Lewis L. Spence
Students should be involved in identifying types of sound. They should be required to relate these sounds to some useful purposes. From this discussion the sounds which might not be categorized as useful could then be given a different category. This could possibly introduce the topic of noise. The nature of sound does come to play. Here the production of sound should provide adequate class participation. Students will be required to produced different sounds and comparisons can be drawn. There are some basic observation which can be made. For example: What is common about these different sounds? What is dissimilar about these sounds? What process is involved in the production of sound? What is responsible for the variation in sound intensity? Here a common instrument like a guitar can be introduced to demonstrate the production of sound. The visual demonstration can give rise to elements of vibration, pitch and amplitude.
The phenomenon of wave propagation should require some form of visual presentation. Maybe the use of a rope, a delicate coil spring, a large container of water, could serve to demonstrate types of waves and the nature of their behavior.
The introduction of formulas to determine the speed, wavelength, frequency and intensity of a sound should provide practice in evaluating an equation. Also the students should be allowed to discover the effects of manipulating the formulas to get a required value. For example, in the formula of frequency, wavelength, and speed, what happens if a particular value is increased or decreased? The same manipulation should be applied in the formula dealing with sound intensity. From this students should get a clearer understanding of the variables which control basic acoustics.
The nature of materials and their effects on sound propagation requires some attention. Careful attention should be paid to shapes and designs with regard to how they affect sound. What constitutes noise? What constitutes good acoustics? What noise is noise? What are the basic parameters that affect good acoustics? This knowledge base should allow the students to make reasonable proposals as to what measures to take in order to provide a suitable acoustical environment.