Year 8 Sound Worksheet - Beginner

Year 8 Sound worksheet for Year 8 (Key Stage 3 / Year 7-9 (Ages 11-14)). Beginner level science practice, aligned to the UK National Curriculum. Print-ready with answer key included.

Science•Key Stage 3 / Year 7-9 (Ages 11-14)•Soundbeginner

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Sound: Vibrations, Hearing and Ultrasound

Year 8 Science • Ages 12–13 • Beginner

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Instructions: Work through the activities in order. Use the information and data provided, and write clear answers in each box. For questions asking you to explain, include the key scientific idea as well as your conclusion.

Sound travels as vibrations

Use the word bank to complete each sentence. Choose the best word for each gap; you may use each word once. Remember that sound needs a material medium to travel through.

Word bank: vibrations, medium, particles, vacuum, air

1. Sound is made when an object ______.

2. Sound travels through a material called a ______.

3. In a solid, sound is passed on as its ______ vibrate.

4. Sound cannot travel through a ______ because there are no particles to pass on the vibrations.

5. The gas around us that carries many everyday sounds is ______.

Frequency, amplitude, pitch and loudness

Use the sound descriptions to answer the questions. Frequency means the number of vibrations each second; amplitude describes the size of a vibration. For each comparison, state the sound property that changes and what happens to the sound.

1. A tuning fork vibrates 200 times each second. What is its frequency?

2. Sound A has a frequency of 150 Hz and Sound B has a frequency of 600 Hz. Which sound has the higher pitch?

3. A speaker cone makes larger vibrations while playing the same note. Does the sound become louder or higher-pitched?

4. A sound wave has a small amplitude. Compared with a wave of the same frequency but larger amplitude, is it quieter or louder?

How the ear helps us hear

Complete each statement using the word bank. The words describe the route sound vibrations take through the ear and how the brain makes sense of them.

Word bank: eardrum, ear canal, vibrations, brain, cochlea

1. Sound travels along the ______ to reach the eardrum.

2. The ______ vibrates when sound waves reach it.

3. Vibrations are passed through the small bones of the middle ear to the ______.

4. Inside the cochlea, vibrations are changed into electrical signals that travel to the ______.

5. The ______ interprets these signals as sound.

Echoes and sound reflection

An echo is a sound heard again after it reflects from a surface. Use that idea to answer each question. Give a short explanation where asked.

1. A pupil shouts towards a cliff and hears the shout again. What is this repeated sound called?

2. What happens to the sound waves when they reach the cliff and produce an echo?

3. Which surface is more likely to make a clear echo: a large, hard wall or a thick curtain?

4. A person hears an echo after shouting in a canyon. What does the delay before the echo tell you about the distance to the reflecting surface?

Ultrasound in everyday science

Read the examples and identify how ultrasound is being used. Ultrasound has a frequency higher than the upper limit of human hearing. Choose the correct answer for each question.

1. A hospital uses reflected ultrasound waves to produce images of a developing baby. What is this use called?

2. A boat sends ultrasound pulses downwards and detects their echoes from the seabed. What can the boat work out from the returning echoes?

3. A technician uses ultrasound to find cracks hidden inside a metal object. Is ultrasound being used here for medical imaging or testing materials?

4. Why can people usually not hear ultrasound?

Sound investigation: what changes?

Use the results table to answer the questions. The same note is played at two different loudness settings, then a higher note is played. Compare frequency and amplitude separately: frequency is linked to pitch, while amplitude is linked to loudness.

Sound	Frequency (Hz)	Amplitude (relative units)
A	400	2
B	400	6
C	800	2

1. Which sound has the greatest amplitude?

2. Which sound has the highest pitch?

3. Which two sounds have the same frequency?

4. Comparing Sounds A and B, what property changes, and what happens to loudness?

Answer Key

Activity 1: 1. vibrates ; 2. medium ; 3. particles ; 4. vacuum ; 5. air

Activity 2: 1. 200 Hz ; 2. Sound B ; 3. Louder ; 4. Quieter

Activity 3: 1. ear canal ; 2. eardrum ; 3. cochlea ; 4. brain ; 5. brain

Activity 4: 1. An echo ; 2. They reflect from the cliff and travel back ; 3. A large, hard wall ; 4. A longer delay means the reflecting surface is farther away

Activity 5: 1. Medical ultrasound imaging (a scan) ; 2. The depth of the seabed ; 3. Testing materials ; 4. Its frequency is above the range of human hearing

Activity 6: 1. Sound B ; 2. Sound C ; 3. Sounds A and B ; 4. Amplitude increases, so Sound B is louder