Sound Experiment – Clanging coathangers

How about a clanging coathanger sound experiment? The cool thing about this experiment is that it really helps children understand how sounds work!

What is a clanger?

A clanger is a simple instrument that makes a clanging sound by banging two objects together.

You can make one with two coat hangers, some string, and some tape.

So what is sound?

In case you’ve ever wondered what that sound is, its the sound of thousands of different pitched materials vibrating against each other at once

Sound can be described as vibrations that travel through the air or another medium and can be heard when they reach a person’s or animal’s ear. Sounds create vibrations. For you to hear them, an object has to vibrate in the medium (solid, liquid or gas) that is around it. The medium vibrates and transfers this movement to the air. The air then moves your ear drum which sends the signals through your brain that you actually hear. This all happens within about one second.

Sound changes depending on how fast or slow an object vibrates to make sound waves. Pitch is the quality of a sound i.e. high or low and depends on the speed of the vibrations. Different materials produce different pitches; if an object vibrates quickly we hear a high-pitched sound, and if an object vibrates slowly we hear a low-pitched sound. Sounds are usually a mixture of lots of different kinds of sound waves.

Thus, when you raise and lower your clanger it should make a low and high-pitched sound as you hit different parts of the hanger against the table.

In conclusion, this equipment looks a bit basic but doing this experiment is an almost magical experience and a phenomenal way to get children thinking about sounds!