Introduction:
In this project we made three different instruments. We made wind, string, and chime instruments. Our group decided we would make a guitar, glass water chimes, and a pan flute. This project was fun to participate in. Scroll down if you would like to read about the physics of each instrument.
Guitar:
The guitar strings are formatted at different lengths to create a different note. They are all pulled with the same amount of tension. The length of the string determines how big the wave is, which varies in different notes.
In this project we made three different instruments. We made wind, string, and chime instruments. Our group decided we would make a guitar, glass water chimes, and a pan flute. This project was fun to participate in. Scroll down if you would like to read about the physics of each instrument.
Guitar:
The guitar strings are formatted at different lengths to create a different note. They are all pulled with the same amount of tension. The length of the string determines how big the wave is, which varies in different notes.
Glass Water Chimes:
The glass water chimes work by the glasses vibrating in and out. When the water is added, the bottom part of the glass doesn't vibrate as well. Therefore, when water is added, the glass can't vibrate as quickly, producing a lower pitch. When there is less water, the glass produces a higher pitch. The vibration moves around the glass, producing a sound wave. The amount of water controls the pitch.
The glass water chimes work by the glasses vibrating in and out. When the water is added, the bottom part of the glass doesn't vibrate as well. Therefore, when water is added, the glass can't vibrate as quickly, producing a lower pitch. When there is less water, the glass produces a higher pitch. The vibration moves around the glass, producing a sound wave. The amount of water controls the pitch.
Pan Flute:
All types of flutes produce sound by a vibrating column of air inside a tube. When one changes the length of the tube, they change the pitch. The more space (longer tube) for the column of air to vibrate in, the deeper the pitch is. The shorter the distance for the air to vibrate, the higher the note is.
All types of flutes produce sound by a vibrating column of air inside a tube. When one changes the length of the tube, they change the pitch. The more space (longer tube) for the column of air to vibrate in, the deeper the pitch is. The shorter the distance for the air to vibrate, the higher the note is.
Physics Concepts:
Sound waves - created by the vibrations of objects; compression and rarefaction
Compression - pushes together
Rarefaction - pulling apart
Medium - sound waves require a medium to travel through, like a gas, solid, or liquid.
Amplitude - distance from the midpoint to the crest or trough
Wavelength - distance from crest to crest
Frequency - how often a vibration occurs
Period - amount of time between waves
Wave - vibration through a medium
Wave Speed - Wavelength x Frequency
Transverse waves - move up and down
Longitudinal waves - moves compression horizontally
Interference - adding two waves together
Constructive interference - adds to create a bigger wave
Deconstructive interference - cancellation
Node - area between a wave
Anti node - the maximums and minimums of a wave
Doppler Effect - the concept of a change in frequency due to the motion of a source
Reflection:
Overall, this was a great project. I had the opportunity to work with some wonderful people. We ran into minimal problems throughout this project. I learned a lot about instruments/sound throughout this unit. Before this unit, I had no knowledge of how sound worked. I learned how to make different notes on different types of instruments. I also learned what sound waves are and how they work. One thing that went good was that we had no problem creating the pan flute. We were able to finish that instrument and having it working by the end of one period. Since we finished so early, we had time to paint the pan flute. One thing that didn't go too well was the glass water chimes. It took a lot of trial and error to understand how much water was needed in each beaker to create the perfect note. This took a few class periods to perfect completely. One thing that I could have done better was stay on task. It is always easy to get distracted. Another thing that I could've done better was help out more. In general, this was a great project that was fun to do.
Sound waves - created by the vibrations of objects; compression and rarefaction
Compression - pushes together
Rarefaction - pulling apart
Medium - sound waves require a medium to travel through, like a gas, solid, or liquid.
Amplitude - distance from the midpoint to the crest or trough
Wavelength - distance from crest to crest
Frequency - how often a vibration occurs
Period - amount of time between waves
Wave - vibration through a medium
Wave Speed - Wavelength x Frequency
Transverse waves - move up and down
Longitudinal waves - moves compression horizontally
Interference - adding two waves together
Constructive interference - adds to create a bigger wave
Deconstructive interference - cancellation
Node - area between a wave
Anti node - the maximums and minimums of a wave
Doppler Effect - the concept of a change in frequency due to the motion of a source
Reflection:
Overall, this was a great project. I had the opportunity to work with some wonderful people. We ran into minimal problems throughout this project. I learned a lot about instruments/sound throughout this unit. Before this unit, I had no knowledge of how sound worked. I learned how to make different notes on different types of instruments. I also learned what sound waves are and how they work. One thing that went good was that we had no problem creating the pan flute. We were able to finish that instrument and having it working by the end of one period. Since we finished so early, we had time to paint the pan flute. One thing that didn't go too well was the glass water chimes. It took a lot of trial and error to understand how much water was needed in each beaker to create the perfect note. This took a few class periods to perfect completely. One thing that I could have done better was stay on task. It is always easy to get distracted. Another thing that I could've done better was help out more. In general, this was a great project that was fun to do.