Choose the sheet for the learner's age. Each prints on a single page. Build the project first, then fill it in together.
Ages 5-7: Draw & tell
Name: ______________________Date: ____________
Homemade Science with Bruce Yeany · Sound You Can See · Ages 5-7
My Sand Picture
Make a sound and see what the sand draws.
1. Draw the sand pattern on your drum.
2. When you hum, does the plastic shake?
◯ Yes◯ No
3. Where does the sand go?
◯ To the still spots◯ To the shaking spots
4. Make a different sound. Draw the new pattern.
5. Which sound made the best pattern?
Ages 8-10: Predict, test & record
Name: ______________________Date: ____________
Homemade Science with Bruce Yeany · Sound You Can See · Ages 8-10
Low Notes, High Notes
Predict, then make different sounds and record the patterns you see.
1. Predict: which will make a pattern with MORE lines?
◯ A low note◯ A high note◯ Both the same
2. Try 4 different sounds. Describe or sketch each pattern.
Try
Sound I made (low/high, loud/soft)
What the pattern looked like
3. As the notes got higher, the patterns became:
◯ Simpler◯ Busier, with more lines◯ No change
4. What did you find out?
5. Why do you think the sand piles up in some places and leaves others bare?
Ages 11-14: Explain & design your own test
Name: ______________________Date: ____________
Homemade Science with Bruce Yeany · Sound You Can See · Ages 11-14
Seeing Standing Waves
Use nodes, antinodes and frequency to explain the patterns on your drum.
1. Use the words node and antinode to explain where the sand collects and why.
2. As the frequency goes up, the pattern becomes:
◯ Simpler◯ More complex◯ It disappears
3. Explain why a higher frequency gives a pattern with more lines.
4. In a test of pitch, what do you change, what do you observe, and what must stay the same?
5. Design your own fair test (for example, tight vs. loose plastic, or loud vs. soft). Change only one thing.
What I changed
What I kept the same
Pattern I saw
6. Why might a steady tone from a speaker make cleaner patterns than your voice?
7. Where else do surfaces vibrate to make or carry sound?
Answer guide for grown-ups
Homemade Science with Bruce Yeany · Sound You Can See · Answer guide
Answer guide
Ages 5-7: My Sand Picture
Open answer: look for effort and careful observation.
Yes
To the still spots
Open answer: look for effort and careful observation.
Any answer; often a low, steady hum or a speaker tone works best.
Ages 8-10: Low Notes, High Notes
A high note.
Open answer: look for effort and careful observation.
Busier, with more lines
Different sounds make different patterns; higher notes make busier patterns with more lines, lower notes make bigger, simpler shapes.
The parts of the plastic that bounce a lot toss the sand away, and the sand lands and stays on the lines and spots that hardly move.
Ages 11-14: Seeing Standing Waves
The sand is bounced off the antinodes (parts that move a lot) and collects along the nodes (lines and spots that barely move), so the pattern shows where the membrane is still.
More complex
Higher frequency means shorter waves on the membrane, so more standing waves fit across it, giving more nodal lines and a more complex pattern.
Change: the frequency (note). Observe: the pattern (number of lines or sections). Keep the same: e.g. volume, amount of sand, how tight the plastic is, where the speaker sits.
Open answer: look for effort and careful observation.
A tone generator plays one steady frequency; a voice wobbles and mixes many frequencies at once, so the sand gets pulled toward several patterns at the same time.
Examples: drum heads, guitar and violin bodies, speaker cones, metal Chladni plates, your eardrum.