Jeavons Wood Primary School – Science Knowledge Organiser
Topic: Sound Year: 4 Strand: Physics
Big Question: What is sound and how does it travel?
What should I already know? Diagrams
• Hearing is one of my five senses. Pitch:
• Sounds can be combined using musical instruments. • High pitch sounds are created by short sound
waves.
What will I know by the end of the unit? • Low pitched sounds are created by long sound
waves.
What is a A thing that can be heard. long sound
sound? The object that makes the sound is called the waves
source. create a
low pitch
How is a • When objects vibrate, a sound is made.
sound • The vibration makes the air around the object short sound
made? vibrate and the air vibrations enter your ear. waves create
These are called sound waves. a high pitch
• If an object is making a sound, a part of it is Volume:
vibrating, even if you cannot see the vibrations. • The closer you are to the source of the sound, the
louder the sound will be.
• The further away you are from the source of the
sound, the quieter the sound will be.
quieter
How do • Sound waves travel through a medium (such as
sounds air, water, glass, stone, and brick).
travel? • For example, if somebody is playing music in the
room next door, the sound can travel through the louder
bricks in the wall.
How do we • When an object vibrates, the air around it vibrates
hear too. This vibrating air can also be known as sound Vocabulary
sounds? waves. amplitude a measure of the strength of a sound wave
• The sound waves travel to the ear and make the decibel a measure of how loud a sound is
eardrums vibrate. a form of energy that can be carried by
• Messages are sent to the brain which recognises electricity wires and in used for heating and lighting,
the vibrations as sounds. and to provide power for devices
the power from sources such as
energy electricity that makes machines work or
provides heat
a measure of how many times per second
frequency
the sound wave cycles
How do Pitch: something that makes possible the transfer
medium
sounds • The pitch of a sound is how high or low it is. of energy from one location to another
pitch how high or low a sound is
change? • A squeak of mouse has a high pitch.
Power is energy, especially electricity, that
• A roar of a lion has a low pitch.
is obtained in large quantities from
Volume: power
a fuel source and used to operate lights,
• The volume of a sound is how loud or quiet it is. heating, and machinery
• When a sound is created by a little amount of invisible waves that travel through air,
energy, a weak sound wave is created which sound waves
water, and solid objects as vibrations
doesn’t travel far. This makes a quiet sound. source where something comes from
• A small tap of a hammer is used with small to pass from one place or person to
transmit
amounts of energy and so creates a quiet another
noise. travel how something moves around
• A vibration with lots of energy makes a powerful vibrations invisible waves that move quickly
sound wave and therefore a loud sound. volume how loud or quiet a sound is
• A powerful, smashing tap of a hammer is
used with lots of energy and so creates a Investigate!
loud noise. • Fill identical jars with different volumes of water.
How do we • Amplitude measures how strong a sound wave Which one creates the highest pitch?
measure is. • Which material would make the best sound
sound? • Decibels measure how loud a sound is. defender? How can you investigate this?
• Frequency measures the number of times per • Make musical instruments using different length
second that the sound wave cycles. strings. How do their pitches differ?
Jeavons Wood Primary School – Science Knowledge Organiser
Topic: Sound Year: 4 Strand: Physics
Big Question: What is sound and how does it travel?
Question 6: The origin of Start of End of
Question 1: How does Start of End of the unit: unit:
sound unit: unit: sound is called the…
travel? noise
In a straight line source
In a curvy line vibration
As a series of vibrations frequency
By making a noise
Start of End of Question 7: The pitch of a Start of End of
Question 2: Sound travels…
unit: unit: sound describes… unit: unit:
slower than the speed of how fast or slow a sound is
light
at the same speed as light how loud or quiet a sound is
faster than the speed of light how low or high a sound is
Question 3: The volume of Start of End of Question 8: When a sound Start of End of
sound is measured in… unit: unit: hits the ear... unit: unit:
decibels nothing vibrates
centimetres the whole ear vibrates
kilograms the eardrums vibrate
miles the brain vibrates
Question 4: Sounds gets Start of End of Question 9: Sound can travel Start of End of
louder… (tick 2) unit: unit: through… unit: unit:
as we move further away
from the source the air
as we move closer to the
source water
the less energy there is
when creating the sound the floor
the more energy there is
when creating the sound all of the above
Question 5: On a stringed Question 10: A pupil blows
Start of End of through two different length Start of End of
musical instrument, the
unit: unit: straws. Which statement is unit: unit:
pitch can be changed by…
true?
hitting the string harder
The shorter straw will
hitting the string softer make a higher-pitched
tightening the string sound.
The shorter straw will make
loosening the string a louder sound.
The longer straw will make a
higher-pitched sound.
The longer straw will make a
louder sound.