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Science: Middle School: Grades 6, 7 and 8 Quiz - Sound 1 (Questions)

This Science quiz is called 'Sound 1' and it has been written by teachers to help you if you are studying the subject at middle school. Playing educational quizzes is a fabulous way to learn if you are in the 6th, 7th or 8th grade - aged 11 to 14.

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When you hear a sound your ear is picking up a vibration in the air. The energy from the vibration travels in waves - when these waves travel to your ears and then to your brain, you hear the sound. When someone plays a guitar, you can see the vibrating strings and hear the sounds they produce - low, medium and high pitch. It's not just air that can carry sound waves - in fact, solids are the best medium for transmitting sound and liquids are also better at it than air is! Sound can also bounce off solids - when this happens we hear an echo. An echo is a reflection of a sound wave.

1. What can sound travel through?
[ ] Air
[ ] Water
[ ] Walls
[ ] All of the above
2. When a sound wave hits your ear, it makes the air in your ear vibrate. These vibrations cause what part of your body to vibrate?
[ ] Your auditory nerve
[ ] Your ear drum
[ ] Your aorta
[ ] Your retina
3. When something vibrates quickly, it makes high frequency waves. You hear this as what kind of sound?
[ ] A high pitch
[ ] A low pitch
[ ] A medium pitch
[ ] A G sharp
4. Which musical instruments produce lower pitches?
[ ] Shorter or thinner instruments
[ ] Larger or thicker instruments
[ ] Brass instruments
[ ] Woodwind instruments
5. Which unit is sound frequency measured in?
[ ] Amps
[ ] Joules
[ ] Hertz
[ ] Heinz
6. Which unit is the intensity (loudness) of a sound measured in?
[ ] Decibels
[ ] Crucibles
[ ] Multiples
[ ] Degrees
7. Sound waves can be reflected off solid objects. When this happens, what do we hear?
[ ] Music
[ ] An echo
[ ] Thunder
[ ] No sound
8. Sound waves can be reflected, transmitted or what else?
[ ] Bounced
[ ] Deflected
[ ] Transcribed
[ ] Absorbed
9. Which travels fastest, light or sound?
[ ] Light travels faster than sound
[ ] Light and sound travel at the same speed
[ ] Sound always travels faster than light
[ ] Sound sometimes travels faster than light
10. Why does a guitar produce a lower pitch when you do not press any fingers against a string while plucking it?
[ ] A shorter string produces a lower pitch
[ ] A shorter string produces a louder sound
[ ] A longer string produces a higher pitch
[ ] A longer string produces a lower pitch
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Science: Middle School: Grades 6, 7 and 8 Quiz - Sound 1 (Answers)
1. What can sound travel through?
[ ] Air
[ ] Water
[ ] Walls
[x] All of the above
Sound can travel through anything that can vibrate - this is described as the 'transmission' of sound
2. When a sound wave hits your ear, it makes the air in your ear vibrate. These vibrations cause what part of your body to vibrate?
[ ] Your auditory nerve
[x] Your ear drum
[ ] Your aorta
[ ] Your retina
The ear drum makes three tiny bones move and these pass the vibrations on to the cochlea. The cochlea sends signals to the brain which we hear as sound
3. When something vibrates quickly, it makes high frequency waves. You hear this as what kind of sound?
[x] A high pitch
[ ] A low pitch
[ ] A medium pitch
[ ] A G sharp
High frequency vibrations make high pitched sounds and low frequency vibrations make low pitched sounds
4. Which musical instruments produce lower pitches?
[ ] Shorter or thinner instruments
[x] Larger or thicker instruments
[ ] Brass instruments
[ ] Woodwind instruments
Large, thick, or loose strings also produce a lower pitch, as do longer instruments or strings
5. Which unit is sound frequency measured in?
[ ] Amps
[ ] Joules
[x] Hertz
[ ] Heinz
1 Hertz = 1 vibration per second
6. Which unit is the intensity (loudness) of a sound measured in?
[x] Decibels
[ ] Crucibles
[ ] Multiples
[ ] Degrees
Sounds above 85 decibels can damage your ears - concerts, loud MP3s and motorbikes all reach levels higher than this
7. Sound waves can be reflected off solid objects. When this happens, what do we hear?
[ ] Music
[x] An echo
[ ] Thunder
[ ] No sound
Have you ever heard your voice echo? Large, empty rooms, such as in a cathedral, are great places for echoes
8. Sound waves can be reflected, transmitted or what else?
[ ] Bounced
[ ] Deflected
[ ] Transcribed
[x] Absorbed
Soft, flexible, fibrous materials can often absorb sound - these materials are good for soundproofing
9. Which travels fastest, light or sound?
[x] Light travels faster than sound
[ ] Light and sound travel at the same speed
[ ] Sound always travels faster than light
[ ] Sound sometimes travels faster than light
Light travels faster than sound - 874,000 times faster!
10. Why does a guitar produce a lower pitch when you do not press any fingers against a string while plucking it?
[ ] A shorter string produces a lower pitch
[ ] A shorter string produces a louder sound
[ ] A longer string produces a higher pitch
[x] A longer string produces a lower pitch
The shorter you make the string (by pressing your finger against it), the higher pitch you will hear when you pluck the string