Sound waves - R2P

This resource provides a lesson plan showing how to use musical instruments to teach about sound waves. The approach used in the lesson is based on education research which is summarised in a separate research summary document.

The lesson outlines a set of activities that can be used to demonstrate that sound is caused by vibrations along with some key questions to ask. A 'slinky' spring is then used to explain how sound travels through air as a longitudinal wave.

By the end of the lesson pupils should be able to:

• describe how sound is created
• state that sound travels as a longitudinal wave
• explain how sound is detected by the ear and microphones
• state that sound is a transfer of energy and not a transfer of matter

The research summary discusses the common misconceptions pupils have around the topic of sound and how musical instruments can be used to correct pupils' understanding.

This resource is part of a collection of research informed secondary science lesson plans produced as part of the Research-2-Practice (R2P) project undertaken by research teams at the University of Roehampton, University of Lincoln, York St John University and KYRA research school, between 2020 and 2021, which was funded by Wellcome.

The overall aim of the project was to enhance the quality of teaching and learning in science by giving time-pressed teachers quick and easy access to relevant research to inform their practice and provide exemplar lesson plans to show how the research could be used in the classroom. More resources can be found here.