The latest in our ‘home science for kids’ series looks at Sound. Try out this experiment that demonstrates sound and vibration using just a few home basics.
Equipment
A bowl
Cling film
A rubber band (you might not need to use this)
Hundreds and thousands
A plate
Method
1. Stretch the cling film over your bowl as tight as you can.
2. If you need to hold it tighter, use the rubber band.
3. Stand the bowl on the plate (to catch any escaping hundreds and thousands).
4. Hum close to the edge of the bowl and see what happens to the hundreds and thousands. If nothing happens, try humming louder.
How can you make your hundreds and thousands do different dances?
Try humming in a lower or higher pitch.
Try humming louder or quieter.
Try playing different types of music next to the bowl.
If you have different types of sprinkles, see if they ‘dance’ differently.
Try changing the tension of your cling film and see what happens.
The science behind this experiment is all about sound and vibrations.
Sound is caused by vibrations, or sound waves, that we can hear. These sound waves are able to travel through solids, liquids or gases. When the sound waves reach our ears, the skin on the eardrums vibrates and our brains interprets these vibrations as sound. The stronger the vibration the louder the sound that we hear.
Sound can also change depending on how fast or slow the vibrations are. If something vibrates quickly, we hear a high-pitched sound and if something vibrates slowly, we hear a low-pitched sound.
