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Sound Experiments

Try some of these sound experiments - they are fun!

 

Coke Bottle Scales
Collect eight glass softdrink bottles. Fill the bottles with different amounts of water, from full to empty. You can make different sounds by blowing across the top of the bottles or by hitting them with a spoon. Can you play a tune on your bottles?

Speed of Sound
Go out to the back field. Using a cymbal or a metal lid or any large object that will make sound when struck. Get the person making the noise to stand a long way from everyone else, and note the time delay between what you see and what you hear. The delay gets bigger the further you move away.

Vibrating Rulers
Place a ruler on a desk or table so that part of it hangs over the edge. Push down on the overhanging end of the ruler and release quickly. Listen for the sound. By adjusting the amount of overhang, the pitch is changed. By increasing and decreasing the pressure, volume or loudness is changed.

Tuning Fork Tricks
Using a tuning fork and a sound box, desk top, or table top, show the relationship between vibrations and sound. Strike the tuning fork on the palm of the hand and place it on the sound box or desk top. Ask children to place their hands on the surface and feel the vibrations. As an alternative, the tuning fork can be struck and placed in a container of water.

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