Science Week: Day 4

We are nearing the end of Calvert 1st grade, so we decided to knock out the last two chapters in our science book with a dedicated Science Week! So far we have explored position and force and simple machines and magnets. Then we started investigating the different types of energy, beginning with heat. See also Day 5.

Welcome to day four of Science Week! Yesterday we learned about heat, one of the forms of energy. Today we investigated another type of energy: sound. Sound is a form of energy that is made when an object vibrates. The bigger the vibrations, the louder the sound: like a thunder clap! The smaller the vibrations, the softer the sound: like the sound of a marker swiping across a piece of paper.

To experience sound, we made a simple musical instrument with a plastic bowl and some rubber bands.

Carefully stretch a rubber band around a bowl or box.

Miss M strummed the rubber bands and listened to the sound they made. She looked carefully at them and could see them vibrating. When she stopped the rubber bands from moving, the sound stopped too!

Listening to the sound of a vibrating rubber band.

Some sounds are high, like your squeaky shoes on a tile floor. Some sounds are low, like the rumble of the washing machine. How high or low a sound is is called it's pitch. In our next activity, we explored the pitch of water in glass jars.

Pour water into glass jars -- be sure to wipe up any spills!

Miss M had fun tapping the jars with a metal spoon to see what each one sounded like. She arranged the glasses in order from lowest pitch to highest pitch. Then she made some music! After she was done, she had a refreshing drink of water.

Sound is my favorite form of energy. Some of my favorite sounds are: songbirds, babies babbling, and the footsteps of those I love. What are your favorite sounds?

If you enjoyed Science Week Day 4,

come see what we did on

Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, and Day 5!

Comments

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