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When most people were arguing about science, trying to find answers by talking, Robert Boyle was doing experiments. He was the first to carry out quite a simple experiment, you have maybe seen it yourself… he put a bell in a glass jar, sucked out all the air and showed that when the air was gone you could no longer hear the bell ringing. Boyle found out a huge amount about the world around him, from elements and gases to acids and bases, he even has his own law! What really made him different from other scientists was that he didn’t keep any of his work secret, he published it all – even the bits that went wrong. And the laws he discovered and the experiments he performed are still in use 300 years later!
Get the class to break into groups and make telephones out of plastic or polystyrene cups and string – this should demonstrate that sound doesn’t just travel through air. Get them to tie extra cups and string along the length of the first one. They should find that the sound is split and everyone can listen in and join in the conversation.
Image Read more about Robert Boyle here. This site had some great sound facts. Go Back to Curriculum Table |