Middle School Sound Lesson Plans

Lessons on sound can be designed in such a way that it captures the attention of students. Teachers can use this sound lesson plans to introduce the vibration and the speed of propagation through different medium.

Students will understand that sound waves are propagated through the vibration it creates in the medium through which it travels. This underlines the necessity of a material medium for the propagation of sound and hence there is no sound in the absence of a medium. The sound travels through solid, liquid and gaseous medium. It is fastest in solids, slowest in gases and its speed falls in the middle range in the case of liquids. In the case of solids the molecules are tightly packed and hence can be easily transfer the vibration each of these feels whereas the molecules are farther apart in gas.

Materials:

Cardboard box

Glass bowl

Large glass beaker

Metallic container

Recorder

Small seeds (rice, mustard etc)

Water

Plastic container

Metallic plate stand

Turning forks

Procedure to teach sound propagation:

Begin your class by talking about different sources of sound and its propagation. Take the metallic plate stand and place the glass bowl in it and fill it half with water. Provide four or five students with the turning fork and let them bring it into vibration by striking it against a wooden desk. Instruct them to bring the vibrating tuning fork in contact with the circumference of the metal stand simultaneously. Let your students watch the water surface and direct them to write down their observation. Take the metallic container and put the seeds on it. Again, instruct students to gently touch the metallic container with vibrating turning forks. Instruct them to write down their observation.

Procedure to show how sound travels in different medium:

Take the large glass beaker and keep it in the table. Place the recorder in the middle of the beaker. Instruct your students to keep their ear pressed to one side of the beaker (one at a time) and listen to the music. Place the cardboard box inside the beaker (it should fit well inside the glass beaker and should be covered with paper so that there is no space) and keep the recorder inside it. Now fill it with water and keep the recorder under the water and repeat the activity. Care should be taken so that the position of the recorder is the same during each of these activities. Divide your students into small groups and let them discuss on their findings. Instruct them to write down their inference on the medium through which sound travels fastest.

From the first activity students will understand that sound can set the particles in the medium into vibration. From the second activity they will find that sound travels fastest in solids and slowest in gases.

Additional activity:

Let your students find the propagation of sound in space and how the astronauts talk with each other while they are in space. Instruct them to make a repost on their findings and present it in the class.