CONCEPT: Vibrating particles - how far do the vibrating particles travel

Interactive 1. What is sound and how is sound transmitted?

Video 1. What is sound and how is sound transmitted?

• IF UNABLE TO ACCESS YOUTUBE VIDEO (requires Flash) TRY:Transmission of Sound - Designmate

CONCEPTS: Do vibrating particles travel with the sound.

Is sound made of particles that travel through the air in waves. Sound particles?:

Sound is NOT made of particles - Sound particles do not exist and no particles travel with the sound from source to destination.

Sound travels when vibrating particles 'jiggle' and knock against each other. None of the particles actually travel from the sound to the listener.

CONCEPT: What is Sound?

A mechanical wave is a wave that is not capable of transmitting its energy through a vacuum. Mechanical waves require a medium in order to transport their energy from one location to another. A sound wave is an example of a mechanical wave

Some children believe that sound is actually a physical ‘substance’ that is made of particles or something similar. They believe sound acts as a sort of ‘wind’ that moves around. A smaller number of children do not associate the detection of sound with the act of hearing or the function of their ears. Some do recognise that their ears play a role in hearing sounds but they believe that only the outer visible ear structure is somehow involved and that their inner ear and brain play no part in the process.

Younger students also frequently believe that sound only travels through air and cannot travel through solids or liquids despite their often contradictory experiences of hearing muffled and distorted sounds underwater when swimming.

Older students often still have confused understandings of the difference between the pitch of a sound and how loud it is. Many students believe that these are somehow the same thing or closely connected. They believe that the pitch of a sound will increase as the volume of the sound increases.

Research: Leite & Afonso (2001), Hapkiewicz (1992), Berthelsen (1999), Boyes & Stanisstreet (1991), Eshach & Schwartz (2006)

Source: VIC DET - Sound & Hearing: Contrasting student and scientific views

http://www.education.vic.gov.au/school/teachers/teachingresources/discipline/science/continuum/Pages/soundlearn.aspx

Scientific Reference: http://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/sound

Only view this video of youtube video above is not available

CONCEPT: There is no such thing as a 'sound particle' (sound as an entity)

As sound waves move from one location to another, there are no vibrating particles that also travel with the sound?

Sound travels when vibrating particles 'jiggle' and knock against each other. None of the particles actually travel from the sound to the listener.

Which way around: Does sound produce vibrations or do vibrations produce sound?

The current understanding is that what we call sound is just a vibration.

Sound is a vibration located in our ear that is caused by the vibration of the air in our ear.

Sound does not produce vibrations.