How Whales Hear
Whales, dolphins and porpoises (cetaceans) rely a great deal on their hearing to communicate, find food and make sense of their surroundings. This simple activity will give you a sense of what it is like to receive sound in a way similar to these marine mammals.
Materials
- Metal coat hanger, two 12-inch lengths of string
Objective
- Gain an understanding of how whales receive sound that travels through the ocean.
- Understand that sound is a form of energy associated with vibrations of matter.
Guiding Questions
- How does a whale receive sounds that travel through the ocean?
- How does the property of a sound source affect the sound it produces?
Procedure
- Tie the two pieces of string onto the metal coat hanger.
- Twist the strings a few times around your index fingers.
- Swing the hanger so it taps against the side of a table or other hard surface and listen to the sound.
- Keeping the strings wrapped around your index fingers, place your fingers in your ears and rap the hanger against the table again. Listen to the sound. Do you notice a difference?
- You could also have someone tap on the coat hanger with a pencil while you have your fingers in your ears.
- Try changing the amount of string you wrap around your finger. Does this change the sound?
