Reflecting and absorbing sound
I can describe factors that affect how much sound a material or object might reflect or absorb, and explain ways to reduce noise.
Reflecting and absorbing sound
I can describe factors that affect how much sound a material or object might reflect or absorb, and explain ways to reduce noise.
These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- Sound reflects from hard surfaces. An echo is when a sound is heard again after reflecting and travelling back.
- Smooth, flat surfaces help to produce echoes. Irregular surfaces reflect sound in many directions, spreading it out.
- The particles of harder materials are held together by stronger forces so sound waves can’t make them vibrate much.
- Soft surfaces absorb a lot of sound because sound waves transfer energy by making the particles in them vibrate.
- Noise (unwanted sound) can be reduced by using soft materials to absorb it or hard materials to reflect it.
Keywords
Reflect - to ‘bounce’ off a surface
Echo - when a sound is heard more than once because sound waves have reflected back
Transmit - to pass into and through a material
Absorb - materials that absorb sound reduce the vibrations of the air (as sound is easily transmitted to/through them)
Noise - unwanted sound
Common misconception
Pupils often describe an absorbing surface as trapping a sound and do not correctly describe how the vibrations of air particles are reduced by making particles in a surface vibrate more.
Provide opportunity for pupils to describe how vibrations of air particles are reduced when sound waves make particles in a surface vibrate more.
To help you plan your year 7 science lesson on: Reflecting and absorbing sound, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your year 7 science lesson on: Reflecting and absorbing sound, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 3 science lessons from the Sound, light and vision unit, dive into the full secondary science curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.
Licence
Lesson video
Loading...
