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. 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)
2. 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)
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 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)
5. What do we call high-frequency sound waves above 20,000 Hz that humans cannot hear, used by dolphins, bats and medical scanners: ultrasound or infrared?
Amplitude (Loudness) · Frequency (Pitch)
6. 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)
7. 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)
8. 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)
9. If you gently touch a ringing tuning fork against the surface of a bowl of water, why does the water splash: the tuning fork is vibrating rapidly, or the tuning fork is hot?
Amplitude (Loudness) · Frequency (Pitch)
10. 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)
11. 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)
12. 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)

12 questions · Seed 51 · 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. 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).
2. 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.
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 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.
5. What do we call high-frequency sound waves above 20,000 Hz that humans cannot hear, used by dolphins, bats and medical scanners: ultrasound or infrared?
Ultrasound
Ultrasound has a frequency above the upper limit of human hearing (> 20 kHz).
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. 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.
9. If you gently touch a ringing tuning fork against the surface of a bowl of water, why does the water splash: the tuning fork is vibrating rapidly, or the tuning fork is hot?
The tuning fork is vibrating rapidly
The mechanical vibrations of the prongs transfer energy to the water, creating ripples and splashes.
10. 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.
11. 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.
12. 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.

12 questions · Seed 51 · Age guidance, not curriculum certification

Worksheet StudioPractice pack · Ages 4-6

Sound, pitch & vibrations

Take your time. Show your thinking.

1. 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)
2. 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)
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 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)
5. What do we call high-frequency sound waves above 20,000 Hz that humans cannot hear, used by dolphins, bats and medical scanners: ultrasound or infrared?
Amplitude (Loudness) · Frequency (Pitch)
6. 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)
7. 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)
8. 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)
9. If you gently touch a ringing tuning fork against the surface of a bowl of water, why does the water splash: the tuning fork is vibrating rapidly, or the tuning fork is hot?
Amplitude (Loudness) · Frequency (Pitch)
10. 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)
11. 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)
12. 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)

12 questions · Seed 51 · Age guidance, not curriculum certification

Worksheet StudioAnswer key · Ages 4-6

Sound, pitch & vibrations

Answers and reasoning. Review before teaching.

1. 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).
2. 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.
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 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.
5. What do we call high-frequency sound waves above 20,000 Hz that humans cannot hear, used by dolphins, bats and medical scanners: ultrasound or infrared?
Ultrasound
Ultrasound has a frequency above the upper limit of human hearing (> 20 kHz).
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. 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.
9. If you gently touch a ringing tuning fork against the surface of a bowl of water, why does the water splash: the tuning fork is vibrating rapidly, or the tuning fork is hot?
The tuning fork is vibrating rapidly
The mechanical vibrations of the prongs transfer energy to the water, creating ripples and splashes.
10. 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.
11. 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.
12. 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.

12 questions · Seed 51 · Age guidance, not curriculum certification