Sound science at Notre Dame
Students will answer questions about the Science News article “Saving Notre Dame’s sound,” which explores how scientists resurrect acoustics of historic places.
Educator Guide: Saving Notre Dame’s Sound
People watch as a fire engulfs Paris’ Notre Dame cathedral in April 2019 (shown). Now, as the cathedral is rebuilt, researchers are using principles of physics to understand and protect the medieval church’s acoustics.
Corentinmace/Shutterstock
About this guide
This guide, based on the Science News article “Saving Notre Dame’s sound,” asks students to explore how scientists resurrect the acoustics of historic places, consider factors that affect how sound behaves to design a room with specific sound requirements, and measure and compare how sound changes in different environments.
This Guide Includes:
Designing soundscapes
Drawing on their experiences with how sound behaves in different spaces, students will explore the engineering process by designing and sketching a room to meet specific sound requirements.
A world of acoustics
Students will use decibel meters to understand how the volume of a sound changes as it travels away from a source. Concepts covered include sound waves, the inverse square law, absorption and reflection. The activity also asks students to consider how the characteristics of a space affect the sound.