Some experiments with sound should be fun. First, we'll put a tape measure on the floor, opened to five feet. One student can stand at one end of the tape, and another can stand at the other end. One student hold a wrist watch, and see if the other can hear it. If not, the other student should move closer to the watch, and stop as soon as he or she can hear the watch. Each student should try it, then write on his or her list, the distance at which the watch can be heard.

If we can find an old-fashioned wind-up alarm clock, we should do the same thing with that, also. However, we should be able to hear that from more than five feet away.

Now, we will put the watch on one end of a five-foot-long board, and we'll take turns standing at the other end, perhaps touching the board, and see if the watch seems
louder.

How about that!

Now let's do the same thing with the alarm clock.

If we can borrow a huge steel bowl from the cafeteria, we could put the watch into it, and notice whether or not it sounds any different than it did on the board. And, of
course, we'll do the same thing with the alarm clock.

Can anybody guess why the speaker cabinets for the radios, the stereos, and the television sets are usually made of wood? Can anybody guess why guitars (and other stringed instruments) are made of wood?

It couldn't be because wood is such a good conductor of sound, could it?

Could we also suppose that some kinds of woods are better than others as sound conductors? If we were really curious, we could ask some people who play stringed instruments.