Popcorn Pops!

When you make popcorn, you begin with a pile of popcorn seeds. When they get hot, they explode. The noise popcorn makes is a lot of pops, one for each seed.

Popping Noise Experiment:

Make some popcorn. (You might need to ask for help with this, if you haven't cooked much.) Listen carefully to the popping noise.

You'll notice that the pops come at random times. Random means without a pattern: you can't guess when the next pop will happen! Sometimes lots will happen at once, sometimes you'll think it's done because the pops stop for a while.

You'll also notice that the pops are all about the same loudness. That's what makes popping noise different from crackling noise.