Was that good? Can I have a go?
I probably look really daft doing this,
but it's one of those things you've got to do for yourself to get a sense
of why it's such fun. It's really really easy to do.
You just tie some string around the end of a coat hanger,
and wrap it around your fingers. Stick your fingers in your ears...
and bash it against something!
I tried this out earlier with my son and we had been really good time doing it.
He really liked that he could just bash things and make a lot of noise around the
house without being told to stop,
but also because he was genuinely surprised - and so was I - about the
kinds of noises we could make.
What does that sound like? It sounds like a bell ringing.
A bell ringing? Okay so I'm going to show you something with these
and it's going to sound... well, we'll find out!
Now hit it!
Is it different from when you do it here? Yeah it's really low!
This is a really fun way to spend some time with your child. They get to choose
what to test out,
and it's really good way to introduce them, or remind them,
about the idea of variables.
Those are things that we can change that
affect the things that we're looking at, or in this case listing to.
Shall we try it with something else? See if we can make different sounds?
Okay. Ah, that one? Of course!
Let's have a go then.
Where was the sound going?
Through the string!
Clever boy!
Wow! Making a lower sound.
So do you think this is going to sound the same or different to the metal one?
Different. Why is that?
Because it's plastic! Okay let's have a test.
You can still hardly hear it!
Is there anything on the table we could do differently?
Okay, so what do you think will happen if we do that?
It probably will make the same noise. Do you think it will?
What we've got here is at least two variables: the type of string we're using,
and the type of object that we're bashing.
Does that sound different from string? Yeah!
So what's different about the nylon string and that string?
Nylon makes the noise go further
than the string.
We tested all these different things out. What did you think?
It was really surprising when
the nylon kept going on and on and on.
So it made a good noise? Yeah
And what have we learnt about the different thigns we've tried today?
That different materials make different sounds.
Sounds are made
when an object vibrates. It might not always look like it,
but if an object is making a sound, a part of it must be vibrating.
Usually we hear sounds because the vibration of the object
makes the air and it vibrate and those vibrations travel into our ears.
When we listen to the coat hanger through the string,
the vibrations travel through the string, and not through the air.
That's why it sounds so different.
Sound travels differently through solids, liquids and gasses.
String is a solid,
so the sound travels differently through the string than it would through the air.
Although I kind of understand the science behind this, I was still really surprised
by the different sounds.
We had loads of fun doing this and I hope you do too.