Easy Science Experiments for Kids ~ The Difference between Sound Waves and Light Waves

We have some great lessons on sound and light for kids! Also, we have shared a bunch of easy Science experiments for kids as we go. We will discuss what sound and light are as well as the difference between sound waves and light waves. Take a look at these fun sound and light activities! You and your kids will love them!

Easy Science Experiments for Kids

There are many fun science experiments kids that we will be trying out in our sound and light lessons. There are also some great Science experiment kits for kids! I will share with you what our favorite one is. In the meantime, here are some of the books that we read for these specific lessons:

The Difference between Sound Waves and Light Waves

It is now time to learn the difference between sound waves and light waves. We will also get into some fun Science activities for kids. Let’s start with the question: what causes sound? We hear sound when something vibrates in those objects or people vibrate making waves through the air in all directions.

We cannot see sound waves but we can hear them. Sound waves can travel through all the states of matter, but they travel through some faster than others. The larger the vibrations, the louder the sound will be heard. We showed this in an experiment using a small box and some rubber bands.

We had I thin rubber band, and medium rubber band, and a thick rubber band. We put them all around the small box and plucked each one, one at a time. The thinnest rubber band had the faintest and highest-pitched sound and the thickest rubber band had the loudest and deepest sound.

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Sound can also be affected by distance. The closer we are to the sound source, the louder that sound will be. We tested this by sitting very close to the TV while it was playing a show and then moving away about 20 feet. The sound was definitely lower when we were farther away from the sound source.

The official way to measure the loudness or softness of sound is using decibels (dB). The lowest measurement for an extremely low sound is zero. Any sounds above 90 dB will hurt our hearing. Leaves falling off a tree is about 10 dB and add jet engine is about 150 dB.

More on Sound and Easy Science Experiments for Kids

We use our ears to hear sound. Humans have three parts in her ears: the inner ear, the middle ear and the external ear. We don’t see what is in the inner ear, but it is what processes vibrations and are moved to the auditory nerve. It then sends the messages to the brain about what we are hearing to make sense of it all.

The inner ear wouldn’t work well without the middle ear, though. The middle ear has three small bones that receive vibrations from the eardrum and then to the oval window. That oval window then since the vibrations to the inner ear.

The external ear is the easiest for us to learn about because it is the part of that year that we can actually see. We have the earlobe and the other parts of the external ear and we can touch and clean whenever we take a shower or a bath. The shape of our ear helps us to receive sounds better and to hear more clearly.

As an experiment, stand in front of the sound source. He can be a person talking, music playing, or a TV show running. Listen to it for about a minute, just standing in front of it. Then take your hands and cup them right outside your external ear and listen again for another minute. Doesn’t that cupping of your hands buyer external ear make it easier to hear, the sound should be easier to hear and more clearer to understand.

How Does Light Travel?

It is time for our lessons about light! Light travels through air. It travels in a straight lines. We cannot see the straight lines, but we can see the light. These straight lines of light are called Ray’s. Have you heard of that word before?

One difference between sound waves and light waves is that light travels faster than sound. Light can go through transparent, translucent and opaque surfaces and objects. Transparent is completely see-through, translucent is partially see-through and we are not able to see through opaque objects.

And easy experiment for all three is to have a flashlight, a piece of clear plastic wrap, A plastic container and a piece of black paper. Turn on the flashlight and place each of the three objects in front of the flashlight to see how light goes through each of them. Light travels through the transparent plastic wrap the best and has the hardest time getting through The black paper.

Light is absorbed on dark services and it is reflected light surfaces. If a white and a black T-shirt are placed outside in the sunlight for a few minutes, then your hand is placed on each of them, The white shirt will feel cooler than the black one the black shirt will feel warm or hot than the white one.

All the Colors of Light

Even though the light from the sun is considered white light, it is actually a combination of seven colors. Those seven colors are called the light spectrum. The colors in the light spectrum are: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. The blue is more like an aqua shade and indigo is closer to royal blue.

One fun experiment to try is using a prism outside in the sunlight. The white light will come through one side of the prism and it will break up the white light and truth the seven colors. You will see a rainbow on the ground reflected from the prism. Look on the left of the picture below. You will see the white light. On the right, you will see the rainbow, or the light spectrum.

Easy Science Experiments for Kids with Nancy Larson

So there you have it! There are many differences between soundwaves and lightweight. They both serve different purposes and they both target different senses, but both are very beautiful and very necessary to enjoy this great big world!

And when it comes to the best Science curriculum for homeschool, please take the time to take a look at Nancy Larson Science 2!