Sound and Vibration

“Sound is one of the best most powerful tools. All the ancient traditions confirm that in the beginning was the word. Sound sort of predates form.” – MC Yogi

Every day we hear lots of types of sounds. Sound can be of different types like soft, loud, pleasant, unpleasant, musical, audible, inaudible and many more. Have you ever thought about how these sounds come to our ear? We can hear sound but can we see how sound is produced?

During a Spectrum Club activity, children learnt about how sound produces and what is sound. They also learnt that sound is a type of energy made by vibrations. When any object vibrates, it causes movement in the air particles. This movement is called sound waves. When the vibration is fast we can hear a loud sound but when the vibration is slow we can hear a slow sound. They also learnt that sound passes through different mediums at different speeds.

Students learnt about how different levels of water-filled glasses made different sounds. They also learnt that when we tap an empty glass it produces a higher sound than the glass full of water. Adding water to the glass decreases the amount of space, which means less air to vibrate. Making a water glass xylophone incorporates principles of science, math, design, music, and engineering.