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• Electricity
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Ages 8–12

Independent thinking. Real science. Deeper projects.

• Energy
• Extreme Magnetism
• Sound
• Light – Part II
• Charge
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• Chemistry:
  The Alphabet of the Universe
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Preview a real lesson (Sound — Lesson 5 of 8)

This is an actual ScienceWiz lesson so you can see the format. You don’t need to finish it now.

What did you do last time? parabola reflect echo wave absorb longitudinal PRINT the word next
to the image on the next slide.

Sound-L5

Label Reflect

Label Longitudinal

Label Wave

Label Absorb

Label Echo

Label Parabola

Submit

If you are human, leave this field blank.

Louder!
Louder!
Louder!
Volume describes
whether a sound is
LOUD or SOFT.
Shouting is LOUD in volume!
Loud sounds use a lot of energy.
2 The harder you hit a drum,
the more it will vibrate.

The more the drum vibrates,
the louder the sound will be.
1 How LOUD is loud? Drums OR
spoons and
pans can be
very loud, too. Shout, really SHOUT! Now measure sound
VIBRATIONS with Bouncy Balls! SHOUT!
How HIGH
can you make
the balls bounce? 3 You are about
to go to
"Bouncy Balls." It will
open
in a
NEW TAB 4 BE SURE
to TURN ON THE MIC! Click to LINK to
Bouncy Balls. 1 2 What did you observe? The louder the sound
the higher the balls bounced! And the GREATER the Be sure that
the app shows sound vibrations. 1 Download Audacity is FREE.
(for desktops or laptops) 2 or - GO TO the app store.
Search for "free voice recorder."
Install Now record your own voice. 2 Select RECORD.
After you install, be sure to give it mic access.
1 3 Voice Print Voice prints are
as unique as fingerprints!
4 How unique
is your voice print?
Record a LOUD sound
followed by the same
sound spoken SOFTLY. Watch your “voice print”
as you speak into the mic.
4 Let’s apply a scientific description to your observations.
Louder Softer How does the voice print
of the LOUDER sound differ
from that of the SOFTER sound?

Is the difference obvious?
Lower height
or amplitude amplitude amplitude The HEIGHT of a wave is called amplitude. Taller height
or amplitude Amplitude Look at these two diagrams of a simple wave.
Which wave is “taller” and which wave is “shorter?” The blue wave is taller
and has greater amplitude. Below are two waves (blue and red)
that are superimposed, one on top of the other.
Which of these two separate waves is taller
or has the greater amplitude? The LOUDER the sound, the GREATER the height
or AMPLITUDE of the sound waves.
Now compare the sound waves
you recorded on your device. Louder
Softer
How does the amplitude
of the LOUDER sound
compare to the amplitude
of the SOFTER sound? The volume of sound
is measured in decibels (dB).

Like a temperature scale
on a thermometer,
the decibel scale
can go below zero.
USING A DECIBEL METER Let's
MEASURE
decibels! The average person can hear sounds down to about 0 dB.

That is quiet, indeed.

Rustling leaves
are about 20 dB.

Some people,
with very good hearing,
can even hear sounds
down to -15 dB. Search for "decibel meter free".
Download and install. The app stores
for digital devices
provide
FREE
decibel
meters. Yodeling Here are some suggestions. Start measuring the volume of SOUNDS!
Record your
measurements.

Repeat each
measurement
2-3 times.

Does the volume
measured (in dB)
change
with distance
from the sound?





Chart
One difficulty with
measuring soft sounds
is that the background
or ambient noise
around you interferes.

Even a quiet room
can have ambient
noise levels of
almost 40 dB! What's the LOUDEST? Just keep multiplying by 10.
This is a logarithmic scale.

When a sound increases by 10 decibels,
it is actually getting
10 times louder! 20 decibels is 10 times louder
      than 10 decibels.

30 decibels is 100 times
      (10 X 10) louder than 10 decibels.

40 decibels is 1,000 times
       (10 x 10 x 10) louder than 10 decibels. Advanced:
Useful if you know
scientific notation. YES! Are there
dangerous levels of sound
that you should avoid? WARNING!
85 decibels or higher
can cause permanent damage
and lead to hearing loss!
Does the duration of a loud noise
affect the level of damage? YES!!
The greater the dB,
the shorter the amount of time it takes
to cause permanent damage.

What is the DANGER LEVEL
in decibels, that can
permanently damage your hearing?
Gas Lawn Mower
(85-95 dB)

(Unsafe: limit use to
about 1 hr per week) 30 40 60 130 120
129 106
115 101
105 100 95 80
90 75 70 150
175 20 Motor Cycle
(100 dB - at 1m)

No more than
20 min per week Leaves Rustling
(20 dB)

SAFE
Whispering
(30 dB)

Totally SAFE
Home ambient
noise (40 dB)

Totally SAFE Conversation
(60 dB)

SAFE NOTE: Above 100 dB -volume lowered
to protect your hearing! Washing Machine
(70 dB)

(SAFE level for
most machines) Vacuum Cleaner
(75 dB)

(SAFE range - if at
this level or below) Hair Dryer
(80-90 dB)

(Unsafe: limit use
to 4 hrs per week) Helicopter
(105 dB at 100 ft)
or School Dance!

(No more than
8 min /week) Chainsaw
(120 to 125 dB)

Damages hearing
in under 10 seconds Rock Concert
(105-120 or more)

WARNING
Very Hazardous!
Jet Take-off
(130 or more dB)

Damages hearing
instantly. Firecracker and Fireworks
(150 dB at 3 ft.)

Damages hearing
instantly! Sperm Whale!
(230 dB)

Loudest animal.
It just makes CLICKS! 230 Click
to hear
sound Above 85 dB is harmful Sound Levels in Decibels Select Each Colored Button Above 85 dB is harmful The Power of Sound! What is the unit
for measuring
the volume of sound As a sound gets louder
what happens to the wave As a sound becomes
quieter, what happens to the wave What device can you use to measure the volume of sound 1 2 3 4 5 About how many decibels
is the ambient noise in a household A decibel meter decibels (dB) The amplitude or height
of the wave increases. The amplitude or height
of the wave decreases. In a quiet household,
it is about 40 decibels.