Experiment | Can You See Sound?

Approximate time to complete: 5-10 minutes + questions and journal time

Experiment Card

Click below to download and print this experiment card:

About This Activity

In this experiment, you will test to see if sound energy can be seen with your eyes. This experiment will help you figure out how sounds can be different from one another.

You’ll Learn

• How sound affects objects near it.
• How different sounds have different effects.

Pre-experiment Questions

• Can you think of different ways to move salt granules without using your hands?

Materials

• Bowl
• Salt
• Plastic wrap
• Rubber band
• Your voice
• Variety of other sounds (instruments, music player, television, vacuum, etc.)

You will also want to print a copy of the following sheet to record your findings:

Procedure

Set It Up

1. Cover the top of the bowl with plastic wrap.
2. Place a rubber band around the rim (to hold the plastic wrap in place).
3. Sprinkle a large pinch of salt across the top of the plastic wrap.

Make a Guess

1. Do you think your voice will make the salt move?
2. Do you think any other instruments will make the salt move?

Test It!

1. Use your voice to make sound near the bowl (be sure not to touch the bowl or blow air at the bowl).
2. Try making a different sound with your voice (quieter, louder, high-pitch, low-pitch).
3. Use different objects/instruments to make other sounds close to the bowl.
4. Use the table to record your findings.

Questions & Further Research

1. Did anything happen to the salt when you made sound with your voice?
2. Did anything happen to the salt when you changed your voice?
3. Did anything happen to the salt when you made sound with other objects/instruments?
4. Did different sounds have different results? If so, why do you think that is? If not, why do you think that is?
5. Can you see sound?