What a Sound Idea

Students explore sound. In this "sound" science lesson, students define sound and explain how sound travels. Students experiment with paper cups and string to conclude how sound travels. Students research a chosen aspect of sound with a...

Building on the previous lesson, scholars use Slinkies to create standing waves. They graph waves on a calculator and then apply their knowledge to both sound and light waves. This is the fourth in a series of nine lessons.

We know the speed of light, but can we measure the speed of dark? During the lesson, scholars perform gedanken, or thought experiments related to the speed of sound and the speed of light. 

What would our world look like if we could see sound waves? The simulation shows sound waves in a variety of applications. Scholars adjust the frequency, volume, and location of the listener to understand how to determine the speed,...

What's the most common type of headache? How do headaches occur? Watch an informative video that details primary and secondary headaches including migraines, cluster headaches, and tension headaches.

Sound waves travel pretty quickly, but humans can travel faster. Follow along with this short animated video as it investigates the physics behind the breaking of the sound barrier and the sonic booms that are created as a result.

What if I said that you can build a homemade speaker out of a potato chip? Bestselling author and do-it-yourself expert William Gurstelle shows you how in his brief presentation at TEDYouth 2012. He encourages young people to be creative...

Transforming a deep breath into beautiful musical notes, brass instruments represent an interesting combination of scientific understanding and artistic creativity. Traveling from the mouth piece to the bell, this short video...

Students discuss physical places in which had good or bad acoustics. After reading an article, they discover the relationship between the physics of sound and concert hall acoustics. They calculate the speed of sound and compare their...

Why did the waves get into a fight? They were tired of each other's interference. Scholars observe the wave patterns from dripping water, sound waves, and light waves. They vary the spacing, build barriers, and increase the number of...