Objectives

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One objective of this activity is to allow you, as a teacher, to discuss with your students how the sound is perceived to be, for example, as the amplitude of the sound wave increases. Mathematics teachers could take advantage of introducing fundamental concepts of a function, such as the maximum and minimum of a function, i.e., the peaks, increasing and decreasing, or the concavity and convexity of a function.

The second objective of this activity is to engage your students in an active observation. They will discover that, even in apparent silence, some form of noise is always present. They will uncover these hidden noises by placing the Circuit Playground Express board in different locations, such as a thermobox, a cupboard between a pile of sweaters, a safe, or a room without windows. It is fascinating that there is no complete silence on Earth, with the human body alone producing some noise, e.g., their heartbeat, blood pumping or auditory neurons spontaneously firing in their brain.

You could notice or refer your students to some books or Web pages regarding scientists who were able to create quieter places on Earth, called anechoic chambers. For your information, anechoic chambers are rooms designed to stop reflections or echoes of either sound or electromagnetic waves. Additionally, they are often isolated from energy entering from their surroundings (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anechoic_chamber). In these chambers, people can hear their own heartbeat after a certain amount of time. Moreover, if they stick it out for a little longer, they could even hear their own blood flowing and their bones grinding. In everyday life, these noises are hidden by external sounds that enter individuals’ ears. It is tough to stand in anechoic chambers for a few minutes. Since no sounds from the outside world are allowed in anechoic chambers, the almost absolute silence will gradually manifest itself as an unbearable ringing in individuals’ ears.