Does a bigger spoon ring longer when it hangs on a string?
- ✅ Nothing sharp, hot or small
My hypothesis
If I change how big the spoon is, then how long you hear it ring will ______, because ______.
You fill in the blanks. Think about which spoon has the most metal to shake. A guess is a good because: the test finds out.
Change, measure, keep the same
CHANGE
how big the spoon is: Teaspoon, Big spoon, Serving spoon
MEASURE
how long you hear it ring, in seconds
KEEP THE SAME
- the same string, the same length
- the same tap on the same table edge
- the same listener
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
- A spoon: 3 metal ones: a teaspoon, a big spoon and a serving spoon
- String or yarn: about 1 metre
- A stopwatch or a kitchen timer
Steps
- Tie the teaspoon to the middle of the string, so both ends hang down the same.
- Wrap one end round each pointing finger.
- Press your fingertips gently against your ears, never inside them.
- Lean over so the spoon swings and taps the edge of a table.
- A grown-up starts the timer at the tap. Say stop when you can't hear the ring.
- Write down the seconds, and do it two more times.
- Tie on the big spoon, then the serving spoon, and test each one three times.
- Draw a bar for each spoon. Which rang the longest?
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
Name ______________________ Fair day ____________
Question: Does a bigger spoon ring longer when it hangs on a string?
I changed: Spoon I measured: how long you hear it ring (seconds)
| Spoon | Try 1 (seconds) | Try 2 (seconds) | Try 3 (seconds) | Mean |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Teaspoon | ||||
| Big spoon | ||||
| Serving spoon |
MY GRAPH (a bar graph: spoon along the bottom, seconds 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.
Name ______________________ Fair day ____________
Question: Does a bigger spoon ring longer when it hangs on a string?
If I change how big the spoon is, then how long you hear it ring will ________________, because _____________________________________________
| I CHANGE | I MEASURE | I KEEP THE SAME |
|---|---|---|
| Spoon: Teaspoon, Big spoon, Serving spoon | how long you hear it ring (seconds) |
|
What I think will happen, in my own words:
Name ______________________ Fair day ____________
Question: Does a bigger spoon ring longer when it hangs on a string?
| Date | What I did | What I saw | What I think |
|---|---|---|---|
Name ______________________ Fair day ____________
Question: Does a bigger spoon ring longer when it hangs on a string?
| Date | What I did | What I saw | What I think |
|---|---|---|---|
Name ______________________ Fair day ____________
Question: Does a bigger spoon ring longer when it hangs on a string?
| Date | What I did | What I saw | What I think |
|---|---|---|---|
Name ______________________ Fair day ____________
Question: Does a bigger spoon ring longer when it hangs on a string?
My hypothesis was ☐ right ☐ partly right ☐ not right.
I know because my numbers show:
What surprised me, or what might have gone wrong (7th and up):
Next time I would test:
Idea: Change a second thing: hang each spoon on yarn and on thin string, and see which carries the ring longer.
Why it works
When the spoon taps the table it shakes, and the shaking runs up the string straight to your ears, so it sounds louder and deeper than it does through the air. A bigger spoon has more metal to shake, so it usually rings lower and for longer.
Going further (7th and up): Change a second thing: hang each spoon on yarn and on thin string, and see which carries the ring longer.
Board layout
- ❓ Question (10 × 8 in): Does a bigger spoon ring longer when it hangs on a string?
- 💭 Hypothesis (10 × 9 in): If I change how big the spoon is, then how long you hear it ring will ______, because ______.
- 🧺 Materials (10 × 12 in): 3 things: see your list.
- 🪜 Steps (22 × 9 in): 8 steps, three tries at each level.
- 📊 Results (22 × 16 in): Your table (Spoon down the side, tries across) and your bar graph.
- ✅ Conclusion (10 × 14 in): My hypothesis was right / partly right / not right. I know because…
Materials to list: A spoon; String or yarn; A stopwatch or a kitchen timer.
Bring photos or drawings of your test. Nothing wet, hot, powered or alive on the table.
This project at your grade
| 1st–3rd grade | Tries: 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 grade | Tries: 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. |
From 4th grade up, the table gets a mean column. See every project for 2nd 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 spoon is and measured how long you hear it ring, in seconds.
- What did you keep the same, and why does that matter? I kept the same string, the same length and the same tap on the same table edge the same, so the only difference was how big the spoon 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 hang each spoon on yarn and on thin string, and see which carries the ring longer.
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
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