6.5+Inquiry+-+Sound+and+Light

Step 1: Immersion - Science Alive ‘Sound and Light’ Activity Session **



On Tuesday the 8th of September, we were lucky enough to have Science Alive come to visit Room 14. Pamela first showed us how to make an electrical circuit, using a battery, wires (magnets), and a buzzer or LED light. We then made our own and tested if they worked. Fortunately, the students using buzzers had to use a switch also so that it wasn’t too noisy.

We then tested lots of different items to see if they were conductors or insulators (eg. foam, paper clips, pencils, tin foil, and graphite). After that, we learnt what resistors were and observed what effect they had on a buzzer or light. Lastly, we experimented with a mercury switch while tipping our circuit on its side. Pamela shared with us that mercury switches are helpful when making alarms or fridge lights go. **
 * Step 2: What do we already know about sound and light?

**Students were asked:** What is sound? What is light? How does sound reach our ears? How does light reach our eyes? How do we use light? How do we use sound?

Despite this we were able to piece together some possible answers.**
 * These questions weren't easy and they really got us thinking!


 * Step 3: Questions and Wonderings...**

After browsing through some sound and light reading material, Rm 14 students were full of question. We wrote these down so that they can guide our inquiry. Examples are: How does sound vibrate (Emma and Maddy) Why do we need colour and light to see things? (Amber, Tessa & Dannielle) What if there was no light in the world!? (Mathew O & Hamish) How does a microphone/megaphone work? (Matthew & Harry)


 * Step 4: Planning Our Inquiry**

We have since been investigating our range of questions through a variety of experiments. Here is a sneak look:



**Step 5: What Will We Do With This Information?** We are currently preparing and Photostory document to describe what we found out from our experiments. Stay tuned!