PROJECT 8 : In the Ear of the Beholder

The physics and social classification of “noise”

Suggested Entry Categories

• Behavioral & Social
• Physics
• Adaptable to Math & Computers

Purpose or Problem

Defining “noise” can sometimes be explained by the physics of a sound, but it can also be in the mind of the listener, or it can even be determined by the society the listener lives in.

Overview

Some sounds are musical and some are noise. Music is usually made of vibrations that are organized and come to our ears at regular intervals. A vibrating string on a guitar or a piano is an example. You can feel the
vibrations of your vocal cords by placing your hand on your throat while you sing. Sounds that make irregular vibrations tend be thought of as noise. Such vibrations are made when a door is slammed shut or a
book falls from a desk to the floor. But, it is not always easy to classify a sound as music or noise. The difference between music and noise may be in the mind of the listener. Young people’s music may be considered noise by their grandparents.

Hitting a fence with a stick may be noise, but if you walk along a picket fence and hold a stick against it, the regular repetitive sound may be pleasing, as a drum or other percussion instrument would be. Society also determines when a sound is musical. Do research into the unusual instruments used in other cultures. Have you ever listened to someone squeaking as they learn to play the clarinet, or screeching as they learn to play the violin?

That’s hardly music! Perhaps we can classify sounds as being more musical if we enjoy them. A sound may even be pleasing at one moment, but not at another. A doorbell may make a harmonious sound, but if it dings at 3 o’clock in the morning and disturbs you while you are sleeping, you won’t like it. When music is played softly, it may be enjoyable, but when the volume is turned up to the point where it hurts your ears, the song becomes noise.

The time of day may also affect your feelings about a sound. If you are waiting for a friend to pick you up to go to the movies, the honk of their car horn is welcomed. But someone honking a car horn in front of your house at 4 A.M. can be disturbing. A doorbell ringing during the day does not have the same alarming affect emotionally as it does if it rings in the middle of the night. When a mother knows why a baby is crying (if it needs a diaper changed or is hungry), her emotions are not the same as when she doesn’t know what is wrong.

Some sounds always seem to be pleasant: a babbling brook, the wind rustling leaves through the trees. We are surrounded by sounds all day long, and it is important that we have quiet times and enjoyable sounds in our daily lives. Too much noise can cause stress and fatigue.

Hypothesis

Hypothesize that in the categorizing of common, everyday sounds as to whether they are pleasant or noise, many different responses will be based on the age group.

Materials’ List

• Paper
• Pencil
• Clipboard
• A day of listening
• Ten friends of high-school age
• Ten adults over age 40

Procedure

The list of commonly heard sounds will be constant for all who are surveyed. The age groups of those surveyed will be varied: teenagers and adults over 40. For one whole day, pay attention to all the sounds you hear. Carry paper, a pencil, and a clipboard to make a list of all the daily sounds around your home, school, and neighborhood. Some sounds you may not have paid much attention to before: for example, toast popping up in a toaster, a door chime, a church bell, popcorn popping, a car horn, the crackling of a fire in a fireplace, the telephone ringing, birds chirping, someone tapping a pencil on a desk, an umpire or referee blowing a whistle during a sporting event, insects buzzing in your ear, the screech of car brakes, the blowing of air across the top of a soda bottle, or someone driving by in a car with your favorite song playing.

Compile a survey sheet with a list of 50 sounds, each followed by a multiple choice selection of Pleasant, Noise, and No Response.

At the top of each sheet, make a place for checking the two age groups: Tees and Over 40. (You can also ask for male or female if you want to do the “Something More” suggestion.)

Use a copy machine to make 20 copies, or use a computer word-processing program or desktop publishing program to create your survey sheet, and print out 20 copies. Have ten high-school-age friends and ten adults over age 40 complete the survey. Total the results from each group. Compare the responses by each group.

Results

Write down the results of your experiment. Document all observations and data collected.

Conclusion

Come to a conclusion as to whether or not your hypothesis was correct.

Something More

1. Expand your survey by categorizing your results by male and female, in addition to age. Compare your organized data.
2. Sounds and songs may even bring memories to our minds. Hearing a popular song that was once played heavily on the radio may cause you to remember a special summer or time in your life. When you hear the sound of sleigh bells or a Christmas carol, does a feeling or picture come to your mind about snow falling or the excitement of waiting to open presents with family?