Sound vibrations
I can describe how sounds are caused and explain what sets the volume and pitch of a sound.
Sound vibrations
I can describe how sounds are caused and explain what sets the volume and pitch of a sound.
These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- All sounds are caused by vibrations. Some vibrations are too small or too fast to see.
- The volume of a sound means how loud or quiet it is. The pitch of a sound means how high or low it is.
- Amplitude is a measure of the distance or size of a vibration. The greater the amplitude, the louder a sound.
- Frequency is a measure of how often the vibrations occur. The greater the frequency, the higher the pitch.
- Sounds of different volume and pitch can be produced by controlling the amplitude and frequency of vibrations.
Keywords
Volume - Describes the loudness of a sound.
Pitch - Describes how high or low a note is.
Vibration - A repeated back and forth movement.
Amplitude - Measures the size of a vibration, i.e. how far an object vibrates.
Frequency - The number of vibrations that occur every second.
Common misconception
Pupils often do not use the concept of vibrations to explain the source of a sound, if the vibrations are not obvious, such as vibrating air in a wind instrument or from two stones knocked together.
Include examples of sounds caused by vibrations that are not caused by something that is obviously vibrating, such as a string in a stringed instrument.
Equipment
Detailed in the Additional Materials (teacher and technican notes).
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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Starter quiz
6 Questions
how high or low the note of a sound is
a regular, repeating back and forth movement
how loud or quiet a sound is
a guitar string plucked normally
a guitar sting plucked very gently
a guitar plucked with a lot of force