Hearing sounds under water
In this activity, students listen to sounds made in a swimming pool while being under water themselves.
Mobile phone in a plastic bag
Use an old or cheap cell phone and plastic zipper bags as part of the Hearing sounds under water activity.
Note: only one bag has been used with the cell phone in this picture, and you can see, a small amount of water has seeped in!
By the end of this activity, students should be able to:
recognise how difficult it is to identify the direction of a source of underwater sound
describe how well various sounds travel under water.
Download the Word file for:
introduction/background notes
instructions on what you need and what to do
discussion questions
extension ideas.
Related content
Read about the basics of sound waves, how sound travels through water and Measuring sound to understand some of the key science concepts.
Activity idea
You could also use your school pool in the related activity Make and use a hydrophone and listen to underwater sounds using a hydrophone.
