New
New
Year 4

Sound insulation

I can investigate which materials are good sound insulators and describe how these are used in everyday life.

New
New
Year 4

Sound insulation

I can investigate which materials are good sound insulators and describe how these are used in everyday life.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Some materials do not allow sound to pass through them easily. They are better at absorbing sound.
  2. Materials that are better at absorbing sound waves are called sound insulators.
  3. Scientists carry out investigations to find out which materials are good sound insulators.
  4. Sound insulators are often soft materials with empty spaces in them, so sound does not pass through them easily.
  5. Scientists and engineers use their knowledge of sound to design rooms and buildings to reduce the volume of sound.

Keywords

  • Sound - We hear sound with our ears.

  • Materials - Materials are the things that objects are made from such as wood, metal or plastic.

  • Absorb - Absorb means to soak up or take in.

  • Sound insulator - A sound insulator does not allow sound to pass through it easily.

  • Volume - The volume of a sound is how loud or quiet the sound is.

Common misconception

Children may think that sound travels through all solid materials in the same way.

The investigation in this lesson allows children to find out for themselves, first-hand, that sound does not travel through all solid materials in the same way and that some materials are better sound insulators than others.

When measuring the volume of sounds through different materials, it is important to have the same piece of music playing at a constant volume so that this does not affect the results.
Teacher tip

Equipment

See additional materials for further guidance.

Content guidance

  • Risk assessment required - equipment
  • Exploration of objects

Supervision

Adult supervision required

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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6 Questions

Q1.
Sound needs to travel through a in order to be heard.
An image in a quiz
Correct Answer: medium, Medium
Q2.
What vibrates when we hear someone playing a piano?
An image in a quiz
Correct answer: the strings inside the piano
Correct answer: the eardrum
Correct answer: the air
the person's fingers
Q3.
You cannot hear sounds in outer space because ...
An image in a quiz
there is no one in space to hear it.
Correct answer: there is no air in outer space.
it is too quiet.
Q4.
You use a sound sensor inside a __________ to measure the volume of sounds accurately.
An image in a quiz
Correct answer: data logger
human ear
decibel
Q5.
Volume describes ...
how you make an object vibrate to make a sound.
how high or low a sound is.
Correct answer: how loud or quiet a sound is.
Q6.
Volume of sound is measured in ...
Correct Answer: decibels, dB, decibels.
Q3 Visualization by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center based on data from the Earth Observation Group, NOAA National Geophysical Data Center

6 Questions

Q1.
Some materials do not let sound pass through them easily. That's because they ...
are not an example of a medium.
reflect sounds.
Correct answer: absorb sounds.
Q2.
Materials that are good at absorbing sounds are called sound .
An image in a quiz
Correct Answer: insulators, Insulators
Q3.
How do scientists find out if a material is a good sound insulator?
They hold the material up to the light.
Correct answer: They carry out investigations.
They ask lots of questions.
Q4.
Sound insulators are often soft materials. This is because ...
An image in a quiz
you can hold them better to shout into them.
Correct answer: they have air spaces so sound cannot pass through them as easily.
they look better to decorate with.
Q5.
Who might use their knowledge of sound to design rooms and buildings to reduce the volume of sounds?
An image in a quiz
the police
teachers
Correct answer: scientists and engineers
Q6.
Put these materials in order from the best sound insulator to the worst sound insulator.
1 - thick heavy fabric
2 - cardboard
3 - steel

Additional material

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