ScienceAges 7-9

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.

New variation Try interactive challenge Browse templates

Age band:Ages 4-6 Ages 7-9

Choose “Save as PDF” to keep a copy. Use your browser’s paper setting for A4 or Letter.

Worksheet StudioPractice pack · Ages 7-9

Sound, pitch & vibrations

Take your time. Show your thinking.

1. How are all sounds produced: by objects vibrating back and forth, or by objects standing completely still?
Amplitude (Loudness) · Frequency (Pitch)
2. 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)
3. 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)
4. 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)
5. 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)
6. What is the approximate frequency range of normal human hearing in young people: 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz, or 1 Hz to 5 Hz?
Amplitude (Loudness) · Frequency (Pitch)
7. 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)
8. 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)
9. 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)
10. 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)
11. 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)
12. 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)

12 questions · Seed 104731 · Age guidance, not curriculum certification

View the answer key

Worksheet StudioAnswer key · Ages 7-9

Sound, pitch & vibrations

Answers and reasoning. Review before teaching.

1. 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.
2. 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).
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. What is the approximate frequency range of normal human hearing in young people: 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz, or 1 Hz to 5 Hz?
20 Hz to 20,000 Hz
Humans typically hear frequencies from about 20 Hz (deep bass) up to 20,000 Hz (20 kHz).
7. 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.
8. 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).
9. 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.
10. 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.
11. 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).
12. 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.

12 questions · Seed 104731 · Age guidance, not curriculum certification

Worksheet StudioPractice pack · Ages 7-9

Sound, pitch & vibrations

Take your time. Show your thinking.

1. How are all sounds produced: by objects vibrating back and forth, or by objects standing completely still?
Amplitude (Loudness) · Frequency (Pitch)
2. 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)
3. 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)
4. 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)
5. 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)
6. What is the approximate frequency range of normal human hearing in young people: 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz, or 1 Hz to 5 Hz?
Amplitude (Loudness) · Frequency (Pitch)
7. 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)
8. 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)
9. 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)
10. 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)
11. 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)
12. 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)

12 questions · Seed 104731 · Age guidance, not curriculum certification

Worksheet StudioAnswer key · Ages 7-9

Sound, pitch & vibrations

Answers and reasoning. Review before teaching.

1. 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.
2. 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).
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. What is the approximate frequency range of normal human hearing in young people: 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz, or 1 Hz to 5 Hz?
20 Hz to 20,000 Hz
Humans typically hear frequencies from about 20 Hz (deep bass) up to 20,000 Hz (20 kHz).
7. 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.
8. 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).
9. 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.
10. 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.
11. 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).
12. 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.

12 questions · Seed 104731 · Age guidance, not curriculum certification