Embedded Files
For this project, I worked with Catania DeKeyrel, Aime Maldonado Giron, and Kiley White.
Our Task
For this project, we were instructed to make an instrument for every person in our group, so, we made 4 instruments in total. A requirement for the instruments we were building was that there had to be at least one each of a chime instrument, a wind instrument, and a string instrument. Our group made a ¨Newton´s cradle¨ (chime), a pan flute (wind), a bass (string), and a violin (string). Another requirement was that each instrument had to play an octave of notes. An octave is a series of consecutive notes either going up or down on a scale. And the last requirement was there be no recorders (per Mr. William´s request).
The Design/Build Cycle
After my group decided on the instruments we were going to build, we first did some background research on how each of our instruments worked. Then after we finished researching, we had to incorporate this information into the blueprint of our instrument. We had to get this blueprint approved by one of our teachers before we could go into the Makerspace and build.
Along with our instruments, we also had a song to go with it. This song was inspired by a piece one of our groupmates knew from when they were little. Unfortunately, our group was pressed for time so we did not get to record our song or properly write our song out, we mostly winged it. But, specifically for the violin (my instrument), here were the notes to the song:
Content
Everything we learned about waves, their components, how they work, and the different types of waves.
FREQUENCY (f): number of vibrations (waves) per second; f = v/λ OR f = 1/T
WAVELENGTH (λ): distance of one wave from crest to crest (aka compression to compression); λ = v/f
WAVE SPEED (v): how fast a wave travels (velocity); v = λf
AMPLITUDE (A): distance from midpoint to max of wave (height); intensity ~ A²
PERIOD (T): amount of time per wave (or per vibration cycle); T = 1/f
TRANSVERSE WAVE (λ): particles move perpendicular to the direction of wave/energy motion (ex. ocean waves); light; no medium required
LONGITUDINAL WAVE (λ): particles compress and rarify as wave/energy moves along (parallel to particle motion); sound; requires a medium
ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM: range of wavelengths/frequencies where electromagnetic radiation expands
HOW DO ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES WORK?
These waves travel and carry energy/momentum to a destination, when drawn out, it´s on a (x, y, z, ) graph.
WAVE PARTICLE DUALITY: property of where matter acts like both a wave and a particle at the same time; ie. radiation
IONIZING: where an atom of a molecule has enough energy to take or give an electron; harmful to humans/animals, even in small doses
NON-IONIZING: where an atom of a molecule doesn´t have enough energy to take or give an electron; not harmful to humans/animals, except in high dosages
Reflection
Reflecting on this project, I am very happy with our outcome(s). Our instruments were all very well sounding and I am really glad we went through this together. But, in terms of the 6C's, we did well in collaborating because we all did our roles very well and communicating because we all actively listened to each other´s thoughts and ideas. As for two things I would like to keep in mind for our future projects, those would be being a conscientious learner and being culturally competent. This is because I feel like we didn´t manage our time as efficiently as possible, I feel like we could´ve done better, and we could´ve considered more/multiple waves to build our instruments, instead of taking inspiration only from everyone else.
UPDATE - 3/20/2024
After finishing our musical instruments, we were told that we had the opportunity to help teach little Pleasant Vally Elementry Schools' children about vibrations, sound waves, etc.
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