Blocking Beethoven - K5 Learning

1 Level U Reader K5 Learning 2020 55 Blocking Beethoven Mik ayl a d ro p ped her h ead o n to he r o pen mat h bo o k , cro ssed he r arms so her sho ul d ers b lo cked her ear s, a nd gro an e d . Her ro o m w as pr actic al ly v ib ra ti ng fro m h er bro t h er L iam pr act icin g p ia no a ga in, and th ere w as no way t hat she co u l d fo cus o n m ath with al l of th at no ise. Mom! she shouted. Liam is playing way too loud again! Mikayla s mom popped her head into the room. Sorry honey, she said, Were you calling me? Yes! Mikayla answered, I m surprised you heard me since Liam s mak in g so much noise. I can t study for tomorrow s math test when he is banging away on that piano. Right, said Mikayla s mom thoughtfully. It seems we need to find a w ay fo r ev e ryo n e to ge t the ir wo r k d o ne at th e sa me tim e bec ause Li am n e ed s to pr act ice fo r his recita l o n S at urd ay, and yo u need to ace your math test.

2 Mik ayl a no d d ed . eardrums vibrations scientifically vacuum symphony frequency Level U Reader K5 Learning 2020 56 Let s think about this, her mom continued. Sound is energy crea ted by the v i br atio n o f an o b j ect. Wh en Li am hi ts a pi ano k ey, a tiny h amme r st ri k es a m et al st rin g i n the pi ano c ausi ng i t to v ib ra te. The v ib ra tio n o f t he str in g ca uses t he sur ro und i ng ai r to v ibr ate, and those vibrations travel through the air as sound waves. Well, I m drowning in those sound waves, Mikayla said. As you ve noticed, tho se so und wav e s ev entu ally reach o ur ea rs. Ou r o ute r ear fu nne ls th e v i br atio ns in t he ai r into th e mid d l e o f o ur ea rs w her e o ur ea rd rum s its. Our e ard r ums th e n be gi n to v ib ra te in th e sa me pat ter n. The v i br a tio n o f o u r e ard ru ms resu lts i n si gn a ls th at o ur br ains int er pre t as so und . And that s what is interrupting your homework.

3 You re not kidding, Mikayla said. So, can you please make him stop? Maybe we can figure out a way to interrupt that process. Then you can get yo u r stud ying d o n e. Mom, that s easy. Let me explain, Mikayl a s aid in h er mo st gro w n-up and patient voice. First, you tell Liam to stop hitting the piano keys with his fingers, then the keys won t cause the hammer to hit the strings, and then the strings won t vibrate, and there will be no so und wav e s f lo o d ing into my e ar s and ru ini ng my ch ances o f getting into university. Level U Reader K5 Learning 2020 57 Very funny girl, Mom said with a smile. We could silence the piano by stopping the strings from vibrating, but then Liam won t get the p r actice th at he ne ed s. Ho wev er, th e so und v i br atio n s hav e to trav e l th ro ug h th e air to re ach o u r ear s. How can we block that? OK, that s easy too, Mikayla s ig h ed. We just hook Dad s big pump up to the house and pump out all the air.

4 Then the sound can t travel. Mom looked thoughtful. Well, scientifically spe a kin g , yo u are co rrect. So u nd v i br atio ns need a med ium, l ik e a ir o r w ater , to tr av el thro u gh. I f the re was no ai r to v i br ate, t he re wo u ld be no so und . I n fac t, in the v acuu m o f o ute r sp ace, it is co m ple tely q uiet. Ho wev e r, we ne ed a ir to br eat he, so your plan won t wo rk. Let s try closing your door and block that v ib rat in g a ir f ro m co min g in to yo ur room. Mikayla and her mom closed Mikayla s door and w ind o w, and sho v ed a b la nk et aro und the door until they couldn t see any light co ming thro u gh. T he ro om se emed co mplet ely s ea le d . U nfo rtu na tely, j ust at the mo ment, Li am stu ck up a ro us in g v ersio n o f Beethoven s ninth symphony, and they could hea r ev e ry cho rd . Mikayla covered her ears. Why does he hav e to pl ay so loud? Level U Reader K5 Learning 2020 58 I guess clo sin g yo ur d o o r is no t go in g to so l v e o ur problem, Mikayla s mom conceded.

5 The vibrating air outside of yo ur ro o m is c ausi ng yo ur wa lls to v ibr ate, whic h ca us es the ai r insid e yo u r ro o m t o v ibr ate. So , we can st ill he ar t he pi ano . We mad e i t qu iet er, b ut stil l no t qui et eno ugh. Well, can t you just tell Liam to practice more quietly? Mikayla ask ed . Sure, Mom replied. The energy something makes when it vibrates pro d uces so u nd wav es th at h av e a d e fin ite pa tte rn . If L iam hits the pi ano k eys h ard e r , then t he s tri ng v i brates wit h mo re ener gy and th e so und wav e s a re l ar ger. Whe n he pl ays li gh tly, h e red uces th e ener gy o f the str i ng v i br atio n, cre a tin g sma ll er, quie t er so und wav es. I could ask him to play more quietly, but I don t think it would solve o ur pro ble m co m plet ely. Yeah, Mikayla groaned. No matter how gently he plays the high notes, they make my teeth hurt. That s a b it m elodramatic. Mikayla s mom no ted.

6 High and low notes do vibrate d if fer ent ly. If a so und has hi ghe r p it ch, the n it mean s the so und wav e is v ib ra tin g much f ast er o r has a h ig her f r eque ncy. A lo w f r eque ncy p itch v ibr ates slo w er an d so und s d eep er. Li am ne ed s a ll o f the k eys to practice though, so we can t ask him to only play the low notes. Great, so I just fail my math test then, Mikay la s ig h ed . Level U Reader K5 Learning 2020 59 No, that s not the answer, Mom reassured her. How can we figure o ut a w ay to r ed u ce the v i br at io ns that yo u r e ars ar e expo s ed to ?" Oh, OK, Mikayla said in frustration. Maybe I ll just wrap my head in a giant marshmallow. That s it! Mom e xcla imed , d ashi n g o ut o f the ro o m. He ari ng the bac kd o o r sl am, M ik ayla we nt to th e wind o w and s aw Mo m he ad in g into he r wo o d wo r kin g sho p in the b acky ard . A f ew mi nutes lat er, her Mo m burs t b ack i nto her ro o m.

7 Marshmallows are the answer! she cried, holdin g u p a bul ky p ai r o f ear muf fs s he us e d when o per at in g lo ud mach ine ry i n the s ho p. These ear muffs have a tough outer shell, but inside they are filled with soft foam that s designed to no t v ibr at e at f req u encie s we c an hear. Give them a try. Mik ayl a pu t o n th e bi g e ar m uf fs, a nd Be etho v en w a s inst ant ly sile nced . Mi k ayl a gav e Mo m a t hu mbs-up. M ar shm a llo ws wer e th e ans wer ind e ed . Level U Reader K5 Learning 2020 60 Blocking Beethoven (exercises) 1. Mult ipl e C hoi ce If so met hin g i s v ib rat in g v ery quic kl y, it wi ll l ik ely: a. hav e a v ery lo w s o und lik e tu ba b. hav e a re a lly q uic k be at li ke d a nce music c. hav e a re a lly h igh so und li ke a f lute d. be v ery so o thin g t o liste n to If so met hin g i s v ib rat in g v ery s lo wly it wi ll l ik ely: a. so und li ke ti nk er b ells b.

8 No t hav e eno u gh ener gy to v i br ate yo ur ea r d rum c. so und v ery d ee p and lo w li ke a fo g ho rn d. try to ca tch u p to the q uic k w av es What is a vacuum as discussed in the story. a. A mach ine fo r cle ani ng c ar pe ts. b. A sp ace t ha t is c o mplet ely e mpty o f a ll pa rtic les, includ i ng ai r. c. A ro o m th at i s so no isy th at yo u c a nno t he ar yo u rse lf thin k. Level U Reader K5 Learning 2020 61 2. Soun ds can be hi gh-p itc hed or lo w-pit che d. The y c a n al so be loud or so ft. Fi ll in thi s c har t w ith ex ampl es of sou nds of e ach type : High-pi tch ed sou nd Loud so und Low-pit che d s oun d Soft so und 3. Shor t A nsw er Do yo u thi nk yo u can h ea r a nyth in g und e r w ate r? W hy o r why no t? _____ _____ _____ Level U Reader K5 Learning 2020 62 Blocking Beethoven (answers) 1. Mult ipl e C hoi ce c. hav e a re a lly h igh so und like a f lute c.

9 So und v ery d ee p and lo w li ke a fo g ho rn. b. A sp ace t ha t is c o mplet ely e mpty o f a ll pa rtic les, includ i ng ai r. 2. Soun ds can be hi gh-p itc hed or lo w-pit che d. The y c a n al so be loud or so ft. Fi ll in thi s c har t w ith ex ampl es of sou nds of e ach type : ( Answ ers m ay v ary ) High-pi tch ed sou nd Loud so und scho ol be ll whis tle car s horn hamm er ba ng ing Low-pit che d s oun d Soft so und cow s moos bas s gu it ar bird s chirp hiss o f sn ak e 3. Shor t A nsw er (Ans wers may v ary) Yes, yo u c an h ea r und er wat er. Ev e n tho ug h th ere is no ai r, th e so und can tr av el thro u gh v i br atio ns o f the w ate r mo l ecules.