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Science Rocks!


Bottle Hit and Blow

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your results

Sent in by:
Justin of Burbank, CA

Do plastic and a glass bottles make the same sound when you blow across the top and when you hit their sides?
Materials

Materials Needed


  • different sized empty glass and plastic bottles
  • water
  • spoon

Instructions

Instructions


  1. Begin with empty bottles. Try hitting them with the spoon.
  2. Blow across the tops of the empty bottles, like you're playing a flute, to see if they sound different.
  3. Now put different amounts of water in the bottles. Try hitting them and blowing across them again.
  4. What makes the bottles make different sounds?




Some of your Results

Woon, age 11 of Burke, VA wrote:
When I hit the bottle with the spoon it made a high pitch sound and when I blew across the bottle it made a low pitch sound.

Woon, age 11 of Burke, VA wrote:
When I hit the bottle with a spoon it made a high sound and when I blew on top of the bottle it made a low sound.

William, age 11 of Fort Lauderdale, FL wrote:
it exploded in my face but then I fixed it and it went like it was suppose to.

Jessica of Elizebeth City, NC wrote:
Wow it was cool me and my friend helped me do it for a project but it was really fun.

Renee, age 9 of Owendale, MI wrote:
when I did this experiment it did not work and I folowd every single direction

Anne, age 9 of Montreal, QC wrote:
When I hit the bottle it made some kind of drum. When I blowd the bottle It made a whistle.

Kierra, age 11 of Baton Rouge, LA wrote:
It sounded very different from the empty bottle. It souned like wind blowing across water, a deep sound.

Coty, age 11 of Pleasant Plain, OH wrote:
Well what happend was when you tap the empty bottle it's the highest pitch aka (vibration) but it's the opposite when you blow into it.

Kimberly, age 9 of Houston, TX wrote:
When I did the prokect it was cool! Because the sound sounded just like a palying flute well I really had fun.

Alim, age 13 of Livonia, MI wrote:
We heard different sounds and noises being made! It was cool.

Matthew, age 8 of Chandler, AZ wrote:
The diffrent amout of water made a sertin amout of vibration which makes diffrent sounds.

Adrieenn, age 16 of Maja, Mexico wrote:
It was cool. I liked it. It made alot of nous.

Julia of Altamonte Springs, FL wrote:
When there is more water in the bottl the sound would go high.

Jessica, age 11 of San Francisco, CA wrote:
When there is more water in the bottle the sound would go high.

Ali, age 9 of Indianapolis, IN wrote:
The expirement was a lot of fun. I learned that the more you fill the bottle, the higher the sound when you hit it or blow across it! I wonder if it has to do with the mass of air and/or water???

Madison, age 9 of Tempe, AZ wrote:
They changed lot's of different sounds. It was cool to hear them.

Anna, age 13 of Albany, GA wrote:
It was weird! The more liquid that's in it, the higher the sound! Less liquid means a lower sound!

Petra, age 13 of Evanston, IL wrote:
The amount of air in the bottles gets smaller as you add more water. Sound is particles in the air vibrating and hitting tiny hairs in you inner ear, so the less air that vibrates when you hit the bottle, the "higher" the sound is. Ever noticed that when you fill up a pitcher at the sink, the sound gets higher as the pitcher gets fuller?

Salman, age 7 of Rolling Meadows, IL wrote:
It made a loud sound. It was like bottle drumsticks. I hit it on different things and it made diffrent sounds, cool ha!

Nicole, age 10 of Englwoodcliffs wrote:
It did not work Me and my brother tride 10 times I think we did It wrong.

Olivia, age 8 of Hawthorn Woods wrote:
When you hit and blow in it, it will sound like the wind blowing.

Rebcca, age 12 of Orlando, FL wrote:
It did not work and I tried my best but the bottle was a little to heavy.


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