Sound

   Written by: Elizabeth Mills 

Edited by: Emma Thomas

Do you know how sound works? Sound travels in waves, but sound can only travel if there are particles that the waves can cause to vibrate. Most of the sounds you hear move through the air. Air and other gasses have particles that vibrate as sound energy hits them. Liquids and solids are also made of particles, so sound waves can move through these materials, too. If there are no particles to move, then sound can’t travel like in space.

Do you know how to measure sound? We use decibels to measure sound. We use decibels to measure the volume of a sound. A whisper is 20 decibels and a plane taking off is 140 decibels. Anything over 85 decibels is bad for your ears if you listen to it for too long. If it is 140 or over, you could go deaf in the ear. 

Do you know what frequency, volume, vibrations, wave, and pitch are? Frequency is the number of vibrations that occur in a given unit of time, and Volume is the loudness of a sound. Vibrations are the disturbances of particles in the matter as a sound wave travels forward, and waves are the disturbance that carries energy. Also, the pitch is the highness or lowness of a sound. All of these are used to create sound.

        That is all you should know about sound and what it is made of. Do you want to do an activity? One activity is, if you have a drum, put rice on it. Then hit it, and you should see the rice vibrate on the drum. Another activity is if you put your hand on your throat, and make a sound you will feel, vibrations. That is all for sound!