BUILDING A MUSICAL BAND
In this project, we had to create three (four, in our case) instruments of three different types: string instruments, woodwind instruments, and chime or percussion instruments. We also had to write a song that is physics related. We had about three weeks to work on this project. Below is an explanation of all our instruments, and our song.
In this project, we had to create three (four, in our case) instruments of three different types: string instruments, woodwind instruments, and chime or percussion instruments. We also had to write a song that is physics related. We had about three weeks to work on this project. Below is an explanation of all our instruments, and our song.
REFLECTIONS
This was a project that I had been looking forward to all year. My group was very functional, and we had a fair amount of musical experience. We each split the jobs: Sally and I worked on the ukulele that we made, Shasta made our pan flute, and Shannon and Olivia W. worked on our chimes and percussion instruments. This helped us get things done quicker, though Sally and I needed extra time to finish our ukulele. I would say that our "peaks" were very meaningful: we were all very efficient in our work, and did our best to go "outside the box"; we supported each other and tried to pitch in with our ideas. These helped get our job done quicker, and more efficiently. Our instruments sounded great, too!
Some pits we experienced were time management and stress-management. Sally and I worked really hard to get our uke perfect, but we focused a lot on the little details, giving us little time to focus on the bigger ones. Eventually, we had to stay after school for a little bit to touch it up. While we were fixing the neck, though, it snapped! We were both frustrated and sort of blamed each other for it breaking, and Sally ended up taking it home to finish. When she came back to school the next day, though, it was fixed and perfect! Props to her! :)
As for stress, the example above was an example. Writing song lyrics was also a little stressful, but eventually we made some physics lyrics to Jason Mraz's "I'm Yours". The song turned out great, too! :)
CONCEPTS
Wave~ a wiggle in space and time
Wavelength~ a distance from the top of the crest of a wave to the top of the following crest, or equivalently, the distance between successive identical parts of the wave.
Crest~ the top "bump" of a wave
Trough~ the bottom "bump" of a wave
Amplitude~ the distance from the midpoint to the maximum (crest) of a wave or, equivalently, from the midpoint to the minimum (trough)
Frequency~ the number of events (cycles, vibrations, oscillations, or any repeated event) per time; measured in hertz (or events per time). It is the inverse of a period. In other words, how often a vibration occurs
Period~ the time required to complete a single cycle
Velocity (wave speed)~ speed together with the direction of motion
Compression/ Longitudinal Wave~ the particles of a medium move back and forth the same direction in which the wave travels (the particles move along the direction of the wave)
Transverse Wave~ the medium in motion is at a right angle to the direction in which a wave travels
Constructive Interference~ the crest of one wave overlaps another crest, so their individual effects add together and have increased amplitude
Destructive Interference~ the crest of one wave overlaps the trough of another, their individual effects are reduced, and cancel each other out
Node~ the stationary parts of a standing wave
Antinodes~ the largest amplitude positions of a standing wave
Doppler Effect~ the apparent change in frequency due to the motion of the source
Red Shift~ the decrease in frequency
Blue Shift~ the increase in frequency
This was a project that I had been looking forward to all year. My group was very functional, and we had a fair amount of musical experience. We each split the jobs: Sally and I worked on the ukulele that we made, Shasta made our pan flute, and Shannon and Olivia W. worked on our chimes and percussion instruments. This helped us get things done quicker, though Sally and I needed extra time to finish our ukulele. I would say that our "peaks" were very meaningful: we were all very efficient in our work, and did our best to go "outside the box"; we supported each other and tried to pitch in with our ideas. These helped get our job done quicker, and more efficiently. Our instruments sounded great, too!
Some pits we experienced were time management and stress-management. Sally and I worked really hard to get our uke perfect, but we focused a lot on the little details, giving us little time to focus on the bigger ones. Eventually, we had to stay after school for a little bit to touch it up. While we were fixing the neck, though, it snapped! We were both frustrated and sort of blamed each other for it breaking, and Sally ended up taking it home to finish. When she came back to school the next day, though, it was fixed and perfect! Props to her! :)
As for stress, the example above was an example. Writing song lyrics was also a little stressful, but eventually we made some physics lyrics to Jason Mraz's "I'm Yours". The song turned out great, too! :)
CONCEPTS
Wave~ a wiggle in space and time
Wavelength~ a distance from the top of the crest of a wave to the top of the following crest, or equivalently, the distance between successive identical parts of the wave.
Crest~ the top "bump" of a wave
Trough~ the bottom "bump" of a wave
Amplitude~ the distance from the midpoint to the maximum (crest) of a wave or, equivalently, from the midpoint to the minimum (trough)
Frequency~ the number of events (cycles, vibrations, oscillations, or any repeated event) per time; measured in hertz (or events per time). It is the inverse of a period. In other words, how often a vibration occurs
Period~ the time required to complete a single cycle
Velocity (wave speed)~ speed together with the direction of motion
Compression/ Longitudinal Wave~ the particles of a medium move back and forth the same direction in which the wave travels (the particles move along the direction of the wave)
Transverse Wave~ the medium in motion is at a right angle to the direction in which a wave travels
Constructive Interference~ the crest of one wave overlaps another crest, so their individual effects add together and have increased amplitude
Destructive Interference~ the crest of one wave overlaps the trough of another, their individual effects are reduced, and cancel each other out
Node~ the stationary parts of a standing wave
Antinodes~ the largest amplitude positions of a standing wave
Doppler Effect~ the apparent change in frequency due to the motion of the source
Red Shift~ the decrease in frequency
Blue Shift~ the increase in frequency