Lesson 5 of 7

Echoes

Goal: Explain echoes and how sound is absorbed.

Puzzles for this lesson

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A child at the edge of a rocky canyon, shouting across to the far cliff

An echo is a sound that has been reflected. Hard surfaces reflect sound. Soft surfaces absorb it.

  • You hear an echo after the sound itself, because the echo has travelled to the surface and back.
  • Hard surfaces such as cliffs, walls and tiles reflect most of the sound that hits them.
  • Soft surfaces such as carpets, curtains and cushions absorb sound: its energy is transferred to the material. That makes a room quieter.

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Key words in this lesson

Echo A sound reflected back from a surface

For teachers: AQA 3.4.1 · Cambridge 7Ps.02