{"id":981,"date":"2026-03-02T11:10:21","date_gmt":"2026-03-02T14:10:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/madeinscience.com\/lab\/?p=981"},"modified":"2026-03-18T14:14:48","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T17:14:48","slug":"grade7-sound","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/madeinscience.com\/lab\/grade7-sound\/","title":{"rendered":"GRADE 7 &#8211; LAB 1: Sound transmission"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h3><strong>Inquiry question: <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><em>How does the medium (air, water, or solid<\/em>)<em> affect the way sound travels?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Notes: <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li><em>Sound is produced by&nbsp;<strong>vibrations<\/strong>&nbsp;of an object.<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>These vibrations make particles in a medium vibrate, passing energy onward.<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>The denser and closer the particles, the\u00a0<strong>faster and more effective<\/strong>\u00a0the transmission. <\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3><strong>Hypothesis: <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>If&#8230; Then&#8230; Because&#8230;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3><strong>Materials (per group):<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>2 tin cans (or sturdy paper\/plastic cups)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>~3\u20136 m of string (different materials if possible)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Nail\/awl\/scissors to make holes<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Ruler or tape for measuring string length<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3><strong>Procedure<\/strong>s:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Prepare cans<\/strong>: Carefully make a small hole in the center of the bottom of each tin can (or cup).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Thread string<\/strong>: Pass one end of the string through the hole in a can and tie a knot inside so it won\u2019t pull through. Repeat with second can. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Stretch the string<\/strong>: Groups spread out so the string is&nbsp;<strong>taut<\/strong>&nbsp;(this is essential \u2014 slack string stops the sound).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Test sound<\/strong>: One student speaks into one can while another listens at the other can.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3><strong>Results (take notes!!):<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>Can the listener hear the speaker?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What happens if the string is loose vs pulled tight?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Does string length or material change how well sound travels?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What do you think is vibrating \u2014 the can, the string, or both?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3><strong>Analysis &amp; Discussi<\/strong>on: <\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Answer the key questions below in your School paper:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li><em>Why were you able to hear through the string but not through air alone?<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>What would happen if you tried this with no string or slack string?<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>In which medium (solid, liquid, gas) do you think sound travels fastest, and why?<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>Why&nbsp;<strong>can\u2019t<\/strong>&nbsp;sound travel in a vacuum (even with cans)?<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3><strong>Conclusion &amp; Wrap-Up<\/strong>: <\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Summarize the big ideas:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>Sound is created by ________________.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>These ______________ must travel through a&nbsp;______________&nbsp;(solid, liquid, gas).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A _______________ doesn\u2019t have particles \u2192&nbsp;<em>no sound transmission<\/em>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Sound travels in ______________ more efficiently than in ____________ because____________.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3><strong>Assessment<\/strong>: <\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Draw a diagram showing how the tin can telephone works (vibrations traveling through string).<br>Explain why sound can\u2019t travel in a vacuum using evidence from the activity.<br>Compare how well sound travels in a solid (string) vs in air.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Inquiry question: How does the medium (air, water, or solid) affect the way sound travels? Notes: Hypothesis: If&#8230; Then&#8230; Because&#8230;&#46;&#46;&#46;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/madeinscience.com\/lab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/981"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/madeinscience.com\/lab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/madeinscience.com\/lab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madeinscience.com\/lab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madeinscience.com\/lab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=981"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/madeinscience.com\/lab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/981\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1011,"href":"https:\/\/madeinscience.com\/lab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/981\/revisions\/1011"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/madeinscience.com\/lab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=981"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madeinscience.com\/lab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=981"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madeinscience.com\/lab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=981"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}