Name: Date:
Student Exploration: Hearing: Frequency and Volume
MAKE YOUR OWN COPY - CLICK “FILE” > “MAKE A COPY” > SAVE
TO YOUR SCIENCE GOOGLE FOLDER
Directions: Follow the instructions to go through the simulation. Respond to the questions and
prompts in the orange boxes.
[Note to teachers and students: This Gizmo involves listening to and comparing faint sounds. It is
recommended that students use headphones and that the room is kept as quiet as possible.]
Vocabulary: decibel, equal-loudness curve, frequency, hertz, logarithm, pitch, threshold, volume
Prior Knowledge Questions (Do these BEFORE using the Gizmo.)
1. A dog whistle emits a sound that dogs can hear but humans cannot. Why do you think dogs can perceive
this sound?
Dogs can hear higher frequencies
2. How do you think your ability to perceive different sounds might change as you age?
sound frequencies decrease
Gizmo Warm-up
Have you ever wondered how good your hearing is? The Hearing: Frequency and
Volume Gizmo allows you to test how well you hear tones at different frequencies.
The frequency of a sound wave is measured in hertz (Hz), where 1 Hz is equal to
one wave passing each second. Frequency is related to the pitch of a sound, or
whether it sounds high (like a whistle) or low (like a tuba).
Before you begin, be sure you are in a very quiet setting. Headphones are recommended for this Gizmo. Set
the System volume to 1 and click the test button ( ). Adjust the System volume and your computer so that
you hear a moderately loud tone when you click test.
1. Drag the 60-Hz slider and the 4,000-Hz slider to the top and click Play for each sound.
Describe what you hear.
at 60 hz, I very soft, fint tone noise, at 4000 Hz, I heard a very sharp, loud tone (noise)
Reproduction for educational use only. Public sharing or posting prohibited. © 2020 ExploreLearning™ All rights reserved
, 2. In general, how does the frequency of a sound relate to its pitch?
The higher the frequency, the higher the pitch, in vice versa
Activity A: Get the Gizmo ready:
Create an ● Return all sliders to their minimum values.
equal-loudness ● Turn on Show logarithmic grid and Show
curve decibel values.
Introduction: The volume, or intensity, of a tone is measured in a unit called the decibel (dB). Decibels are
the base-10 logarithm of the ratio of one volume to another. A 10-dB tone is 10 times more powerful than a
0-dB tone. A 20-dB tone is 10 times more powerful than a 10-dB tone and 100 times more powerful than a
0-dB tone.
Question: How well do you hear sounds of different frequencies?
1. Calibrate: Set the 1,000-Hz slider to 10 dB and click PLAY. If you can’t hear anything, raise the System
volume or increase your computer’s volume until the tone is barely perceptible.
2. Observe: Move all of the sliders to 50 dB. Click Play full sequence (20 sec). What do you notice about the
perceived volumes of the tones?
In the beginning, I couldn't hear them, and then they got louder and then the sound stop
3. Predict: Do you think humans hear low-frequency, medium-frequency, or high-frequency tones the best?
Explain why you think so.
Humans can hear medium, and high (to an extent)
4. Compare: Play the 1,000-Hz tone and the 125-Hz tone. Both of these tones have the same volume in
decibels. Which tone appears to be louder to you? 1000 Hz
5. Measure: Adjust the 125-Hz slider until the 125-Hz tone appears to be just as loud as the 1,000-Hz tone. At
what decibel level is this the case? 63
6. Gather data: Repeat this procedure for each of the other tones in the Gizmo. Now when you click Play the
full sequence, each tone should sound equally loud. Record the decibel level of each tone below (all
frequencies in Hz):
30 60 125 250 1,000 2,000 4,000 8,000 16,000
94 68 63 60 20 30 15 10 60
Reproduction for educational use only. Public sharing or posting prohibited. © 2020 ExploreLearning™ All rights reserved
Student Exploration: Hearing: Frequency and Volume
MAKE YOUR OWN COPY - CLICK “FILE” > “MAKE A COPY” > SAVE
TO YOUR SCIENCE GOOGLE FOLDER
Directions: Follow the instructions to go through the simulation. Respond to the questions and
prompts in the orange boxes.
[Note to teachers and students: This Gizmo involves listening to and comparing faint sounds. It is
recommended that students use headphones and that the room is kept as quiet as possible.]
Vocabulary: decibel, equal-loudness curve, frequency, hertz, logarithm, pitch, threshold, volume
Prior Knowledge Questions (Do these BEFORE using the Gizmo.)
1. A dog whistle emits a sound that dogs can hear but humans cannot. Why do you think dogs can perceive
this sound?
Dogs can hear higher frequencies
2. How do you think your ability to perceive different sounds might change as you age?
sound frequencies decrease
Gizmo Warm-up
Have you ever wondered how good your hearing is? The Hearing: Frequency and
Volume Gizmo allows you to test how well you hear tones at different frequencies.
The frequency of a sound wave is measured in hertz (Hz), where 1 Hz is equal to
one wave passing each second. Frequency is related to the pitch of a sound, or
whether it sounds high (like a whistle) or low (like a tuba).
Before you begin, be sure you are in a very quiet setting. Headphones are recommended for this Gizmo. Set
the System volume to 1 and click the test button ( ). Adjust the System volume and your computer so that
you hear a moderately loud tone when you click test.
1. Drag the 60-Hz slider and the 4,000-Hz slider to the top and click Play for each sound.
Describe what you hear.
at 60 hz, I very soft, fint tone noise, at 4000 Hz, I heard a very sharp, loud tone (noise)
Reproduction for educational use only. Public sharing or posting prohibited. © 2020 ExploreLearning™ All rights reserved
, 2. In general, how does the frequency of a sound relate to its pitch?
The higher the frequency, the higher the pitch, in vice versa
Activity A: Get the Gizmo ready:
Create an ● Return all sliders to their minimum values.
equal-loudness ● Turn on Show logarithmic grid and Show
curve decibel values.
Introduction: The volume, or intensity, of a tone is measured in a unit called the decibel (dB). Decibels are
the base-10 logarithm of the ratio of one volume to another. A 10-dB tone is 10 times more powerful than a
0-dB tone. A 20-dB tone is 10 times more powerful than a 10-dB tone and 100 times more powerful than a
0-dB tone.
Question: How well do you hear sounds of different frequencies?
1. Calibrate: Set the 1,000-Hz slider to 10 dB and click PLAY. If you can’t hear anything, raise the System
volume or increase your computer’s volume until the tone is barely perceptible.
2. Observe: Move all of the sliders to 50 dB. Click Play full sequence (20 sec). What do you notice about the
perceived volumes of the tones?
In the beginning, I couldn't hear them, and then they got louder and then the sound stop
3. Predict: Do you think humans hear low-frequency, medium-frequency, or high-frequency tones the best?
Explain why you think so.
Humans can hear medium, and high (to an extent)
4. Compare: Play the 1,000-Hz tone and the 125-Hz tone. Both of these tones have the same volume in
decibels. Which tone appears to be louder to you? 1000 Hz
5. Measure: Adjust the 125-Hz slider until the 125-Hz tone appears to be just as loud as the 1,000-Hz tone. At
what decibel level is this the case? 63
6. Gather data: Repeat this procedure for each of the other tones in the Gizmo. Now when you click Play the
full sequence, each tone should sound equally loud. Record the decibel level of each tone below (all
frequencies in Hz):
30 60 125 250 1,000 2,000 4,000 8,000 16,000
94 68 63 60 20 30 15 10 60
Reproduction for educational use only. Public sharing or posting prohibited. © 2020 ExploreLearning™ All rights reserved
