold of hearing
CK - How different ear protectors work, decibel is not an ordinary scale

Lesson outline: 

Starter activity:
 Make 2 columns on the board. Ask class to give some pleasant sounds and some annoying sounds. Label one column Sound and the other Noise. Explain that annoying sound is called noise, and we can reduce unwanted noise by soundproofing

Main course:
   

Class use materials to make a box ( which should be able to be opened) which is soundproofed. They place an electric bell inside. The sound level is measured from the outside at a measured distance. The winner is the one who reduced the noise the most.

Use the book Exploring Science 8 page 148

They read the double spread and answer the question. They could also copy down the Cartoon of the sound levels.

Plenary: Volunteers to see who can shout the loudest

Timings:

5

25

25

5

Homework Suggestion: 

Worksheet 8Le3

Resources: 

Cardboard boxes (empty A4 paper boxes from resources) , Materials for soundproofing ( clothes, cotton wool, bubble wrap, anything else that is handy)
 

Worksheet 8Le3