Read this article in 4 levels: Basic A1 (英検3級), Intermediate B1(英検2級), Advanced C1(英検1級), original version. Multiple choice content questions for each level. Free English reading practice. The more you read in English, the more your English will improve. Does the sun make a noise?
A1 Beginner 英検3級
B1 Intermediate 英検2級
C1 Advanced 英検1級
Original article
Basic A1 (英検3級) Version:
Article: What noise would the sun make? The sun does not make a sound that we can hear because there is no air in space for sound to travel through.
Sound is a wave that needs something, like air, water, or metal, to travel through. If there is no air, like in space, sound cannot move, which is why the sun and space are silent. The sun’s sound would be very loud if we could hear it, but because there is no air in space, the sound cannot reach us.
The sun has its own atmosphere, which is like a very hot blanket of gas. Inside this atmosphere, sound can travel. If you were in the sun’s atmosphere, the noise would be very, very loud. The sound is made by hot gases moving inside the sun. These gases move up to the surface, spread out, and then go back down. This movement makes a lot of noise. The noise would be so loud it would kill you instantly, even if the heat didn’t burn you first.
The sun also has strong winds made of charged particles that blow off its surface and into space. These winds are super fast and would make an enormous sound if we could hear them. However, since there is no air in space, the sound stays on the sun.
Astronomers have calculated that if the sun’s sound could reach Earth, it would be as loud as a chainsaw or a loud concert. The noise would be constant whenever the sun was shining, and it would make it hard for us to live our lives.
Questions:
- Why can’t we hear the sun?
a) It is too far away
b) There is no air in space for sound to travel through
c) The sun is too small
d) The sun doesn’t make any sound - What does sound need to travel?
a) Light
b) A medium like air, water, or metal
c) Space
d) Electricity - What is the sun’s atmosphere like?
a) A solid shell
b) A hot blanket of gas
c) Water
d) Air like Earth’s atmosphere - What makes the noise on the sun?
a) Quiet winds
b) Moving hot gases inside the sun
c) The sun’s light
d) Space rocks hitting the sun - What would happen if you were in the sun’s atmosphere?
a) You would hear music
b) You would hear nothing
c) You would be burned and killed instantly by the loud noise
d) You would hear birds - What else makes noise on the sun?
a) The sun’s light
b) The strong winds of charged particles
c) Space
d) Air - How loud would the sun be if we could hear it on Earth?
a) As quiet as a whisper
b) As loud as a concert speaker or a chainsaw
c) As quiet as a car
d) Like a fan - Why can’t the sun’s sound reach Earth?
a) The sun is too small
b) Sound cannot travel through space
c) There is too much noise on Earth
d) The sound is not loud enough - How would life on Earth be different if we could hear the sun?
a) We would enjoy the sound
b) It would be very peaceful
c) It would be too loud for us to live normally
d) We would hear it only at night - What is the speed of the sun’s winds?
a) Very slow
b) Over half a million km per second
c) 10 km per second
d) As slow as a car
Answers:
- b) There is no air in space for sound to travel through
- b) A medium like air, water, or metal
- b) A hot blanket of gas
- b) Moving hot gases inside the sun
- c) You would be burned and killed instantly by the loud noise
- b) The strong winds of charged particles
- b) As loud as a concert speaker or a chainsaw
- b) Sound cannot travel through space
- c) It would be too loud for us to live normally
- b) Over half a million km per second
Intermediate B1 (英検2級) Version:
Article: What noise would the sun make? Although the sun produces sound, we cannot hear it because sound needs a medium like air to travel through, and space is nearly a vacuum.
Sound is a type of pressure wave that moves through a medium such as air, water, or solid materials. The denser the material, the faster sound travels through it. For example, sound travels much faster in water than in air because water molecules are closer together. However, in space, there are almost no molecules to transmit sound, which is why the sun’s noise doesn’t reach us.
The sun has an atmosphere where sound can travel, similar to how sound travels in Earth’s atmosphere. Inside the sun’s atmosphere, loud sounds are produced by the movement of superheated gases. These gases rise to the sun’s surface, form large granules, release heat, and then sink back down. This process generates enormous amounts of sound. However, most of this sound is reflected back into the sun, and the rest cannot travel beyond the sun’s atmosphere because space is nearly a vacuum.
If the sound could reach Earth, it would be extremely loud, around 100 decibels, similar to the noise of a chainsaw or a loud concert speaker. This constant noise would make it very difficult for life on Earth as we know it, and we probably wouldn’t have evolved to rely on hearing as much.
Additionally, the sun’s winds, composed of electrically charged plasma particles, would also produce deafening sounds if heard directly. These winds move at extremely high speeds, adding to the sun’s noise.
Questions:
- Why can’t the sun’s sound reach Earth?
a) It is too quiet
b) Sound cannot travel through space
c) The sun is too far away
d) The sound is too soft - What is required for sound to travel?
a) Light
b) A medium like air, water, or solid materials
c) Vacuum
d) Heat - What happens to most of the sound produced by the sun?
a) It reaches Earth
b) It gets reflected back into the sun
c) It gets lost in space
d) It disappears - How is sound produced inside the sun’s atmosphere?
a) By moving rocks
b) By the movement of superheated gases
c) By sunlight
d) By explosions - What are granules on the sun’s surface?
a) Large grains of sand
b) Superheated gas bubbles
c) Large rocks
d) Particles of dust - How loud would the sun be if heard on Earth?
a) As quiet as a library
b) As loud as a chainsaw or concert speaker
c) As quiet as a fan
d) Like a distant thunderstorm - What would happen if we could hear the sun on Earth?
a) It would be pleasant
b) It would be extremely loud and constant
c) It would be very faint
d) It would only be heard at night - What role does the sun’s atmosphere play in sound transmission?
a) It stops sound completely
b) It allows sound to be produced but not transmitted through space
c) It makes sound travel faster to Earth
d) It acts like a shield - What makes the winds on the sun’s surface?
a) Air from the sun
b) Electrically charged plasma particles
c) Water vapor
d) Dust clouds - What would the sound of the sun compare to if we could hear it on Earth?
a) The sound of a gentle breeze
b) The roar of a chainsaw or concert speaker
c) A whisper
d) A bird singing
Answers:
- b) Sound cannot travel through space
- b) A medium like air, water, or solid materials
- b) It gets reflected back into the sun
- b) By the movement of superheated gases
- b) Superheated gas bubbles
- b) As loud as a chainsaw or concert speaker
- b) It would be extremely loud and constant
- b) It allows sound to be produced but not transmitted through space
- b) Electrically charged plasma particles
- b) The roar of a chainsaw or concert speaker
Advanced C1 (英検1級) Version:
Article: What noise would the sun make? The sun doesn’t produce sound in a way we can hear because sound requires a medium like air to travel, and space is a near-vacuum.
Sound is a type of pressure wave that propagates through a medium, such as air, water, or solid materials. The speed of sound varies depending on the density and composition of the medium; it generally travels faster in denser materials. For example, sound moves much faster in aluminum than in gold due to the nature of the molecules involved. However, in space, which lacks sufficient molecules, sound waves cannot travel, rendering the sun silent to us.
The sun does have an atmosphere, and within this environment, sound waves can propagate. The sun’s atmosphere, about 3,000 km thick, allows sound to be generated, mainly from the convective motion of superheated gases rising from the sun’s interior. These gases form large granules on the sun’s surface—each the size of France—where they spread out, release heat, and sink back down, generating sound as they do so. This process happens millions of times simultaneously, producing substantial sound power. Most of this sound is reflected back into the sun, but some escapes into the sun’s atmosphere, though it cannot travel further.
If the sun’s sound could reach Earth, astronomers estimate it would be approximately 100 decibels after traveling 150 million kilometers through space. This is comparable to the sound of a chainsaw or a loud concert, but the noise would be constant for any part of the Earth illuminated by sunlight. This persistent noise would likely disrupt life on Earth significantly.
Moreover, the sun’s surface also generates noise from its solar winds, composed of electrically charged plasma particles that travel into space at over half a million kilometers per second. These winds would produce a deafening roar if audible.
In essence, while the sun’s surface is anything but silent, the vast emptiness of space acts as a sound barrier, preventing us from hearing its potentially destructive noise.
Questions:
- Why can’t the sun’s sound reach Earth?
a) The sun’s sound is too quiet
b) Sound cannot travel through the near-vacuum of space
c) The sun’s sound waves are too weak
d) The sun’s sound is blocked by the moon - What is required for sound to propagate?
a) A light source
b) A medium such as air, water, or solid material
c) A vacuum
d) A magnetic field - How does the density of a medium affect the speed of sound?
a) Sound travels slower in denser materials
b) Sound travels faster in denser materials
c) Sound speed is not affected by density
d) Sound speed is slower in metals - What produces sound on the sun’s surface?
a) Solar flares
b) The convective motion of superheated gases
c) The rotation of the sun
d) Meteor impacts - What are granules on the sun?
a) Large grains of sand
b) Massive bubbles of superheated gas on the sun’s surface
c) Small craters on the sun
d) Dust clouds - How loud would the sun’s sound be if it reached Earth?
a) As quiet as a gentle breeze
b) Comparable to a chainsaw or concert speaker
c) Louder than a rocket launch
d) Barely audible - How would constant noise from the sun affect life on Earth?
a) It would have no effect
b) It would significantly disrupt daily life
c) It would improve communication
d) It would be beneficial for hearing development - What causes the sun’s winds?
a) Hot gases expanding
b) Electrically charged plasma particles
c) Solar flares
d) Ice melting on the sun - What would happen to sound produced on the sun if it could travel through space?
a) It would dissipate quickly
b) It would be very loud by the time it reached Earth
c) It would never reach Earth
d) It would become silent - How would sound from the sun compare to normal environmental sounds on Earth?
a) Much quieter
b) Much louder and constant
c) About the same
d) Barely noticeable
Answers:
- b) Sound cannot travel through the near-vacuum of space
- b) A medium such as air, water, or solid material
- b) Sound travels faster in denser materials
- b) The convective motion of superheated gases
- b) Massive bubbles of superheated gas on the sun’s surface
- b) Comparable to a chainsaw or concert speaker
- b) It would significantly disrupt daily life
- b) Electrically charged plasma particles
- b) It would be very loud by the time it reached Earth
- b) Much louder and constant
Original Version:
Article: What noise would the sun make? The sun doesn’t make a sound in the conventional sense because there is no air for the sound waves to travel through.
Sound is a pressure wave that moves through a medium. The energy is passed from molecule to molecule until it runs out and the sound fades away. Sound travels at different speeds through different mediums and generally, the denser the material, the faster the speed of sound. If a material is dense, the molecules are close together, and it is easier for the energy to get passed from molecule to molecule. I say generally because often dense materials have heavier molecules, and it is harder for them to pass the sound energy on than lighter molecules. That is why gold is denser than aluminum, but the speed of sound in aluminum is twice as fast as that of gold, 6320 m/s. On the other side, the less dense a medium is, the slower the speed of sound. Air is less dense than water, so the speed of sound in air is slower. Because you need a medium for sound to travel through, that is why there is no sound from the sun and no sound in space. All of the sound on our planet cannot travel much further than about 160 km up because the air becomes so thin that there are not enough particles to carry the energy on. This is roughly where space starts. However, space is not a complete vacuum. It is a lot less dense than our atmosphere, but it is not a complete vacuum. There are five particles per cubic centimeter in space near stars, and this drops to 0.1 per cubic centimeter in open space, and sometimes even lower. This is not enough to transmit sound, which is why there is no sound in space. On Earth, there are roughly 27,000,000,000,000,000,000 (27 quintillion – if you are interested) particles per cubic centimeter.
So, the sun doesn’t make any sound that we can hear, but that doesn’t mean the sun is silent. The sun has an atmosphere, and, just like ours here on Earth, sound can be transmitted through that medium. The sun’s atmosphere is approximately 3,000 km thick, and sound is probably transmitted around this. If you could somehow get into the sun’s atmosphere and not be burned to nothing in nanoseconds, the sound of the sun would kill you. The sound is produced by the convection of heat from inside the sun. Superheated gases inside the sun rise up towards the surface. When they reach the surface, they form something called a granule, which is where the top of the gas spreads out. From a telescope, they cover the surface of the sun and look like grains of rice or granules of sugar, hence the name. Each granule is about the size of France. When they reach the surface, they spread out, release their heat, and sink back down to be replaced by the next granule. This process takes about 5 minutes, and there are about a million of them happening at the same time. This heat energy produces sound as well. A lot of the sound is reflected back down into the sun, but some of it gets out. Astronomers have calculated that the sun produces tens of thousands of watts of sound power for every square meter, which is about 100 times louder than a concert speaker. If you could get close enough to hear it, you wouldn’t last long enough to hear it.
There would be other sounds on the surface of the sun as well, assuming you are still standing there. These would be produced by the winds that blow off the surface of the sun. Electrically charged plasma flies off the surface of the sun and heads out into space at speeds of over half a million km per second. These winds would make an enormous sound as well, that would also destroy you.
This sound can’t get to Earth because sound cannot travel through space, but, if it could, astronomers have calculated that the sound would be about 100 decibels after it had travelled 150,000,000 km from the sun. That is about the same as a chainsaw, a motorbike, or a loud concert speaker. And that noise would be constant for whatever part of the Earth was in sunlight. The sound would also bounce around our atmosphere, and you would be able to hear it at night as well. It would make it hard for us to go about our life here. In fact, we probably wouldn’t have evolved to rely on hearing.
Questions:
- Why does the sun not make a sound that we can hear on Earth?
a) The sound is too soft
b) Sound needs a medium like air, and space is a near-vacuum
c) The sun doesn’t produce any sound
d) Sound is absorbed by the moon - How does sound travel through different mediums?
a) Faster in less dense materials
b) Faster in denser materials, generally
c) Faster in space
d) Sound speed is the same in all materials - What happens to sound as it moves through space?
a) It gets louder
b) It moves faster
c) It cannot travel because there are too few particles
d) It travels normally - What are granules on the sun’s surface?
a) Large grains of sand
b) Bubbles of superheated gas about the size of France
c) Small craters on the sun
d) Dust particles - How loud is the sound generated by the sun, according to astronomers?
a) About the same as a quiet room
b) About 100 times louder than a concert speaker
c) About the same as everyday traffic
d) Barely audible - What would the sound of the sun be comparable to if it could reach Earth?
a) A gentle whisper
b) The roar of a chainsaw or loud concert speaker
c) The hum of an engine
d) A bird chirping - What causes the sound produced on the sun’s surface?
a) Solar flares
b) The movement and convection of superheated gases
c) Meteor impacts
d) Magnetic fields - What other noises could be heard on the sun’s surface?
a) Silence
b) Winds of electrically charged plasma flying off the surface
c) Water flowing
d) Birds singing - How would life on Earth be affected if we could hear the sun?
a) It would be pleasant
b) It would be constant and loud, disrupting daily life
c) It would be barely noticeable
d) It would improve hearing - Why is space considered a near-vacuum?
a) It has lots of particles
b) It has very few particles, not enough to carry sound
c) It has no light
d) It’s full of air
Answers:
- b) Sound needs a medium like air, and space is a near-vacuum
- b) Faster in denser materials, generally
- c) It cannot travel because there are too few particles
- b) Bubbles of superheated gas about the size of France
- b) About 100 times louder than a concert speaker
- b) The roar of a chainsaw or loud concert speaker
- b) The movement and convection of superheated gases
- b) Winds of electrically charged plasma flying off the surface
- b) It would be constant and loud, disrupting daily life
- b) It has very few particles, not enough to carry sound
