The Language of Sound

The Language of Sound

The Language of Sound
Reading Level

	edHelper's suggested reading level:	grades 6 to 8
	Flesch-Kincaid grade level:	5.97

Vocabulary

challenging words:

frequency, amplitude, velocity, intensity, unpleasant, audible, hearing, atmosphere, better, tuba, wavelength, unit, ultrasound, loss, exposure, form

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The Language of Sound
By Cindy Grigg

¹     Sound is a form of energy. An object makes sound when it vibrates matter. Matter could be a solid (earth), a liquid (water), or a gas (air). Most of the time, we hear sound that travels through air. Sound energy is transported through waves. A wave travels from one place to another with a certain velocity. Velocity is the speed and direction of the movement.

²     Sound waves must travel through matter. You cannot hear anything in space where there is little or no air. Waves that travel through matter are called mechanical waves. When something vibrates in the atmosphere, it moves the air particles around it. Those air particles move other air particles in front of them. This carries the wave of energy through the air and away from its source. An echo happens when the sound wave hits a solid surface and bounces back toward the source.

³     The amplitude of a sound is the greatest distance the particles in a wave rise or fall from their rest position. A sound wave with large amplitude will carry a loud sound.

⁴     The intensity (loudness) of a sound depends on the amplitude of the sound waves. The bigger the amplitude, the more intense the sound will be. The loudness of a sound can differ for different people. Loudness describes the way a person responds to a sound's intensity. A sound that seems loud to one person may not be loud enough for someone else.

Paragraphs 5 to 11:
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