Lesson Plan: Data Representation - Sound
Subject: Computer Science
Level: Year 11
Duration: 60 minutes
Topic: Data Representation - Sound
Lesson Objectives
By the end of the lesson, students should be able to:
• Define the term ‘analogue’ and explain that sound is analogue.
• Describe the process of digitising sound.
• Explain the concepts of sampling rate and bit depth.
• Discuss the relationship between sound quality and file size.
• Explain why sound files are often compressed.
Lesson Structure
1. Starter Activity (5 minutes)
• Ask students to record their voice using a mobile device and play it back.
• Discuss: How does a computer store and reproduce this sound?
• Introduce the concept of analogue vs. digital.
2. Explanation of Key Concepts (15 minutes)
Analogue vs. Digital Sound
• Define analogue as continuous data that varies smoothly.
• Explain that sound waves are analogue.
• Computers process digital data, so sound must be converted.
Digitisation of Sound
• Describe sampling (taking measurements of sound at regular time intervals).
Sampling is the process of converting an analogue sound wave into a digital
representation by taking measurements (samples) at specific time intervals. These
samples are then stored as numerical values, allowing a computer to process and
reproduce sound.
Since computers can only process digital data (binary numbers), the continuous nature
of analogue sound must be approximated using discrete values. The higher the number
of samples taken per second, the more accurate the digital representation of the
original sound. But also, the file size increases
• Explain sampling rate (measured in Hz) and its role in capturing sound.
• Discuss bit depth and how it determines the accuracy of sound representation.
Sampling Rate and Bit Depth
• Higher sampling rates capture more details (e.g., CD-quality: 44 kHz means 44,000
samples per second).
• Compare bit depth (e.g., 8-bit vs. 16-bit) and how it affects sound quality.
• Use an analogy: Pixels in an image vs. sound samples in audio.
Impact on File Size and Compression
• Higher quality = larger file size.
• Explain how compression techniques (lossy and lossless) reduce file size.
3. Practical Activity (15 minutes)
• Use a sound editing tool (e.g., Audacity) to demonstrate:
- Changing sampling rates (e.g., from 8 kHz to 44 kHz) and hearing the difference.
- Adjusting bit depth and analyzing the impact on sound clarity.
• Students analyze the differences and discuss observations.
4. Class Discussion and Recap (10 minutes)
• Discuss why different applications use different quality settings (e.g., music streaming vs.
professional recording).
• Review key points: sampling rate, bit depth, file size, and compression.
5. Assessment and Plenary (10 minutes)
Quick Quiz:
• Define analogue sound.
• What is sampling rate? What is it measured in?
• What does bit depth determine?
• Why do higher sampling rates and bit depth increase file size?
• Why is sound compression important?
Homework:
• Research and compare different audio formats (MP3, WAV, FLAC) and their uses.
