We had lots of fun being sound scientists this week!
The study of science allows students to nurture curiosity, ask and answer questions, explore scientific concepts and acquire knowledge and understanding of the world around them.
Organizing Idea: (Science)
- Energy: Understandings of the physical world are deepened by investigating matter and energy.
Learning Intentions:
- Students investigate the behaviours of sound.
I Can:
- Relate vibration to the production of sound
- Identify sources of sound
- Safely explore the production and behaviour of sound
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We began our science exploration this week by asking - what is a scientist?
Students came up with:
- "Someone who does experiments!"
- "A scientist has to look at things very carefully."
- "They use different tools and equipment like magnifying glasses"
- "I think they try to figure things out, like try to find cures for cancer."
We talked about how scientists explore the world around them by - observing, wondering, asking questions, making predictions, using different tools and materials, conducting experiments, solving problems and sharing their findings...we decided that we can all be scientists!
We put on our best 'scientist ears' and headed outside to listen closely to the sounds we could hear all around us in our school yard. We created sound maps and drew a compass rose on our page to help us know where to record the sounds we heard in relation to where we were (in the middle) on our maps. We discovered many interesting sounds, as well as discovered that being patient and listening carefully was not so easy to do!
As mentioned above, scientists always share their findings and one of our very own little scientists shared with us - "I know that sound is made from vibrations, and the vibrations go into your ears so you can hear it." Well that sounded very interesting to us, so we decided to investigate this idea a little further. We watched a few videos and then tested this theory ourselves!
We conducted two experiments to further our understanding -
The Sprinkle Experiment
First we placed some sprinkles on the tight Saran wrap that was covering a bowl. Then we played the drum right beside the bowl. We discovered that the sound waves created by the drum made the sprinkles dance around!
The Tuning Fork Experiment
We recognized the tuning forks - "Hey, Mrs. Harris uses these in music!" and talked about how to use them appropriately. We had to remember that it was important to hold them gently at their base because if we held them too far up it changed the way they would vibrate. We discovered that when we tapped the tuning fork and then placed it in the cup of water it sent vibrations through the water!
