Science Fair

Grown-ups

Does a bigger drum feel sound from farther away?

3rd–7th grade · 1 day of testing · free · ages 8 to 13 · 45 minutes a sitting

  • 🧽 A bit messy
What you need for the drum size and sound project: paper cups, a clear jar or tall glass, a big bowl, clear plastic wrap, rubber bands

My hypothesis

If I change how big the drum is, then how far away the banged tray can be and still make the salt jump will ______, because ______.

You fill in the blanks. Think about which drum skin has the most room to wobble. A guess is a good because: the test finds out.

Change, measure, keep the same

CHANGE

how big the drum is: Paper cup, Clear jar, Big bowl

MEASURE

how far away the banged tray can be and still make the salt jump, in cm

KEEP THE SAME

  • the same plastic wrap, pulled just as tight
  • the same pinch of salt
  • the same tray and the same hard bang

Scientists call the thing you change the independent variable and the thing you measure the dependent variable. The things you keep the same are the controls: if one of them changed too, you wouldn't know which change made the difference. Try each of the 3 levels 3 times.

What you need

  • Paper cups: 1
  • A clear jar or tall glass: 1
  • A big bowl: 1 big one
  • Clear plastic wrap
  • Rubber bands: 3
  • Salt: a pinch for each drum
  • A baking tray or big plate: a metal baking tray
  • A spoon: a wooden spoon
  • A tape measure, or a long ruler

Steps

  1. Stretch plastic wrap tight over the cup, the jar and the bowl, each with a rubber band.
  2. Tap each skin with a finger: they should all feel just as tight.
  3. Sprinkle a pinch of salt in the middle of the cup drum.
  4. Bang the tray once beside the drum. Never bang it next to anyone's ears.
  5. Step back 20 cm at a time, banging once each time, until the salt stops jumping.
  6. Measure how far the tray was at the last bang that made the salt jump.
  7. Do it two more times with the cup, then three times each with the jar and the bowl.
  8. Draw a bar for each drum. Which one felt the bang from farthest away?

Every step is one you can do yourself, with a grown-up nearby. Write each number down straight away, in the table below, so nothing is lost.

Your results table

MY RESULTSPeabody 🦉 peabody.kids/science-fair

Name ______________________ Fair day ____________

Question: Does a bigger drum feel sound from farther away?

I changed: Drum   I measured: how far away the banged tray can be and still make the salt jump (cm)

DrumTry 1 (cm)Try 2 (cm)Try 3 (cm)Mean
Paper cup
Clear jar
Big bowl

MY GRAPH (a bar graph: drum along the bottom, cm up the side)

What I noticed: ______________________________________________

From 4th grade, add the tries for each level and divide by how many there were: that's the mean, and it goes in the last column. Then draw a bar graph, one bar for each thing you tried.

📊 Make my graph🖨 Print the whole packet (9 pages)

Why it works

A drum skin moves when the shaking air pushes on it. A bigger skin has more room to wobble and more of it for the air to push on, so it usually moves for quieter sounds from farther away. A small skin over a cup is stiffer and needs a closer bang.

Going further (7th and up): Change a second thing: test each drum with the wrap tight and with it a little loose.

Board layout

MY BOARD · 36 × 48 in tri-foldPeabody 🦉 peabody.kids/science-fair
  1. ❓ Question (10 × 8 in): Does a bigger drum feel sound from farther away?
  2. 💭 Hypothesis (10 × 9 in): If I change how big the drum is, then how far away the banged tray can be and still make the salt jump will ______, because ______.
  3. 🧺 Materials (10 × 12 in): 9 things: see your list.
  4. 🪜 Steps (22 × 9 in): 8 steps, three tries at each level.
  5. 📊 Results (22 × 16 in): Your table (Drum down the side, tries across) and your bar graph.
  6. ✅ Conclusion (10 × 14 in): My hypothesis was right / partly right / not right. I know because…

Materials to list: Paper cups; A clear jar or tall glass; A big bowl; Clear plastic wrap; Rubber bands; Salt; A baking tray or big plate; A spoon; A tape measure, or a long ruler.

Bring photos or drawings of your test. Nothing wet, hot, powered or alive on the table.

This project at your grade

1st–3rd gradeTries: three at each level (one is fine at a first fair). The table: levels and tries, numbers or pictures. The graph: a picture, or a simple bar graph. The conclusion: what happened, in their words.
4th–6th gradeTries: three at each level. The table: units in the header and a mean column. The graph: a bar graph, or a line for a number that grows. The conclusion: right, partly or not, and the numbers that show it.
7th grade and upTries: three or more at each level. The table: a mean for every level of both tests. The graph: a graph with two lines or two sets of bars. The conclusion: the numbers, what might have gone wrong, and a next question. Second variable: test each drum with the wrap tight and with it a little loose.

From 4th grade up, the table gets a mean column. See every project for 3rd grade, or print a blank results table.

What a judge will ask

  • What did you change, and what did you measure? I changed how big the drum is and measured how far away the banged tray can be and still make the salt jump, in cm.
  • What did you keep the same, and why does that matter? I kept the same plastic wrap, pulled just as tight and the same pinch of salt the same, so the only difference was how big the drum is.
  • How many times did you test it? 3 times at each of my 3 levels.
  • If you did it again, what would you change or test next? I'd test each drum with the wrap tight and with it a little loose.

Make it yours

Keep this project on this device and Peabody counts down to your fair day, with a plan for each day. Nothing is sent anywhere.

Try next

👨‍👩‍👧 For grown-ups and teachers: how much to help, the safety rules, and running a school fair. Science fair v0.16.1 · Checked .

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