OFF THE WALL

PROBLEM: Does sound travel through a wall?

RESEARCH: Find out what causes sound. Does sound travel better in a solid, a liquid, or a gas?

HYPOTHESIS: Based on your research, do you think the sound will travel through a solid object?

MATERIALS:

          a drinking glass (it will work best if it is made of glass)

          hard object (such as a rock or hammer)

          building with a corner (the corner of your house will work)          

PROCEDURE:

1. Hold the open end of the glass up to the side of the building and press your ear flat against the bottom of the glass.

2. Have your partner tap with the hard object against the building, around the corner, but near you. Record your observations.

3. Try again in the middle of the wall, and at the far corner.

4. Take your ear away from the glass and have your partner tap the wall. Did you hear the sound better when your ear was against the glass or when it was away from the glass?

5. Enrichment: Ask your partner to trade places with you and record his observations.

DATA: Make a chart to record your observations.

CONCLUSION: This is not optional. You must explain what you learned by doing this activity.

Remember that you must answer the question you asked in your original problem statement.

NOTE: BE SURE TO HAVE YOUR PARENT OR GUARDIAN SIGNS YOUR WORK. PARENTS: YOUR SIGNATURE SHOWS YOUR STUDENT HAS DONE THE WORK.

TEACHER SECTION:

POSSIBLE HYPOTHESIS: Sound will travel through the wall and it will sound different from the same sound traveling through air. It will be louder when the object is tapped closer to the listener and quieter when it is tapped farther away from the listener.

POSSIBLE CONCLUSION: The student should discuss his observations. The observations should include that he did hear the taping and it was louder when it was close and quieter when farther. There should also be some discussion that he can hear the sounds better through the wall than in the air.

E-Mail

Judy Schneider

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