Larger than Life Guitar (Super Science Experiments)

You will need:

1. 2 large plastic bottles (filled with water)
2. Table
3. 4 larger blocks of wood (or bricks or large books)
4. Scissors
5. 4 smaller blocks of wood (or any other object to place between the strings and larger pieces of wood)
6. String

Create a huge musical instrument and have
fun playing it while understanding the science
behind it.

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Ask an adult to help you cut 2 pieces of
   string. The string should be of equal length
   and also should be longer than the length of the table.
2. Tie one end of the string to one end of the table and pulling the strings over the table, tie the other end to a bottle each. The bottles should be filled with water so as to act as weights.
3. Now take your block of wood or brick and place two under each string. Place them a little distance apart.
4. Place the smaller blocks of wood between the strings and the larger blocks.
5. Adjust the distance between the blocks of wood to change the pitch of the string.
6. Also, adjust the length of the strings by making one longer than the other and find out how it affects the pitch of your strings.

RESULT

By making the string shorter, the pitch goes higher. Also, while the weights may be identical, changing the length of the string could create a good sound when both the strings are played together. As soon as it is pulled, the tension in the taut string accelerates to try and correct the string, overshoots itself and bends the other way, causing different pitches through the vibration. By tightening or loosening the string, the tension increases or decreases. This affects the number of vibrations per second thereby affecting the pitch level.