2009+-+6*+Physics+HP

=America's Next Top Science Rockers!!=

What we know starting out

 * sound needs medium to travel through
 * tautness (tension) raises pitch
 * vibration = sound
 * frequency, amplitude affect sound
 * modern music: twelve half-steps for all possible pitches (chromatic)
 * skips create major/minor scales
 * lower tension equals lower pitch
 * string length, thickness, material affect pitch
 * amplitude of wave corresponds to volume
 * frequency affects pitch
 * sound waves come in diff. frequencies
 * we can only hear a certain range of frequencies
 * sound waves: constructive/destructive interference
 * medium affects sound (ex. wood vs. air)
 * guitar: thicker strings make lower sound

What we need to learn about:
how to amplify sound (electronically, natural) what frequency/amplitude do to sound which frequency is which note? how materials/dimensions affect sound how to tune instruments how the length of a string/pipe impacts frequency. how to change/manipulate/calculate that. how to calculate resulting note how to play instrument How the shape of an instrument affects sound (i.e., rectangular vs. round resonance chamber) -DW How sound is affected by the medium via which it travels, and why -DW How to make instruments-WC How to read music-WC How do different frequencies produce the same pitch. MC If you break the speed of sound, what do you hear? MC Why different instruments produce the same note, but different sounds (i.e., guitar vs. trumpet) - ZS How to electronically enhance and change sounds beyond amplification - ZS Why does sound travel further under water? - DP Do different pitches travel faster/farther?-DP How does the spacing and size of the holes in a wind instrument impact the quality of the notes played? -DScal How does temperature affect the tuning of an instrument? -DScal How does one determine how long a piece of wood for a xylophone needs to be for it to be in tune or how wound a string needs to be for a guitar/bass to be in tune? -KQ How do we get instruments in tune with each other? -KQ How to find a pitch of a note?-MA How many musical scales are there?-MA Is there a mathematical relationship between length of string and frequency that we can find? -AC Is sound classified into different catagories? (i.e. music, noise, etc?) -AC How do you measure the amplitude of a wave? -HT How do magnetic fields affect sound/vibrations? -HT How can we determine the speed of sound? -CtH Why do humans hear different pitches than other animals? -CtH How does distance away from sound and how it approaches you affect it? (ie. doppler effect) -OL What is tone-deafness and why do people have it? -OL What is the phenomena about planes breaking sound barriers? -JZ Why do certain animals such as dogs/bats hear more than humans? -JZ Where do we place the frets?- AMH How to create a sharp note? - AMH When talking about the speed of sound, is that only in out planets air/atmosphere or universal for all mediums? -EP In what medium does sound travel the fastest (if there is a faster speed in a medium other than our air)? -EP Hollow or solid? how this affects sound -SB How do vibrations make sound? -SB How do sound boxes/hollow spaces affect resonance and volume? -BM Which materials carry sound, and which absorb sound? - BM How does heat and air temp effect the pitch and vibrations of sound? MP What type of metal is best for an instrument of hanging pipes? MP How does the molecular structure of the medium account for the differences in sound? BR How does water affect the sound? BR How can an instrument increase the amount of sound it produces? TC Who and what decided which pitches are to be considered to be in tune? TC What determines the sound quality, or "timbre" of a musical instrument? SN What is the difference between different kinds of sound waves, such as sawtooth, square, and sine wave? SN How/why is sound absorbed into things?BC What makes the difference between a sharp and regular note?BC What kind of material can generate a better quality of sound? GC If you don't know how to tune a musical instrument, when would you know when it's in tune?GC Which frequency produces what kind of sound? YT Does the temperature of the material alter its sound? YT How is a change in timbre reflected in the shape of a sound wave? BR What are the best type of string to make guitar strings out of? BR How can instruments produce the chromatic scale if they only have a few strings/pipes? LW Can the sound from an instrument be made louder by changing the shape of the instrument? LW

Notes from class/What we have learned so far
Date:3/20 Notes: need vibrations to make sound, good resonators are: large SA, rigid, thin, light (amplify sound)

3/24 the longer relates to lower pitch because more material larger the diameter, the lower the pitch, however not true in all cases (i.e. plastic pipes) diameter of string made a difference things that tended to be smaller had a higher pitch almost all the sounds had to do with air vibrating, instead of the instrument itself: true with bottles, plastic pipes not true with strings tension doesn't have a linear relationship with frequency, but length does objects have natural frequencies which can be changed (i.e. singing in the shower) good class

3/30 from friday sonic booms comprise of lots of sound waves travelling all together certain parts of the room are louder and softer because of constructive/destructive interference constructive int.: louder/bigger waves destructive interference: softer/ waves cancel each other out music box: metal bumps hit to make sound. length of the bar determines pitch if the box is in contact with more material (e.g. desk), it is louder any material that is big/thin/vibrates well, used to amplify sound: sound board velocity = wavelength * frequency (applies to all waves)

Who is building what
This is a list of who is building what, add yourself to the list. If you are building something similar to someone else in the class (or any class for that matter), you can discuss ideas or problems with them

Percussive Instruments

 * Zach Salk - Xylophone
 * Daniel Scalettar - Xylophone
 * Danielle Wogulis - Thumb Piano (mbira)
 * Matt Petersen Xylophone
 * Blossom Raychaudhuri - Marimba

Stringed Instruments
Drew Petersen - harp like thingy