How People Produce Sound

How People Produce Sound

Kyle C.

Introduction:

When people talk, sound is produced by a part of the throat called the larynx. The larynx contains tissue called the vocal cords. Air from the lungs causes the vocal cords to vibrate, and this action produces sound. The more tightly the vocal cords are stretched by muscles in the throat, the higher the frequency of the vibrations. This, in turn, increases the pitch of the sound produced.

Humans produce two types of sound when they speak. Vowels are sounds made with free breath. Consonants are produced when the breath is partly or totally stopped by the tongue, teeth, or lips.

Objective:

In this experiment, you will

• observe how your vocal cords affect the sounds you make, and
• observe how your lips, tongue, and teeth influence the sounds you make.

Procedure:

For this lab, work with a partner

1. Pronounce the words in the list below to your partner. Pay attention to how you pronounce the first letter of each word.

2. Together decide if you are stopping your breath when you are pronouncing the first letter of each word. Use a check mark to record in the Data and Observations section if the consonant is stopped or open.

Word List:

Boat

Fan

Kite

Pen

Sister

Dog

Vote

Gate

Zebra

Tone

First Letter	Stopped	Open
B		YES
F		YES
K	YES
P	YES
S	YES
D	YES
V	YES
G	YES
Z		YES
T		YES

Conclusions:

1.

Is the shape of your mouth or the position of your teeth or tongue different when you pronounce a “d” than you pronounce at “t”?

Yes

2.

What is the difference between the sound of a “d” and the sound of a “v”?

When saying d, the tongue or teeth is required but for example v doesn’t.

3.

For which first-letter sound(s) in the table do you use your lips and your voice, but not your tongue or teeth?

I believe P, V, and T

4.

What part of the larynx is like the strings of a guitar?

Vocal cords

Going Further:

Why are women's voices usually of a higher pitch than men's?

Women would usually maintain higher voices than men, since men’s larynx grows more than women. As voices become deeper, our voices will be likely to reverberate.

Why, then, are the voices of young girls and boys of about the same pitch (you may need to use reference material to answer this question)

Our pitches will be same, since there aren’t differences in changes of larynx and vocal cords.

Discover:

Do research on what happens to your voice and your larynx when you get laryngitis. Write a short summary of what you found out.

Larynx and Laryngitis:

Larynx is the known as the voice box of the organ in the neck that dominates a rule of speaking and breathing. Laryngitis is the damage and inflammation of larynx, which cause one to lose their voices. This can be associated with hoarseness as well, as the larynx swell, one can be in jeopardy.