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 are cinema walls and recording studios lined with soft foam, curtains and carpets: soft, porous materials absorb sound waves to prevent echoes, or soft foam makes sounds louder?
Amplitude (Loudness) · Frequency (Pitch)
2. 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)
3. If an object vibrates faster (with a higher frequency, more vibrations per second), what happens to the pitch of the sound: the pitch gets higher, or the pitch gets lower?
Amplitude (Loudness) · Frequency (Pitch)
4. Why do ramp workers near jet engines and operators of loud machinery wear ear defenders (earmuffs): very loud sounds can permanently damage the sensitive hair cells in the inner ear (cochlea), or to keep their ears warm?
Amplitude (Loudness) · Frequency (Pitch)
5. 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)
6. Which thin stretched membrane inside the human ear vibrates when sound waves reach it down the ear canal: the eardrum (tympanic membrane) or the retina?
Amplitude (Loudness) · Frequency (Pitch)
7. Can sound travel through empty outer space (a vacuum where there are no particles): No, because sound needs a medium of particles to vibrate, or Yes, faster than light?
Amplitude (Loudness) · Frequency (Pitch)
8. How do bats and dolphins use echolocation (sonar) to find prey in the dark or deep water: they emit high-pitched clicks and time how long the echoes take to bounce back, or they use magnets?
Amplitude (Loudness) · Frequency (Pitch)
9. How does sound travel from a ringing bell to your ear: vibrations pass from particle to particle through the air as a sound wave, or tiny pieces of metal fly into your ear?
Amplitude (Loudness) · Frequency (Pitch)
10. When you pluck a stretched rubber band or guitar string, what do you see and hear: the string vibrates rapidly and makes a sound, or the string turns into liquid?
Amplitude (Loudness) · Frequency (Pitch)
11. If you hit a drum harder so the drum skin vibrates with a larger amplitude, what happens to the sound: the sound gets louder (higher volume), or the pitch changes into a flute?
Amplitude (Loudness) · Frequency (Pitch)
12. What word describes how loud or quiet a sound is: volume (loudness) or pitch?
Amplitude (Loudness) · Frequency (Pitch)

12 questions · Seed 46 · 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 are cinema walls and recording studios lined with soft foam, curtains and carpets: soft, porous materials absorb sound waves to prevent echoes, or soft foam makes sounds louder?
Soft, porous materials absorb sound waves to prevent echoes
Soft materials trap air and convert sound energy into tiny amounts of heat, reducing reverberation.
2. 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.
3. If an object vibrates faster (with a higher frequency, more vibrations per second), what happens to the pitch of the sound: the pitch gets higher, or the pitch gets lower?
The pitch gets higher
Higher frequency vibrations produce a higher-pitched sound.
4. Why do ramp workers near jet engines and operators of loud machinery wear ear defenders (earmuffs): very loud sounds can permanently damage the sensitive hair cells in the inner ear (cochlea), or to keep their ears warm?
Very loud sounds can permanently damage the sensitive hair cells in the inner ear (cochlea)
Padded ear defenders absorb sound energy and reduce the decibel level reaching the eardrum.
5. 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.
6. Which thin stretched membrane inside the human ear vibrates when sound waves reach it down the ear canal: the eardrum (tympanic membrane) or the retina?
Eardrum (tympanic membrane)
Sound waves cause the eardrum to vibrate, passing vibrations to the three tiny middle-ear bones (ossicles).
7. Can sound travel through empty outer space (a vacuum where there are no particles): No, because sound needs a medium of particles to vibrate, or Yes, faster than light?
No, because sound needs a medium of particles to vibrate
Unlike light, sound is a mechanical wave and cannot travel through a vacuum.
8. How do bats and dolphins use echolocation (sonar) to find prey in the dark or deep water: they emit high-pitched clicks and time how long the echoes take to bounce back, or they use magnets?
They emit high-pitched clicks and time how long the echoes take to bounce back
The time delay and direction of returning echoes reveal the distance and location of objects.
9. How does sound travel from a ringing bell to your ear: vibrations pass from particle to particle through the air as a sound wave, or tiny pieces of metal fly into your ear?
Vibrations pass from particle to particle through the air as a sound wave
Sound is a longitudinal mechanical wave of compressions and rarefactions travelling through air particles.
10. When you pluck a stretched rubber band or guitar string, what do you see and hear: the string vibrates rapidly and makes a sound, or the string turns into liquid?
The string vibrates rapidly and makes a sound
Stopping the vibration of the string immediately stops the sound.
11. If you hit a drum harder so the drum skin vibrates with a larger amplitude, what happens to the sound: the sound gets louder (higher volume), or the pitch changes into a flute?
The sound gets louder (higher volume)
Larger amplitude vibrations carry more energy and produce a louder sound.
12. 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.

12 questions · Seed 46 · Age guidance, not curriculum certification

Worksheet StudioPractice pack · Ages 4-6

Sound, pitch & vibrations

Take your time. Show your thinking.

1. Why are cinema walls and recording studios lined with soft foam, curtains and carpets: soft, porous materials absorb sound waves to prevent echoes, or soft foam makes sounds louder?
Amplitude (Loudness) · Frequency (Pitch)
2. 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)
3. If an object vibrates faster (with a higher frequency, more vibrations per second), what happens to the pitch of the sound: the pitch gets higher, or the pitch gets lower?
Amplitude (Loudness) · Frequency (Pitch)
4. Why do ramp workers near jet engines and operators of loud machinery wear ear defenders (earmuffs): very loud sounds can permanently damage the sensitive hair cells in the inner ear (cochlea), or to keep their ears warm?
Amplitude (Loudness) · Frequency (Pitch)
5. 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)
6. Which thin stretched membrane inside the human ear vibrates when sound waves reach it down the ear canal: the eardrum (tympanic membrane) or the retina?
Amplitude (Loudness) · Frequency (Pitch)
7. Can sound travel through empty outer space (a vacuum where there are no particles): No, because sound needs a medium of particles to vibrate, or Yes, faster than light?
Amplitude (Loudness) · Frequency (Pitch)
8. How do bats and dolphins use echolocation (sonar) to find prey in the dark or deep water: they emit high-pitched clicks and time how long the echoes take to bounce back, or they use magnets?
Amplitude (Loudness) · Frequency (Pitch)
9. How does sound travel from a ringing bell to your ear: vibrations pass from particle to particle through the air as a sound wave, or tiny pieces of metal fly into your ear?
Amplitude (Loudness) · Frequency (Pitch)
10. When you pluck a stretched rubber band or guitar string, what do you see and hear: the string vibrates rapidly and makes a sound, or the string turns into liquid?
Amplitude (Loudness) · Frequency (Pitch)
11. If you hit a drum harder so the drum skin vibrates with a larger amplitude, what happens to the sound: the sound gets louder (higher volume), or the pitch changes into a flute?
Amplitude (Loudness) · Frequency (Pitch)
12. What word describes how loud or quiet a sound is: volume (loudness) or pitch?
Amplitude (Loudness) · Frequency (Pitch)

12 questions · Seed 46 · Age guidance, not curriculum certification

Worksheet StudioAnswer key · Ages 4-6

Sound, pitch & vibrations

Answers and reasoning. Review before teaching.

1. Why are cinema walls and recording studios lined with soft foam, curtains and carpets: soft, porous materials absorb sound waves to prevent echoes, or soft foam makes sounds louder?
Soft, porous materials absorb sound waves to prevent echoes
Soft materials trap air and convert sound energy into tiny amounts of heat, reducing reverberation.
2. 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.
3. If an object vibrates faster (with a higher frequency, more vibrations per second), what happens to the pitch of the sound: the pitch gets higher, or the pitch gets lower?
The pitch gets higher
Higher frequency vibrations produce a higher-pitched sound.
4. Why do ramp workers near jet engines and operators of loud machinery wear ear defenders (earmuffs): very loud sounds can permanently damage the sensitive hair cells in the inner ear (cochlea), or to keep their ears warm?
Very loud sounds can permanently damage the sensitive hair cells in the inner ear (cochlea)
Padded ear defenders absorb sound energy and reduce the decibel level reaching the eardrum.
5. 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.
6. Which thin stretched membrane inside the human ear vibrates when sound waves reach it down the ear canal: the eardrum (tympanic membrane) or the retina?
Eardrum (tympanic membrane)
Sound waves cause the eardrum to vibrate, passing vibrations to the three tiny middle-ear bones (ossicles).
7. Can sound travel through empty outer space (a vacuum where there are no particles): No, because sound needs a medium of particles to vibrate, or Yes, faster than light?
No, because sound needs a medium of particles to vibrate
Unlike light, sound is a mechanical wave and cannot travel through a vacuum.
8. How do bats and dolphins use echolocation (sonar) to find prey in the dark or deep water: they emit high-pitched clicks and time how long the echoes take to bounce back, or they use magnets?
They emit high-pitched clicks and time how long the echoes take to bounce back
The time delay and direction of returning echoes reveal the distance and location of objects.
9. How does sound travel from a ringing bell to your ear: vibrations pass from particle to particle through the air as a sound wave, or tiny pieces of metal fly into your ear?
Vibrations pass from particle to particle through the air as a sound wave
Sound is a longitudinal mechanical wave of compressions and rarefactions travelling through air particles.
10. When you pluck a stretched rubber band or guitar string, what do you see and hear: the string vibrates rapidly and makes a sound, or the string turns into liquid?
The string vibrates rapidly and makes a sound
Stopping the vibration of the string immediately stops the sound.
11. If you hit a drum harder so the drum skin vibrates with a larger amplitude, what happens to the sound: the sound gets louder (higher volume), or the pitch changes into a flute?
The sound gets louder (higher volume)
Larger amplitude vibrations carry more energy and produce a louder sound.
12. 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.

12 questions · Seed 46 · Age guidance, not curriculum certification