Build a Band

Design/Build Process

Starting out, I knew I wanted to build some sort of wind instrument out of PVC. I thought back to when I was younger and remembered the slide whistle. I thought that it wouldn't be too hard to create a similar instrument. I decided to look up a diagram online of how this instrument works. I read about it on wikipedia and found this diagram that explained how it worked. I also came across a guide to create a slide whistle here. Both diagrams were very helpful. My first attempt , however, was not very successful. I had a lot of similarities to my final design, with one major difference. In my final design, the end of the PVC pipe that sits under the mouth piece is cut to create a way to blow over the styrofoam. In my original design, I did not do this. Instead, I drilled a hole about an inch from the end of the pipe. I then tried filling down the inch between the hole and the end of the pipe. I thought that I would be able to blow between the pipe and the mouth piece. This was not the case. I was not capable of blowing in between the coupler and the pipe. That is when I tried cutting the groove. That fixed my problem. I then put a penny on the end of the metal rod, duct taped over it, and put multiple layers of duct tape around the outside of the pipe to create a seal. I calculated how long the tube needed to be to create different notes, and marked how far to push in the plunger to create that tube length.

Physics Concepts

Amplitude

Amplitude is the distance from the midpoint to the max point of a wave. It is represented by "A", is measured in meters, and is proportional to the square root of the intensity.

Reflection

The first thing that I did well, was that I critically thought. When I ran into a problem, I didn't let it slow me down. After my initial failure of my first slide whistle, I figured out the problem, and thought about how to fix it. I used my resources to look for help online and I found multiple helpful guides. The second thing that I did well was collaborate. I finished my project rather quickly, and after I did, I decided to help my own group and other groups. I helped people design their instruments, and even helped people build them. The first thing that I could improve on is creativity. Although my instrument was fully functional, it didn't look good. I could have used some creativity to decorate it, or change the design. The second thing I could improve on is communication. When I ran into a problem, instead of asking my team for help I searched online. I should have asked if anyone had any ideas to make it more functional or better.