Noise Pollution

Noise pollution has long been a problem that is so common that most people hardly notice it. Scientists estimate that about 25% of American citizens have hearing problems. It is everywhere around us: cars honking, dogs barking, machinery and many others. We hardly notice it, but it tends to slowly wear out our ears and causes malfunctioning to complete loss of hearing.

First of all, noise is the opposite of music. Music is a set of sounds put together to create sound that is pleasing to the ears. Noise is rather uncomfortable to listen to and most people try to avoid it. We “intake” this sound all of our lives, hardly noticing it. However, our ears are only “human”. Over time they get “worn out” and don’t work as properly. This can be a large problem as deafness is a serious handicap in an everyday life. The effects of noise pollution can usually be observed on laborers that spent their lives doing hard work in noisy environments. This causes a complication as it is therefore those that won’t be able to afford proper treatment that lose their hearing.

Another large cause of noise pollution actually comes from music. That is when it is played too loud. This used to be a common stereotype concerning fans of rock music but has become a common phenomenon in the modern society. Even as I write this paper, music is blasting in my ears.  The question is: Should I turn it on speaker not to concentrate the sound straight into my ears, and instead bother others with my bad taste in music? Like this I am only hurting my ears and no one else’s.

There are ways to prevent noise pollution. For example, many car companies are trying to make the sounds of their engines softer as they must have noticed that people are bothered by useless noise. Or even more obviously, vacuum cleaners. All the companies are competing to have the quietest vacuum cleaner because it is what customers look for. Nobody likes its loud and disruptive noise.

And then when it is too late, there are ways to help people with hearing problems. Modern instruments can easily enhance a person’s hearing. People have also learned to use trained dogs to lead them on their way. But any of the solutions that are currently available can fully restore a “normal” life.

In conclusion, noise pollution is something that can and should be prevented. You are exposed to it every day, which you cannot help, but you can do a bit yourself. Next time you listen your iPod, don’t crank the volume all the way up. And especially DO NOT try to block out outside noise by putting your music very loud. Also, when you know that you are going to be exposed to extreme noise, you can use earplugs to block out the worst noise. Or try to avoid it in general. No need to spend all your time at a disco where the music makes your bones vibrate. Because no one wants to be deaf, right?

Sources:

"How Bad Are IPods for Your Hearing? - TIME." Breaking News, Analysis, Politics, Blogs, News Photos, Video, Tech Reviews - TIME.com. Web. 31 Mar. 2011. .

               Geogise. "Noise Pollution." Geogise Environmental Issues. N.p., n.d. Web. 28

Mar. 2011.

noise-pollution.php>.

                Noise Pollution Presentation. "Noise Presentation ." Presentation: n. pag.

Noise Pollution. Web. 1 Apr. 2011. .

               Wikipedia. "Noise Pollutuion." Wikipedia Article. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Mar. 2011.

String and Spoon Sound Lab

Purpose: to determine a way to amplify sound travelling to your ear.

Procedure: 

1. Tie 2 strings to the handle of a metal spoon. Each string should be about 40 cm long.
2. Hold one end of each string in each hand. Bump the bowl of the spoon against a desk or other hard, solid object. Listen to the sound.
3. Now warp the ends of the strings around your fingers.
4. Put your index fingers up against your ears and bump the spoon against the object again.

Conclusion:

1. How does the first sound compare with the sound you heard with your fingers up against your ears?




2. How did the sound travel to your ears when you had the string touching your ears?




3. Why do you think it was easier to hear sound when you put the strings by your ears?

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.

Rubber Band Sounds Lab

Jan Marek and Adrian Tanner

7A

Due: 14/3/11

Rubber Band Sounds

I.  GUIDING QUESTION: How are the sounds that vibrating rubber brands produce effected by their width, their stretch, their length and how far out they are stretched?


II. HYPOTHESIS:
I think that the more the thinner, more stretched, shorter, or more stretched out to the side a rubber band is, the higher it will sound.


III.  Exploration (PLAN & DO A TEST):

Materials:

• Thin Rubber Band

• Thick Rubber Band

Procedure:

1. Stretch out a rubber band.
2. Pull and let go off the rubber band, leaving it to vibrate
3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 using different amounts of stretching, stretching to to the side, or change the length or width of the rubber band.

                                               


IV.  RECORD & ANALYZE:

Amount of Side-Stretch	Observations
1 centimeter	low, almost no sound
2 centimeters	sound is higher and longer than with 1cm
3 centimeters	sound is higher and longer than with 2cm
4 centimeters	sound is higher and longer than with 3cm
5 centimeters	sound is higher and longer than with 4cm

Amount of Length-Stretch	Observations
Low	a very low, unclear sound
High	a rather high pitch, slightly unclear sound

Thickness of Rubber Band	Obervations
Thick	a very low, very unclear sound
Thin	a relatively low, unclear sound

Length of Rubber Band	Observations
Short	a rather high pitch, clear sound
Medium	a lower pitch and more unclear than the “Short” one
Long	the lowest pitch and unclearest sound of the three

V.  Concept Acquisition (CONCLUSION):  
Our Guiding Question was “How are the sounds that vibrating rubber brands produce effected by their width, their stretch, their length and how far out they are stretched?”. To this I answered, “I think that the more the thinner, more stretched, shorter, or more stretched out to the side a rubber band is, the higher it will sound.” I believe that my hypothesis was right as our results clearly show answers that match my expectations. This is probably because when the waves travel through a looser or shorter rubber bands, their frequency and therefore even their “pitch” lowers. For the side stretching part, I believe that we acquired our answers thanks to the larger stretch increasing the amplitude of the waves and therefore making the sound more audible.


VI.  Concept Application (FURTHER INQUIRY):
The stretching of the rubber bands was done by hand so we cannot rely on its accuracy. If we used something more accurate than human labour, we could get more accurate results. I still believe that the general results would remain the same. Also, we could do tests with material other than rubber bands to see if the results would remain the same or if they would change with the change of material. Overall I think that this was a “simple” lab and the general idea seems to be more important than exact results. For exact results, the tests would have to have been conducted differently.