Subject:  Science 

Topic: Relationship between frequency and pitch - Ruler Symphony

Outcomes: Students will be able to create sounds of different pitches by “twanging” a ruler on a desk.

Students will understand that changing wavelength (length of ruler off of the desk) changes pitch. 

Learning Activities:

1. Demonstrate how to make a ruler “twang“ sound, the allow students time to create their own sounds.

2. Discuss what they observed when doing this activity and elicit from the students the

relationship between the ruler length and the pitch.

3. Challenge small groups of students to work together to produce a few bars of a recognizable piece of music, such as Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.

Evaluation: Presentation of the music piece to the class.

Reference:  NetWorks – Understanding Telecommunications, Networks Implementation Guide, produced by Science Alberta Foundation