READTHEORY
Passage and Questions
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• Reading Comprehension Assessment
Directions: Read the passage. Then answer the questions below.
Sounds
Have you ever wondered what sound is? Sound is invisible.
You cannot see it. But you can hear it. Because you can hear it, you
know it must be a thing. So what kind of thing is it?
When you throw a stone into a pond, it makes a splash. The
impact of the splash makes waves in the water. But the sound of the
splash makes waves in the air. It may seem strange that a sound
makes waves. But it's true! You see, a sound is a wave. But it’s not a
wave of water. It’s a wave of air! When the air gets pushed, it makes a
wave. The wave travels to your ears. And then you can hear it! Waves
move through the water. But they move through the air, too.
Sometimes you can hear a wave twice. Sound waves can bounce off walls and other surfaces.
When this happens, you hear an echo. First the sound comes to your ears. Then it bounces off a wall and
comes to your ears again. You hear it twice!
Not all waves are the same. Some waves are bigger than others. The size of a wave is its
amplitude. Large waves are loud. Very large waves are very loud! Whenever there is a loud sound, it has
a large wave. Small waves are quiet. Very small waves are very quiet! Whenever there is a quiet sound, it
has a small wave. Some waves vibrate faster than others. The speed of a wave is its frequency. Fast
waves have a high-pitched sound. A whistle has a high frequency. Slow waves have a low-pitched sound.
An elephant’s voice has a low frequency.
Some waves cannot be heard. This is because they are too high. Or it is because they are too
low. Waves that are too high are called ultrasonic. Waves that are too low are called infrasonic. Bats
make ultrasonic noises. We cannot hear them. Whales make infrasonic noises. We cannot hear them
either.
1) To help explain sound in paragraph 2, the author uses
A.
B.
C.
D.
a story
a question
an argument
an example
2) According to the passage, what is an echo?
A.
B.
C.
D.
an ultrasonic wave
a wave that comes from something that is vibrating
a very fast wave that has a high amplitude
a wave that bounces off a surface
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Questions
3) Imagine a truck crashes into a building. What kind of sound wave does this make?
A.
B.
C.
D.
a very large wave
a very small wave
a very fast wave
a very slow wave
4) How are high-pitched sounds different from low-pitched sounds?
A.
B.
C.
D.
High-pitched sounds have a lower frequency than low-pitched sounds.
High-pitched sounds have a higher frequency than low-pitched sounds.
High-pitched sounds are louder than low-pitched sounds.
High-pitched sounds have larger waves than low-pitched sounds.
5) According to the passage, why can some sounds NOT be heard?
A.
B.
C.
D.
They are too fast or too slow.
They are too large.
They bounce off too many surfaces.
They are too far away.
6) What is the main purpose of this passage?
A.
B.
C.
D.
to tell what sounds are and how they work
to explain why some sounds are louder than others
to show how a sound is like a water wave
to teach about amplitude and frequency
7) Describe the types of waves that are made by the music of an orchestra. For example, would the
violins’ waves be fast or slow? Would the drums’ waves be large or small?
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Questions
8) Imagine that you had to explain the information in this passage for a friend who missed a day of
school. Summarize the main ideas of the passage below as if these were your notes for your friend.
(Please write in complete sentences, however.)
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9) Imagine you had two drumsticks but no drums. Based on the information in the passage, what could
you drum on that would create a large amplitude? What would create a small amplitude? Brainstorm
your ideas below.
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Answers and Explanations
1) D
Question Type: Inference
In paragraph 2, the author tells us to imagine throwing a stone into a pond. We are then told that the stone will make a splash, and
that the stone’s splash will make waves both in the water and in the air. In the rest of the paragraph, we learn how these waves of
air are what make the sound made by the splash. From this we can tell that the author uses the example of throwing a stone into a
pond to help explain what sound is. This lets us know that, in paragraph 2, the author uses an example to help explain sound.
Therefore (D) is correct. In paragraph 2, the author does not tell a story. A story is something that has characters, a beginning, a
middle, and an ending. But in paragraph 2, the author only tells us to imagine what happens when you throw a stone into a pond.
From this we can tell that the author does not use a story to help explain sound in paragraph 2. This eliminates (A). In paragraph 2,
the author does not ask any questions. He or she only tells us to imagine what happens when you throw a stone into a pond. From
this we can tell that the author does not use a question to help explain sound in paragraph 2. This eliminates (B). In paragraph 2,
the author does not use an argument. An argument is when you say something and then you say all the reasons why the thing you
said is true. In paragraph 2, the author does tell us that sound is a wave of air, but he or she does not tell us any reasons why this is
true. He or she only gives an example of a splash in a pond making waves. From this we can tell that the author does not use an
argument to help explain sound in paragraph 2. This eliminates (C).
2) D
Question Type: Detail
To answer this question correctly, we need to find out where the author talks about echoes in the passage. A good way to do this is
to scan the topic sentence (the first sentence) of each paragraph, since this will likely tell us what information can be found in the
rest of that paragraph. Paragraph 3 begins: “Sometimes you can hear a wave twice.” We know that hearing a sound twice is what
we call an echo. This lets us know that the details we are looking for can likely be found in paragraph 3. In the next 2 sentences, we
read: “Sound waves can bounce off walls and other surfaces. When this happens, you hear an echo.” From this we can tell that we
hear an echo when a sound wave bounces off walls and other surfaces. This lets us know that, according to this passage, an echo
is a wave that bounces off a surface. Therefore (D) is correct. Using the above information, we can tell that we hear an echo when
sound waves “bounce off walls and other surfaces.” But is an echo also an ultrasonic wave? In paragraph 5, we are told that
ultrasonic waves are waves that are too high in pitch for us to hear. The passage does not say anything about ultrasonic waves
being echoes. From all this we can tell that, according to this passage, an echo is a wave that bounces off a surface, not an
ultrasonic wave. Therefore (A) is incorrect. Using the above information, we can tell that an echo is a wave that bounces off a
surface. But is an echo also a wave that comes from something that is vibrating? The passage does not say anything about things
that vibrate. From this we can tell that, according to this passage, we cannot say that an echo is a wave that comes from something
that is vibrating. Therefore (B) is incorrect. Using the above information, we can tell that an echo is a wave that bounces off a
surface. But is an echo also a very fast wave that has a high amplitude? In paragraph 4, we read that a very fast wave has a “highpitched sound.” In the same paragraph, we read that the word amplitude refers to the size of wave, and that waves with a high
amplitude are very loud. All this lets us know that a fast wave that has a high amplitude would make a noise that is loud and high
pitched. A loud and high-pitched noise is not the same as an echo. From this we can tell that, according to this passage, an echo is
not a very fast wave that has a high amplitude. Therefore (C) is incorrect.
3) A
Question Type: Inference
We know that a truck crashing into a building would probably make a very loud sound. In paragraph 4, we read: “Very large waves
are very loud!” This lets us know that loud sounds have large sound waves. From this, we can tell that if a truck were to crash into a
building, it would likely make a very large sound wave. Therefore (A) is correct. Using the above information, we can tell that if a
truck were to crash into a building, it would likely make a very large sound wave. This lets us know that it would not make a very
small sound wave. Therefore (B) is incorrect. Using the above information, we can tell that if a truck were to crash into a building, it
would likely make a very large sound wave. But would it also make a wave that is very fast? In paragraph 4, we read: “Fast waves
have a high-pitched sound.” This lets us know that high-pitched sound waves would have very fast waves. But if a truck were to
crash into a building, it would not make a high-pitched sound. From this, we can tell that if a truck were to crash into a building, it
would not make a very fast sound wave. Therefore (C) is incorrect. Using the above information, we can tell that if a truck were to
crash into a building, it would likely make a very large sound wave. But would it also make a very slow wave? In paragraph 4, we
read: “Slow waves have a low-pitched sound.” This lets us know that low-pitched sounds have very slow waves. But if a truck were
to crash into a building, it would not make a low-pitched sound. From this, we can tell that if a truck were to crash into a building, it
would not make a very slow sound wave. Therefore (D) is incorrect.
4) B
Question Type: Detail
To answer this question correctly, we need to find out where in the passage the author talks about high-pitched and low-pitched
sounds, and then we need to figure out how these two kinds of sound waves differ from each other. A good way to do this is to scan
the topic sentence (the first sentence) of each paragraph, since this will likely tell us what information can be found in the rest of that
paragraph. Paragraph 4 begins: “Not all waves are the same.” From this we can tell that paragraph 4 will likely talk about some
ways in which sound waves differ from each other. This lets us know that the details we are looking for may be found in this
paragraph. A few sentences later in paragraph 4, we read: “Fast waves have a high-pitched sound.” This lets us know that highpitched sounds have fast waves. In the previous sentence we learn that another word for the speed of a wave is frequency. From
this we can understand that high-pitched sounds have a high frequency. Again, later in the paragraph, we read: “Slow waves have a
low-pitched sound.” This lets us know that low-pitched sounds have slow waves, or a low frequency. From all this we can
understand that high-pitched sounds have a high frequency and low-pitched sounds have a low frequency. This lets us know that
high-pitched sounds have a higher frequency than low-pitched sounds. Therefore (B) is correct. Using the above information, we
can tell that high-pitched sounds have a higher frequency than low-pitched sounds. From this we can tell that high-pitched sounds
do not have a lower frequency than low-pitched sounds. Therefore (A) is incorrect. Using the above information, we can tell that
high-pitched sounds have a higher frequency than low-pitched sounds. But are they also louder than low-pitched sounds? In
READTHEORY
Answers and Explanations
paragraph 4, we read that large sound waves make loud sounds and have a high amplitude, and small sound waves make quiet
sounds and have a low amplitude. The passage does not say that how loud a sound is has anything to do with whether it is high
pitched or low pitched. From this we can tell that how loud a sound is has to do with its amplitude, or size, and does not have
anything to do with its frequency, or pitch. This lets us know that high-pitched sounds are not louder than low-pitched sounds.
Therefore (C) is incorrect. Using the above information, we can tell that high-pitched sounds have a higher frequency than lowpitched sounds. But do they also have larger waves than low-pitched sounds? In paragraph 4, we read that large sound waves
make loud sounds and have a high amplitude, and small sound waves make quiet sounds and have a low amplitude. From this we
can tell that how large a sound wave is has to do with how loud it is, and does not have anything to do with its frequency, or pitch.
This lets us know that high-pitched sounds do not have larger waves than low-pitched sounds. Therefore (D) is incorrect.
5) A
Question Type: Detail
To answer this question correctly, we need to find out where in the passage the author talks about sounds that cannot be heard. A
good way to do this is to scan the topic sentence (the first sentence) of each paragraph, since this will likely tell us what information
can be found in the rest of that paragraph. Paragraph 5 begins: “Some waves cannot be heard.” This lets us know that the details
we are looking for may be found in this paragraph. In the next sentence, we read: “This is because they are too high.” We know from
paragraph 4 that sounds that are high are very fast. This lets us know that some waves cannot be heard because they are too fast.
In the next sentence, again, we read: “Or it is because they are too low.” We know from paragraph 4 that sounds that are too low
are very slow. This lets us know that some waves cannot be heard because they are too slow. All of this lets us know that,
according to this passage, some sounds cannot be heard either because they are too fast or because they are too slow.
Therefore (A) is correct. In paragraph 5, we read that some sound waves cannot be heard either because they are “too high” or
because they are “too low.” The passage does not say that they cannot be heard because they are too large. This lets us know that,
according to this passage, the reason some sounds cannot be heard is not because they are too large. Therefore (B) is incorrect. In
paragraph 5, we read that some sound waves cannot be heard either because they are “too high” or because they are “too low.”
The passage does not say that they cannot be heard because they bounce off too many surfaces. This lets us know that, according
to this passage, the reason some sounds cannot be heard is not because they bounce off too many surfaces. Therefore (C) is
incorrect. In paragraph 5, we read that some sound waves cannot be heard either because they are “too high” or because they are
“too low.” Although we may know that sounds that are too far away cannot be heard, this passage does not say that. This lets us
know that, according to this passage, the reason some sounds cannot be heard is not because they are too far away.
Therefore (D) is incorrect.
6) A
Question Type: Global
In the beginning of this passage, the author asks us if we have ever wondered what a sound is, and he or she also asks, “what kind
of thing is [a sound]?” This lets us know that the purpose of the passage is most likely to answer these questions. In the rest of the
passage, we are told several things about sounds. We are told that a sound is a wave of air. We are told why some sounds have
echoes. We are told why some sounds are loud and some are quiet. We are told why some sounds are high pitched and some
sounds are low pitched. And we are told about how some sounds cannot be heard. All of this is information about what sounds are
and how they work. From this we can understand that the main purpose of this passage is to tell what sounds are and how they
work. Therefore (A) is correct. Although this passage does explain why some sounds are louder than others, it also tells about us
many other things. For example, it tells us what a sound is, why some sounds have echoes, why some sounds are high pitched and
some sounds are low pitched, and why some sounds cannot be heard. This lets us know that the passage does many more things
besides explain why some sounds are louder than others. From this we can understand that the main purpose of this passage
cannot be only to explain why some sounds are louder than others. Therefore (B) is incorrect. Although this passage does show us
how a sound is like a water wave, it also tells us about many other things. For example, it tells us why some sounds have echoes,
why some sounds are loud and some sounds are quiet, why some sounds are high pitched and some sounds are low pitched, and
why some sounds cannot be heard. This lets us know that the passage does many more things besides show how a sound is like a
water wave. From this we can understand that the main purpose of this passage cannot be only to show how a sound is like a water
wave. Therefore (C) is incorrect. Although this passage does teach us about amplitude and frequency, it also tells us about many
other things. For example, it tells us what a sound is, why some sounds have echoes, and why some sounds cannot be heard. This
lets us know that the passage does many more things besides teach us about amplitude and frequency. From this we can
understand that the main purpose of this passage cannot be only to teach us about amplitude and frequency. Therefore (D) is
incorrect.