Download Study Guide Sound Test

Name: ___________________________
Science Study Guide: Sound
Test Date: Thursday, December 12th
Know the definitions for the following words.
Pitch: how high or low a sound is
Vibrate: to move back and forth quickly
Volume: how loud or soft a sound is
Know the following information.

Light waves move in straight lines. Sound waves travel in all
directions.

Light travels faster than sound.

Sound travels through solids, liquids and gases.

Sounds move better through some kinds of matter, such as metals.
Nonmetal materials, such as cotton, do not conduct sounds.

Sound travels more slowly through gases than through liquids or
solids.

Shorter strings vibrate faster than longer ones. The faster a string
vibrates, the higher the pitch of the sound. The slower a string
vibrates, the lower the pitch.

Thinner strings vibrate faster than thicker strings. Thinner strings
have higher pitches.

Louder sounds take more energy than softer sounds.
Be able to label the parts of the ear.
a. cochlea
b. eustachian tube
c. ear canal
d. auditory nerve
e. bones of inner ear (hammer, anvil, stirrup)
f. eardrum
Be able to explain how sound travels through our ears.
 The part of the ear that you can see (outer ear or auricle) collects
the vibrating waves of sound.
 Sound waves travel down the ear canal to the eardrum. Vibrations
make the eardrum quiver, and the three tiny bones inside the
eardrum move with each vibration.
 Vibrations travel to the tube called the cochlea, which is filled with
fluid and thousands of nerve cells. The vibrating waves of sound now
cause the fluid to vibrate. The fluid presses on the nerve cells.
 The auditory nerve passes on the message to the hearing center of
your brain, and we hear a sound.