Imagine you're working at your desk upstairs. You become distracted by a news programme from a downstairs radio: starting to...

Physics Narrative 5-11 11-14

The way in which humans hear is rather complicated, and explaining it fully involves aspects of physiology, psychology and...

Physics Narrative 5-11 11-14

People vary in their ability to detect the pitch of a sound. For example, in tuning a guitar, some are able to distinguish...

Physics Narrative 5-11 11-14

Sounds vary not only in terms of the pitch or frequency, but also in their relative loudness.

Physics Narrative 5-11 11-14

Clap your hands not too far from a big wall and you can hear both the original clap and, shortly afterwards, its echo. What is...

Physics Narrative 5-11 11-14

Sound can travel through any medium, so long as there are sufficient particles in each cubic metre to allow the to and fro...

Physics Narrative 5-11 11-14

Sound consists of audible vibrations, which travel from a source to a detector. These can be of a whole range of frequencies...

Physics Narrative 5-11 11-14

The range of sounds that humans are able to hear is impressively large, taking us from the loud roar of an aircraft as it...

Physics Narrative 5-11

So, how is it that you are able to hear the radio playing in all parts of the house or the bacon sizzling or the notes from...

Physics Narrative 5-11