Musical Glasses

Materials:

tall drinking glass made of plain, not rippled, glass (the thinner the glass, the better the experiment works.)

wooden spoon or pencil

2-cup (500 ml) measuring cup or small pitcher

tap water

Later You'll Need:

8 long-stemmed water glasses or other drinking glasses

tap water

wooden spoon or pencil

Procedure:

Step 1: Stand the glass on the table.

Step 2: Use the spoon to gently tap the side of the glass near its rim, being careful not to hit the glass too hard.

Step 3: Fill the measuring cup with water.

Step 4: Continue to tap against the glass, as a helper slowly pours the water from the cup into the glass.

Step 5: Observe the sound made as the water level rises in the glass. The sound will become lower as more water is added.

Step 6: Look for any movement in the glass as you tap it again. A sound is heard, but you cannot see the glass shake.

Step 7: Tap the glass again and look at the surface of the water. The water will shake. Even though you cannot see the glass shake, it does, causing the water to shake too.

Know We Know:

Chimes make music when the wind pushes them into each other. When one chime bangs into another, both chimes shake a little. This shaking makes the sound you hear. You hear the sound because sound waves move from the chimes through the air to your ears. When you tapped the glass of water, it also shook and made a sound.

More FUN:

A musical instrument can be made out of glasses by putting different amounts of water in each. The more water in a glass, the lower the musical note produced.

1. Fill the first glass as much as possible with water.

2. Put a little less water in the next glass.

3. Continue putting less water in each glass. The eighth glass should have only a little water.

4. Try to play a song by tapping on the glasses. You might have to add or remove water to tune the instrument so it sounds right.

Diversity Statement

    This lesson may be difficult for visually impaired students and also hearing impaired students. Hearing impaired students will be able to conduct the experiment, they will just need someone to sign what is being heard and discussed. This lesson is non-biased towards either gender.

References:

VanCleave, Janice. Play and Find Out About Science Easy Experiments for Young Children. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Canada. 1996.