ScienceAges 4-6

Sound, pitch & vibrations

Explore how vibrations produce sound waves, how pitch and volume change, and how sound travels through media. Review suitability for your learners before teaching.

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Worksheet StudioPractice pack · Ages 4-6

Sound, pitch & vibrations

Take your time. Show your thinking.

1. Why does a sound become quieter the further away you move from the source: the sound energy spreads out over a larger and larger sphere of air, or the pitch drops to zero?
Amplitude (Loudness) · Frequency (Pitch)
2. What unit is used on a sound-level meter to measure the loudness (intensity level) of a sound: decibels (dB) or degrees Celsius (°C)?
Amplitude (Loudness) · Frequency (Pitch)
3. When you speak or sing and gently rest your fingers on the front of your throat, what do you feel vibrating inside your voice box (larynx): your vocal cords, or your collarbone?
Amplitude (Loudness) · Frequency (Pitch)
4. What word describes how high or low a musical note sounds (such as a high whistle vs a low bass drum): pitch or volume?
Amplitude (Loudness) · Frequency (Pitch)
5. Does sound travel fastest through a gas (air), a liquid (water) or a solid (steel): a solid (steel) or a gas (air)?
Amplitude (Loudness) · Frequency (Pitch)
6. What word describes how loud or quiet a sound is: volume (loudness) or pitch?
Amplitude (Loudness) · Frequency (Pitch)
7. On a xylophone or panpipe, which bar or pipe produces the HIGHEST pitch when struck: the shortest bar/pipe (which vibrates fastest), or the longest bar/pipe?
Amplitude (Loudness) · Frequency (Pitch)
8. How are all sounds produced: by objects vibrating back and forth, or by objects standing completely still?
Amplitude (Loudness) · Frequency (Pitch)
9. When you blow across the top of two identical glass bottles—one nearly full of water and one nearly empty—which bottle produces the higher-pitched note: the bottle with more water (because the vibrating air column is shorter), or the empty bottle?
Amplitude (Loudness) · Frequency (Pitch)
10. What unit is used in science to measure the frequency of a sound wave (the number of vibrations per second): hertz (Hz) or newtons (N)?
Amplitude (Loudness) · Frequency (Pitch)
11. What is an echo: a sound wave that bounces (reflects) off a hard surface like a cliff or wall and returns to your ears, or a brand-new sound made by the rocks?
Amplitude (Loudness) · Frequency (Pitch)
12. When a guitarist tightens a guitar string to increase its tension, what happens to the pitch of the note: the pitch becomes higher, or the string stops vibrating?
Amplitude (Loudness) · Frequency (Pitch)

12 questions · Seed 45 · Age guidance, not curriculum certification

View the answer key

Worksheet StudioAnswer key · Ages 4-6

Sound, pitch & vibrations

Answers and reasoning. Review before teaching.

1. Why does a sound become quieter the further away you move from the source: the sound energy spreads out over a larger and larger sphere of air, or the pitch drops to zero?
The sound energy spreads out over a larger and larger sphere of air
As distance from the source increases, the wave energy is spread over a bigger area, so amplitude decreases.
2. What unit is used on a sound-level meter to measure the loudness (intensity level) of a sound: decibels (dB) or degrees Celsius (°C)?
Decibels (dB)
Sound intensity levels are measured on the decibel (dB) scale.
3. When you speak or sing and gently rest your fingers on the front of your throat, what do you feel vibrating inside your voice box (larynx): your vocal cords, or your collarbone?
Your vocal cords
Air from the lungs passes between the vocal cords in the larynx, making them vibrate to produce your voice.
4. What word describes how high or low a musical note sounds (such as a high whistle vs a low bass drum): pitch or volume?
Pitch
Pitch is how high or low a sound is and depends on the frequency of vibration.
5. Does sound travel fastest through a gas (air), a liquid (water) or a solid (steel): a solid (steel) or a gas (air)?
A solid (steel)
Particles in a solid are packed closely together with strong bonds, passing vibrations much faster (~5,000 m/s in steel vs ~340 m/s in air).
6. What word describes how loud or quiet a sound is: volume (loudness) or pitch?
Volume (loudness)
Volume depends on the amplitude (size) of the vibrations.
7. On a xylophone or panpipe, which bar or pipe produces the HIGHEST pitch when struck: the shortest bar/pipe (which vibrates fastest), or the longest bar/pipe?
The shortest bar/pipe (which vibrates fastest)
Shorter, smaller columns or bars vibrate at a higher frequency, giving a higher pitch.
8. How are all sounds produced: by objects vibrating back and forth, or by objects standing completely still?
By objects vibrating back and forth
Every sound source—such as a plucked guitar string, a drum skin or your vocal cords—vibrates.
9. When you blow across the top of two identical glass bottles—one nearly full of water and one nearly empty—which bottle produces the higher-pitched note: the bottle with more water (because the vibrating air column is shorter), or the empty bottle?
The bottle with more water (because the vibrating air column is shorter)
When blowing across the top, the air column inside vibrates; a shorter column of air vibrates faster and makes a higher pitch.
10. What unit is used in science to measure the frequency of a sound wave (the number of vibrations per second): hertz (Hz) or newtons (N)?
Hertz (Hz)
1 hertz (1 Hz) equals 1 complete vibration (cycle) per second.
11. What is an echo: a sound wave that bounces (reflects) off a hard surface like a cliff or wall and returns to your ears, or a brand-new sound made by the rocks?
A sound wave that bounces (reflects) off a hard surface like a cliff or wall and returns to your ears
An echo is a reflected sound wave heard a short time after the original sound.
12. When a guitarist tightens a guitar string to increase its tension, what happens to the pitch of the note: the pitch becomes higher, or the string stops vibrating?
The pitch becomes higher
A tighter string vibrates faster when plucked, raising the pitch.

12 questions · Seed 45 · Age guidance, not curriculum certification

Worksheet StudioPractice pack · Ages 4-6

Sound, pitch & vibrations

Take your time. Show your thinking.

1. Why does a sound become quieter the further away you move from the source: the sound energy spreads out over a larger and larger sphere of air, or the pitch drops to zero?
Amplitude (Loudness) · Frequency (Pitch)
2. What unit is used on a sound-level meter to measure the loudness (intensity level) of a sound: decibels (dB) or degrees Celsius (°C)?
Amplitude (Loudness) · Frequency (Pitch)
3. When you speak or sing and gently rest your fingers on the front of your throat, what do you feel vibrating inside your voice box (larynx): your vocal cords, or your collarbone?
Amplitude (Loudness) · Frequency (Pitch)
4. What word describes how high or low a musical note sounds (such as a high whistle vs a low bass drum): pitch or volume?
Amplitude (Loudness) · Frequency (Pitch)
5. Does sound travel fastest through a gas (air), a liquid (water) or a solid (steel): a solid (steel) or a gas (air)?
Amplitude (Loudness) · Frequency (Pitch)
6. What word describes how loud or quiet a sound is: volume (loudness) or pitch?
Amplitude (Loudness) · Frequency (Pitch)
7. On a xylophone or panpipe, which bar or pipe produces the HIGHEST pitch when struck: the shortest bar/pipe (which vibrates fastest), or the longest bar/pipe?
Amplitude (Loudness) · Frequency (Pitch)
8. How are all sounds produced: by objects vibrating back and forth, or by objects standing completely still?
Amplitude (Loudness) · Frequency (Pitch)
9. When you blow across the top of two identical glass bottles—one nearly full of water and one nearly empty—which bottle produces the higher-pitched note: the bottle with more water (because the vibrating air column is shorter), or the empty bottle?
Amplitude (Loudness) · Frequency (Pitch)
10. What unit is used in science to measure the frequency of a sound wave (the number of vibrations per second): hertz (Hz) or newtons (N)?
Amplitude (Loudness) · Frequency (Pitch)
11. What is an echo: a sound wave that bounces (reflects) off a hard surface like a cliff or wall and returns to your ears, or a brand-new sound made by the rocks?
Amplitude (Loudness) · Frequency (Pitch)
12. When a guitarist tightens a guitar string to increase its tension, what happens to the pitch of the note: the pitch becomes higher, or the string stops vibrating?
Amplitude (Loudness) · Frequency (Pitch)

12 questions · Seed 45 · Age guidance, not curriculum certification

Worksheet StudioAnswer key · Ages 4-6

Sound, pitch & vibrations

Answers and reasoning. Review before teaching.

1. Why does a sound become quieter the further away you move from the source: the sound energy spreads out over a larger and larger sphere of air, or the pitch drops to zero?
The sound energy spreads out over a larger and larger sphere of air
As distance from the source increases, the wave energy is spread over a bigger area, so amplitude decreases.
2. What unit is used on a sound-level meter to measure the loudness (intensity level) of a sound: decibels (dB) or degrees Celsius (°C)?
Decibels (dB)
Sound intensity levels are measured on the decibel (dB) scale.
3. When you speak or sing and gently rest your fingers on the front of your throat, what do you feel vibrating inside your voice box (larynx): your vocal cords, or your collarbone?
Your vocal cords
Air from the lungs passes between the vocal cords in the larynx, making them vibrate to produce your voice.
4. What word describes how high or low a musical note sounds (such as a high whistle vs a low bass drum): pitch or volume?
Pitch
Pitch is how high or low a sound is and depends on the frequency of vibration.
5. Does sound travel fastest through a gas (air), a liquid (water) or a solid (steel): a solid (steel) or a gas (air)?
A solid (steel)
Particles in a solid are packed closely together with strong bonds, passing vibrations much faster (~5,000 m/s in steel vs ~340 m/s in air).
6. What word describes how loud or quiet a sound is: volume (loudness) or pitch?
Volume (loudness)
Volume depends on the amplitude (size) of the vibrations.
7. On a xylophone or panpipe, which bar or pipe produces the HIGHEST pitch when struck: the shortest bar/pipe (which vibrates fastest), or the longest bar/pipe?
The shortest bar/pipe (which vibrates fastest)
Shorter, smaller columns or bars vibrate at a higher frequency, giving a higher pitch.
8. How are all sounds produced: by objects vibrating back and forth, or by objects standing completely still?
By objects vibrating back and forth
Every sound source—such as a plucked guitar string, a drum skin or your vocal cords—vibrates.
9. When you blow across the top of two identical glass bottles—one nearly full of water and one nearly empty—which bottle produces the higher-pitched note: the bottle with more water (because the vibrating air column is shorter), or the empty bottle?
The bottle with more water (because the vibrating air column is shorter)
When blowing across the top, the air column inside vibrates; a shorter column of air vibrates faster and makes a higher pitch.
10. What unit is used in science to measure the frequency of a sound wave (the number of vibrations per second): hertz (Hz) or newtons (N)?
Hertz (Hz)
1 hertz (1 Hz) equals 1 complete vibration (cycle) per second.
11. What is an echo: a sound wave that bounces (reflects) off a hard surface like a cliff or wall and returns to your ears, or a brand-new sound made by the rocks?
A sound wave that bounces (reflects) off a hard surface like a cliff or wall and returns to your ears
An echo is a reflected sound wave heard a short time after the original sound.
12. When a guitarist tightens a guitar string to increase its tension, what happens to the pitch of the note: the pitch becomes higher, or the string stops vibrating?
The pitch becomes higher
A tighter string vibrates faster when plucked, raising the pitch.

12 questions · Seed 45 · Age guidance, not curriculum certification