In Investigation One, students will begin their study of sound by exploring that a sound is caused by vibrations. They will create a model to simulate these vibrations by activating a ruler. The ruler will represent how a vibration produces a sound wave that can be heard by the human ear. Students will observe that when they vary the length of the activated ruler they change how the ruler vibrates. They will also observe, through the use of an activated tuning fork, that vibration can be felt.

Students will continue their exploration of the sound in Investigation Two. They will create several models that allow them to hear sounds through the three states of matter – solids, liquids, and gases. Observing the models will help students to understand that vibrations can travel from a source, in this case, an activated tuning fork, to their ear where it is processed as a sound.

Investigation Three introduces students to a property of sound – volume. It provides them with the opportunity to discover that the volume of a sound can be changed by varying how hard the object producing the sound is struck. Students will also realize that how loud or soft the volume of the sound produced by an object can vary. Through the use of several models, students will understand that a sound can be muffled or amplified.

In Investigation Four, students will be introduced to another property of sound. Through the use of a demonstration in which a beaker is struck as water is added, students will observe that as an air column becomes shorter, the pitch it produces becomes higher. Students will discover that the length, width, and tension of an object will change the pitch produced by a vibrating object. They will observe that increasing the length or width of a rubber band lowers the pitch of the sound produced when they pluck the bands. They will also observe that increasing the tension of the rubber band causes its pitch to become higher. During another demonstration, students will also observe that as the length of an activated ruler increases, its vibrations became slower and lower in pitch.

Investigation Five is designed to give students the opportunity to apply what they have learned during the previous four investigations. Students will observe a demonstration that shows how to construct a set of drums. They will explore the constructed drums to discover whether they can change their volume and pitch. They will construct a musical instrument that demonstrates one of the concepts of sound – volume, pitch, muffle, or amplify.