In this option students focus on communicating physics understanding in the context of sound production or music. In preparing their communication related to a selected contemporary societal issue or application, students examine how the wave model is applied in the design and development of musical instruments. They explore concepts including sound intensity, sound intensity levels, resonance and timbre. Contexts for student exploration may include: the human voice box as a resonance chamber with vibration provided by the vocal chords; the effects of sound and why certain chord progressions and cadences are more appealing to the human ear than others; the frequency response curve and change in hearing ability with increasing age; how cochlear implants work; or psychoacoustics.
Key knowledge
The physics of sound production and music
·         describe sound as the transmission of energy via longitudinal pressure waves and distinguish between sound intensity (W m-2) and sound intensity level (dB)
·         calculate sound intensity at different distances from a source using an inverse square law
·         explain resonance and identify it as related to the natural frequency of an object, and analyse the unique sound of an instrument as a consequence of multiple resonances created by the instrument and described as timbre
·         investigate factors that influence natural frequency including shape and material and explain how this relates to instruments
·         investigate and explain a variety of musical instruments with reference to the similarities and differences of sound production between instrument types (brass, string, woodwind and percussion) and how they compare with the human voice
·         analyse, for strings and open and closed resonant tubes, the fundamental and subsequent harmonics and apply this analysis to selected musical instruments
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