Skip to Main Content
PhET Home Page
University of Colorado
Created 6/11/17. Updates available online.

Sound

Sound Screenshot
  • Sound
  • Waves

About

Topics

  • Sound
  • Waves

Description

This simulation lets you see sound waves. Adjust the frequency or volume and you can see and hear how the wave changes. Move the listener around and hear what she hears.

Sample Learning Goals

  • Explain how different sounds are modeled, described, and produced.
  • Design ways to determine the speed, frequency, period and wavelength of a sound wave model.
Version 2.19

For Teachers

Teacher Tips

Download teacher tips PDF Overview of sim controls, model simplifications, and insights into student thinking ( PDF ).

Teacher-Submitted Activities

Title Gold Star Contribution Contribution by PhET Authors Level Type
Concept questions for Physics using PhET (Inquiry Based) A gold star indicates high-quality, inquiry-based activities that follow the PhET design guidelines. This contribution was designed by PhET. Trish Loeblein HS
UG-Intro		 MC
Wave unit (Inquiry Based) A gold star indicates high-quality, inquiry-based activities that follow the PhET design guidelines. This contribution was designed by PhET. Trish Loeblein HS
UG-Intro		 Demo
Lab
EM wave analogy tutorial A gold star indicates high-quality, inquiry-based activities that follow the PhET design guidelines. This contribution was designed by PhET. Noah Podolefksy UG-Intro Lab
Wave demonstrations: water, sound, light (Inquiry Based) A gold star indicates high-quality, inquiry-based activities that follow the PhET design guidelines. This contribution was designed by PhET. Trish Loeblein UG-Intro
HS		 CQs
Demo
Wave clicker questions (Inquiry Based) A gold star indicates high-quality, inquiry-based activities that follow the PhET design guidelines. This contribution was designed by PhET. Trish Loeblein HS
UG-Intro		 CQs
Visualization and Visual Illusions SIM Homework A gold star indicates high-quality, inquiry-based activities that follow the PhET design guidelines. This contribution was designed by PhET. Kathy Perkins, Carl Wieman UG-Intro HW
Sound: An Introduction (Inquiry Based) A gold star indicates high-quality, inquiry-based activities that follow the PhET design guidelines. This contribution was designed by PhET. Trish Loeblein UG-Intro
HS		 Lab
CQs
Sound_Inquiry for Middle School A gold star indicates high-quality, inquiry-based activities that follow the PhET design guidelines. This contribution was designed by PhET. PhET Middle School Team MS
HS		 CQs
Lab
Sound and Wave Basics A gold star indicates high-quality, inquiry-based activities that follow the PhET design guidelines. Dr. Wendy Adams and the Acoustical Society UG-Intro
MS
HS		 HW
Inquiry Activity: Waves A gold star indicates high-quality, inquiry-based activities that follow the PhET design guidelines. Christina Zaccagnino MS Lab
Guided
How do PhET simulations fit in my middle school program? This contribution was designed by PhET. Sarah Borenstein MS Other
Alignment of PhET sims with NGSS This contribution was designed by PhET. Trish Loeblein HS Other
Sound Simulation Homework II This contribution was designed by PhET. Kathy Perkins, Carl Wieman HS
UG-Intro		 HW
Sound Simulation Homework This contribution was designed by PhET. Kathy Perkins, Carl Wieman HS
UG-Intro		 HW
PHET Digtial Wave Lab Martin Hofkamp MS
K-5
HS		 Lab
HW
The Doppler Effect Craig Reuter HS Lab
Sound Wave Introduction Kristi Goodwin K-5
MS		 Guided
Lab
MS and HS TEK to Sim Alignment Elyse Zimmer MS
HS		 Other
Aktiviti Memahami Gelombang Bunyi Menggunakan Simulasi “Sound PheT” Abdul Halim Roslan HS Guided
Sound Waves Lab Amy Jordan HS Lab
Reflection and Interference of Waves Paul Williams, Myra West UG-Intro Lab
Making use of the Sound Simulations Don Cameron HS Lab
Sound Waves Gretchen Swanson HS Lab
Waves and sound(in dutch golven en trillingen) Corné de Boer HS Demo
Phet Simulering For waves - in Norwegian Todd Nore HS Lab
HW
Roteiro Para Utilização do Aplicativo Sobre Ondas Guilherme Wendell Monção HS Lab
Simulações no Ensino de Fisica Carla Tavares HS Guided
HW
MC
Other
Lab
Demo
Discuss

Share an Activity!

Translations

Language Download or Run Tips
Arabic (Saudi Arabia) All العربية (السعودية) Run now موجات الصوت
Basque All Basque Run now Soinua
Bosnian All Bosanski Run now ZVUČNI TALASI
Catalan All català Run now So
Chinese (Simplified) All 中文 (中国) Run now 声音
Chinese (Traditional) All 中文 (台灣) Run now 聲波
Croatian All hrvatski Run now Zvuk
Czech All čeština Run now zvuk
Danish All Dansk Run now Lyd
Dutch All Nederlands Run now Geluidsgolven
Estonian All Eesti Run now Helilained
Finnish All suomi Run now Ääni
French All français Run now Ondes sonores
Galician All Gallegan Run now Son
Georgian All Georgian Run now ხმა
German All Deutsch Run now Schall
Greek All Ελληνικά Run now Ηχητικά κύματα
Hebrew All עברית Run now גלי קול
Hungarian All magyar Run now Hang
Indonesian All Bahasa Indonesia Run now Gelombang Suara
Irish All Gaeilge Run now Tonnta Fuaime
Italian All italiano Run now Onde sonore
Japanese All 日本語 Run now 音
Kannada All Kannada Run now ಶಬ್ಧ
Kazakh All Kazakh Run now Дыбыс
Khmer All Khmer Run now រលកសំឡេង
Korean All 한국어 Run now 소리
Kurdish (Turkey) All Kurdish (Turkey) Run now Deng
Lao All Lao Run now ສຽງ
Latvian All Latviešu Run now Skaņa
Macedonian All македонски Run now Звучни бранови
Norwegian Bokmal All Norsk bokmål Run now Lyd
Persian All فارسی Run now صوت
Polish All polski Run now Dźwięk
Portuguese All português Run now Ondas Sonoras
Portuguese (Brazil) All português (Brasil) Run now Som
Serbian All Српски Run now Звучни таласи
Slovak All Slovenčina Run now Zvukové vlny
Spanish All español Run now Ondas Acusticas
Spanish (Peru) All español (Perú) Run now Sonido
Swedish All svenska Run now Ljud
Thai All ไทย Run now เสียง
Turkish All Türkçe Run now Ses
Turkmen All Turkmen Run now Ses
Ukrainian All українська Run now Звук
Vietnamese All Tiếng Việt Run now Sóng âm

Software Requirements

Windows Macintosh Linux
Microsoft Windows
XP/Vista/7
Sun Java 1.5.0_15 or later
OS 10.5 or later
Sun Java 1.5.0_19 or later
Sun Java 1.5.0_15 or later

Credits

Design Team Third-party Libraries Thanks To
  • Ron LeMaster (developer)
  • Kathy Perkins
  • Carl Wieman
  • Interviewer: Wendy Adams
  • Interviewer: Danielle Harlow
  • JASS SDK by Kess van den Doel
  • Oscillator.Java by Matthias Pfisterer
English
©2017 University of Colorado.
Some rights reserved.