CLASSROOM SPOTLIGHT: Bay Haven School of Basics-Plus

Students in Rolf Hanson's fifth-grade physical science class at Bay Haven School of Basics-Plus used spoons, tuning forks, mallets and salt to learn about sound waves.

Gabe Breakstone
What is the purpose of this experiment?
“We’re taking a spoon and putting it up to our ears and trying to feel the vibrations.

What did you conclude?
“You didn’t really hear the sound, you just felt the vibration.”

Lizdelia Bagan
What happened in this experiment?
“Well, when you hold it (the string), you can feel the vibrations travel up to your ears.”

It looks as though your classmate tapped the spoon too hard.
“I think he did. The vibrations hurt!”

Corey Black
What is the purpose of this experiment?
“I am hitting the tuning fork with a mallet and putting my ear on the table to listen to the vibrations moving.”

How does this experiment differ from the previous one that used string?
“It sounds deeper on the table than in the air.”

Why do you think this is?
“When molecules travel through a solid, they are tightly packed together. They move faster in the air than in a solid and really spread out.”

Ian Holland
What are you doing with the mallet and tuning fork?
“We’re learning how vibrations go through the air and how they travel.”

Kylee MacLeod
How does the salt come into play?
“We are making the salt move without touching it by the vibrations of the tuning fork.”

Samantha Sera
What did you conclude from the salt experiment?
“The salt was doing a dance on the plastic wrap because the vibrations from the tuning fork hit the salt.”

Have you tried similar experiments before?
“Yes — one time I hit the tuning fork and put it in water and heard the vibrations. It was really fun.”

Contact Loren Mayo at [email protected].