Adventures in Natural Frequency

Gravity Chimes and

Boom Whackers

By Dan Bruton and Walter Trikosko

What can students learn from these?

• Natural Frequency– Depends on size and elastic

properties of the object

• Concept Connections– Frequency, pitch, wavelength

By Dan Bruton and Walter Trikosko

Demos and ExamplesNatural Frequency

• Singing Rod• Music Tree• Wine Glass• Organ Pipe

– Open and Closed

• Frog and Cricket

• Nails • Bells• Tuning Forks• Swing• Pendulum• Musical

Instruments• Cephied Variable

StarsBy Dan Bruton and Walter Trikosko

TREE HOLE FROG TREE HOLE FROG

ofofBORNEOBORNEO

http://www.biol.lu.se/zooekologi/epb/people-en/bl-en/bl-meta-en/bl-meta-en.htm

By Dan Bruton and Walter Trikosko

By Dan Bruton and Walter Trikosko

By Dan Bruton and Walter Trikosko

Boom WhackersConstruction

• Locate color paper and label each with a note• Obtain a long and short fluorescent lamp guard• Cut each to the lengths provided • in the table

C ED F G A B

By Dan Bruton and Walter Trikosko

THREE TUNESTHREE TUNES

By Dan Bruton and Walter Trikosko

Notes with hats correspond to a tube with a cap on

the end.

By Dan Bruton and Walter Trikosko

By Dan Bruton and Walter Trikosko

By Dan Bruton and Walter Trikosko

Gravity ChimesConstruction

• Cut aluminum rods to the correct length• Paint each length a different color• Sort the rods according to the order

provided• Method 1: Line rods up on the edge of a

table and flip them off onto the floor.• Method 2: Hand out the rods to the

students in your class and let them drop them in order.By Dan Bruton and Walter Trikosko