Sound - revise KS3 science with fun quizzes

Science Quiz - Sound 01 (Questions)

This is an enjoyable way to test your knowledge of sound and how it is produced. What is pitch?

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This KS3 Science quiz challenges you on sound. A sound is produced when something vibrates. Sound is used by many species of animal for detecting danger, navigation, predation and communication.

Humans appear to be the only animal that has developed music, which is a specialised form of communication. Sound travels as a wave and so it has a wavelength, speed and frequency. The speed of sound in air is about 330 metres per second. It can only travel through material media.

That means if the soundwave reaches a vacuum, it is stopped. Films that show sound travelling through space are technically incorrect - but they would be really boring without the sound effects! The pitch of a sound depends on its frequency.

Frequency is measured in units called hertz and one hertz means one vibration per second. The higher the frequency, the higher the pitch of the sound. Some sound is so high or low pitched that human ears cannot detect it. These are called ultrasound and infrasound. Stringed instruments are very popular. Thinner strings, tighter strings and shorter strings will vibrate faster than thicker ones, looser ones or longer ones. This enables players of stringed instruments to produce a lot of different musical notes.

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Sounds cannot travel through .......

[ ]	A gas
[ ]	A liquid
[ ]	A solid
[ ]	A vacuum

A high frequency of vibrations produces .......

[ ]	High pitched sounds
[ ]	Loud sounds
[ ]	Low pitched sounds
[ ]	Quiet sounds

Frequency is measured in .......

[ ]	Hertz
[ ]	Metres
[ ]	Ohms
[ ]	Volts

A large amplitude of vibration produces .......

[ ]	High pitched sound
[ ]	Loud sounds
[ ]	Low pitched sounds
[ ]	Quiet sounds

Sounds which have a very high frequency are called .......

[ ]	Decibels
[ ]	Infra sound
[ ]	Resonance
[ ]	Ultrasound

How will a thin string on a violin vibrate compared to a thick string?

[ ]	It will vibrate with a greater amplitude
[ ]	It will vibrate with a greater frequency
[ ]	It will vibrate with a smaller amplitude
[ ]	It will vibrate with a smaller frequency

How will tightening a guitar string change its vibration?

[ ]	It will vibrate with a greater amplitude
[ ]	It will vibrate with a greater frequency
[ ]	It will vibrate with a smaller amplitude
[ ]	It will vibrate with a smaller frequency

How does decreasing the length of a guitar string change its vibration?

[ ]	Changes the amplitude
[ ]	Decreases frequency
[ ]	Decreases pitch
[ ]	Increases frequency

A loudspeaker changes .......

[ ]	Electrical energy to sound energy
[ ]	Potential energy to sound energy
[ ]	Sound energy to electrical energy
[ ]	Sound energy to potential energy

10.

Older people can't hear .......

[ ]	Any better or worse than younger people
[ ]	High pitched sounds as well as younger people
[ ]	Low frequency sounds as well as younger people
[ ]	Low pitched sounds as well as younger people

You can find more about this topic by visiting BBC Bitesize – Sound Waves

Science Quiz - Sound 01 (Answers)

Sounds cannot travel through .......

[ ]	A gas
[ ]	A liquid
[ ]	A solid
[x]	A vacuum

A vacuum has no particles so there is nothing to vibrate

A high frequency of vibrations produces .......

[x]	High pitched sounds
[ ]	Loud sounds
[ ]	Low pitched sounds
[ ]	Quiet sounds

Bats use very high pitched sounds to help them navigate

Frequency is measured in .......

[x]	Hertz
[ ]	Metres
[ ]	Ohms
[ ]	Volts

Heinrich Hertz was a German scientist who carried out a lot of research into electromagnetic waves

A large amplitude of vibration produces .......

[ ]	High pitched sound
[x]	Loud sounds
[ ]	Low pitched sounds
[ ]	Quiet sounds

A guitarist can make their guitar sound louder by plucking or strumming it harder to increase the amplitude of vibration of the string. In an orchestra, the stringed instruments are played using a bow. The players can bow harder to increase the amplitude and therefore make a louder sound

Sounds which have a very high frequency are called .......

[ ]	Decibels
[ ]	Infra sound
[ ]	Resonance
[x]	Ultrasound

In the ocean, sperm whales use sound to stun or kill their prey

How will a thin string on a violin vibrate compared to a thick string?

[ ]	It will vibrate with a greater amplitude
[x]	It will vibrate with a greater frequency
[ ]	It will vibrate with a smaller amplitude
[ ]	It will vibrate with a smaller frequency

It has less mass and can therefore vibrate faster

How will tightening a guitar string change its vibration?

[ ]	It will vibrate with a greater amplitude
[x]	It will vibrate with a greater frequency
[ ]	It will vibrate with a smaller amplitude
[ ]	It will vibrate with a smaller frequency

The same applies to any string instrument

How does decreasing the length of a guitar string change its vibration?

[ ]	Changes the amplitude
[ ]	Decreases frequency
[ ]	Decreases pitch
[x]	Increases frequency

Guitar players shorten strings by holding them against the frets on the fretboard (the guitar's neck)

A loudspeaker changes .......

[x]	Electrical energy to sound energy
[ ]	Potential energy to sound energy
[ ]	Sound energy to electrical energy
[ ]	Sound energy to potential energy

A cardboard cone inside the loudspeaker is vibrated to create the soundwaves

10.

Older people can't hear .......

[ ]	Any better or worse than younger people
[x]	High pitched sounds as well as younger people
[ ]	Low frequency sounds as well as younger people
[ ]	Low pitched sounds as well as younger people

This deterioration in hearing is actually said to begin as young as the age of eight!