Young Science Explorers | Science of Sound

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Sound Science February 2015  Learn all about sound waves, echolocation, and more. Plus, do a simple project using materials you have at home, that demonstrates how sound travels through water and air.     Get the project > >    More science for ages 4-9 with HST:   Extra-large Slinky $6.50 Cross Section Ear Model $18.95 Science Lesson: States of Matter What is sound? Sound is caused when objects vibrate (move back and forth very quickly). Vibrations create sound waves that can travel in all different directions through air, water, and lots of other materials. When sound waves are spread out, the sound we hear is quiet. When they are clumped together, the sound is much louder. When sound waves enter your ear, they hit your eardrum and make it vibrate. The tiny vibrations move through your ear like a light shining through a long tunnel until they get to some nerves at the end of your ear. The nerves take them to your brain where they turn into the sound that you hear! Because sound travels very quickly, this all happens before we even have a chance to think about it. Sound can move through all states of matter—gas (such as air), liquid (such as water), and even solids (such as wood or metal). Since molecules in liquids are closer together than those in a gas, sound travels more quickly in water than in air—more than four times faster! That’s because vibrations pass more easily from one molecule to the next when they are close together. Get complete science lesson > >

Mother dolphins whistle to their newborn babies almost continuously for several days, which helps the baby learn to recognize its mother. Dogs and some other animals can hear sounds humans can’t (sounds that travel at a higher frequency than human ears can detect). Your ears houses the three smallest bones in your body and they help you hear: the hammer (its scientific name is malleus), anvil (incus), and stirrup (stapes). What is orange and sounds like a parrot? A carrot. What bird can often be heard at mealtimes? A swallow. What is so delicate that simply saying its name breaks it? Silence.   Learn about pitch by watching a short video. Click through to see alabeled ear diagram. Play these fun animal sounds for your family and see if they can guess which animals made them!  Newsletter Feedback If you have any feedback about this newsletter, please feel free to send us an email.