Drones as observers and students as data points: a large-scale demonstration of sound waves

Abstract

Sound is central in everyday life, and the physics of sound is present in many parts of physics education. A common way to teach physics concepts is to conduct experiments or show a phenomenon through demonstrations. However, it is far from trivial to get students to experience the wave nature of sound firsthand. This paper presents three experiments where students become part of the demonstration, which allows them to experience the propagation of sound waves, the speed of sound, and wave interference. By having students listen to sound produced by a speaker and filming their reactions with drones from above, properties of sound and its wavelike nature are evident in the students’ collective behaviour. Their experience during the experiment is reinforced later by reviewing the material with their teachers in the classroom.