Sound recording

High school (ages 12+)
Science & Technology

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/sound-recording

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the first playback device?Phonograph (1877) by Thomas Edison, enabling both recording and reproduction of sound
2. Who invented the first device that could record sound?The first device that could write sound was made by Édouard‑Léon Scott de Martinville in 1857. It drew the sound waves on paper, but you couldn't hear them back.
3. How did Thomas Edison improve sound recording?Thomas Edison added the ability to hear the recorded sound. He made the phonograph in 1877, which used a needle to write the sound on a rotating cylinder and then play it back.

Acoustic Recording: Early sound recording methods that relied solely on mechanical vibrations and sound pressure.
Magnetic Tape Recording: A method of storing audio signals as variations in magnetic field on a ribbon of plastic coated with magnetic material.
Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC): An electronic circuit that converts a continuous analog signal into a discrete digital signal.