Question: What is the difference between pitch and volume?
Hypothesis: I think the difference between pitch and volume is that pitch is determined by speed and length of vibration. Higher pitch is caused by tighter, shorter, and thinner vibrations. Lower pitch is caused by looser, longer, and thicker vibrations. Volume is determined by amount of force and materials used. Soft sounds use less force and soft, absorbent materials. Loud sounds use more force and smooth, hard materials.
Conclusion: My hypothesis was right.
Pitch is determined by speed of vibrations. Higher pitch is
caused by thinner, tighter and shorter materials that are
vibrating more quickly. Lower sounds are made by thicker,
longer and looser materials that are vibrating more slowly.
The first way I tested my hypothesis was to look inside a piano.
I saw short, thin and tight strings that were hit by the hammers
when I pressed a key for a high note. On the other end of the
plano, the strings were longer, thicker and looser. They made
lower sounds when I pressed a key and a hammer hit the string.
I demonstrated how the plano makes high and low sounds, or
different kinds of pitch, by making my own stringed instrument.
I hammered in two sets of three pairs of nails into the wood. To
make a high pitched sound, I put thinner rubber bands on one
set. Each rubber band was stretched to a different length to
create different tensions. To make a lower pitched sound, I
used thicker rubber bands. Each rubber band in this set was
also stretched to a different length to create different tensions. I
heard lower sounds on the thicker rubber bands. I saw that the
thicker rubber bands were moving slower than the thinner,
tighter rubber bands.
You can hear this demonstrated with a comb or see it
demonstrated with a Slinky.
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Academic Excellence for 56 years ~~
