Name Date Class

Sound ■
Adapted Reading and Study

Music (pages 48–52)

Sound Quality (page 49)

Key Concept: The sound quality of musical

instruments results from blending a fundamental tone
with its overtones. Resonance also plays a role in the
sound quality.
• Music is a set of notes that sound good together. Sound
quality is the nature of a sound.
• Different musical instruments have different sound
qualities. This is why a trumpet sounds different than a
flute.
• All objects vibrate at certain rates, called natural
frequencies. The fundamental tone is the lowest
natural frequency of an object. Overtones are higher
natural frequencies of an object.
• Different musical instruments have different overtones.
This gives them different sound qualities.
• Resonance also affects the sound quality of musical
instruments. Resonance happens when outside
vibrations have the same frequencies as an object’s
natural frequencies. Resonance makes some overtones
louder.

Answer the following questions. Use your textbook and the

ideas above.
1. A set of notes that sound good together is called
.

2. How does resonance affect sound quality? Circle the

letter of the correct answer.
a. by making the fundamental tone louder
b. by making the fundamental tone higher
c. by making some overtones louder
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26
Name Date Class

Sound ■
Adapted Reading and Study

3. The picture shows two sound waves with different

frequencies. Which sound wave is the fundamental
tone? Which sound wave is the overtone?
a.
b.

a.

b.

Groups of Musical Instruments (pages 50–51)

Key Concept: There are three basic groups of musical

instruments: stringed instruments, wind instruments,
and percussion instruments.
• In all musical instruments, something vibrates to make
sound. Instruments also have ways to change the
loudness and pitch of the sound.
• Stringed instruments include guitars and violins. The
strings vibrate when players strum them or rub them
with a bow.
• Wind instruments include trumpets and clarinets. The
players’ lips or thin strips of material vibrate when
players blow into the instruments.
• Percussion instruments include drums and cymbals.
Parts of these instruments vibrate when players hit them
with their hands or with sticks.

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27
Name Date Class

Sound ■
Adapted Reading and Study

Answer the following questions. Use your textbook and the

ideas on page 27.
4. Is the following sentence true or false? In all musical
instruments, something vibrates to make sounds.

5. Fill in the blanks in the concept map about groups of

musical instruments.

Groups of musical instruments

include

a.

Stringed b.
instruments

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28
Name Date Class

Sound ■
Adapted Reading and Study

Acoustics (page 52)

Key Concept: Acoustics is used in the design of

concert halls to control reverberation and
interference.
• Acoustics is the study of the way sounds bounce off
surfaces and bump into one another.
• When sound waves bounce off hard surfaces, echoes
form. If the echoes continue after the sound stops, it is
called reverberation. Reverberation can make it hard to
hear sounds clearly.
• When sound waves bump into one another, it is called
interference. Interference can make sounds too loud or
too soft.
• When people design concert halls, they try to control
reverberation and interference. For example, they use
soft materials on some of the walls. Fewer sound waves
bounce back, so there is less reverberation.

Answer the following question. Use your textbook and the

ideas above.
6. Read the words in the box. In each sentence below, fill
in one of the words.

acoustics vibration interference

reverberation

a. When echoes of a sound continue after the sound

stops, it is called .
b. When sound waves bump into one another, it is
called .
c. The study of the way sounds bump into one another
and bounce off surfaces is
.
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29