Human Sounds Lab

How People Produce Sound

I.  Guiding Objective:

Objective 1: Observe how your vocal cords affect the sounds you make.

Objective 2: Observe how you lips, tongue, and teeth influence the sounds you make.

II.HYPOTHESIS:  I think that tighter and longer vocal cords will make higher sounds. I also this that the lips, tongue and teeth are vital tools that your body uses to produce different sounds.

III.  Exploration (PLAN & DO A TEST):

         (Materials) List the instruments and materials you will use

       Procedure - Requires partner

1. Pronounce the Words in the list below to your partner. Pay attention to how you pronounce the first letter in each word.
2. Together decide if you are stopping your breath when you are pronouncing the first letter of each word. Use a check mark to record in the Data section if the consonant is stopped or open.

Word List: boat fan kite pen sister dog vote gate zebra tone

IV.  RECORD & ANALYZE

         Data Tables:

                      

First Letter	Stopped	Open
b		✓
f		✓
k	✓
p		✓
s		✓
d	✓
v	✓
g	✓
z	✓
t		✓

       

          Analysis of Data: I determined whether our vocal cords were open when I pronounced specific letters by feeling with a hand whether considerable air flowed out of the mouth when the letter was pronounced. My partner and I both pronounced the letters, and almost always agreed whether our vocal cords were open or closed. I don’t really see any patterns in this data, because all of these letters are consonants yet some require open vocal cords, and some require closed.

IV.  Concept Acquisition (CONCLUSION):  

1. Is the shape of your mouth or the position of your teeth or tongue different when you pronounce a “d” than when you pronounce a “t”? No, my tongue and teeth positions are the same when pronouncing those letters.

2. What is the difference between the sound of a “d” and the sound of a “v”? When making a “d” sound, my tongue touches the roof of my mouth. When I make a “v” sound, my lower lip touches my upper set of teeth.

3. For which first letter sound(s) in the table do you use you lips and your voice, but not your tongue or teeth? I don’t use my tongue or teeth when making “b”,  and “p” sounds.

4. What part of the larynx is like the strings of a guitar?  The vocal cords are like the strings of a guitar.

My guiding objectives were:

“Objective 1: Observe how your vocal cords affect the sounds you make.

Objective 2: Observe how you lips, tongue, and teeth influence the sounds you make.”

In my tests I learned that the tighter the vocal cords are, the higher pitched sound the make. I also learned that my body uses my lips, tongue and teeth to manipulate my mouth in various ways so that it can produce a wide variety of sounds. This is quite similar to what I said in my hypothesis, so I was correct.

V.  Concept Application (FURTHER INQUIRY):   

I think that my data is quite valid, mostly because the tests I conducted were simple and there wasn’t really a large potential for error. I don’t think that I need any improvement in this category. If I were to do this again, I would test a wider variety of letters so I would have a better chance to look for patterns.

Why are women’s voices usually of a higher pitch than men’s? I think that women have higher-pitched voices than men because their vocal cords are more stretched.

Why, then, are the voices of young girls and boys about the same pitch?

Their voices are about equal because before puberty, their vocal cords are stretched about the same amount.