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     My experiment for the Science fair has to do with sound frequency.  Sound frequency is the pitch of a sound, or the number of wavelengths that pass in a certain length of time. I used Hz (the number of waves that pass in 1 second) to measure the sound waves.  I decided, at first, to calculate how different air column lengths (inside tubes) affected the musical frequency that came out of these tubes.  Then, I found the perfect "tube" with adjustable lengths simply by covering different holes: the recorder.

  

     I measured each of the 8 possible hole coverings in length and then measured the sound produced from covering the holes in different ways by using frequency.  First, I covered all 7 holes.  Then, I covered 6 (all except for the last one); then, I covered 5 (all except for the last two) and so on until I covered 1 (and left the last 6 uncovered), and finally, covered no holes with my fingers.  (The single hole at the back of the recorder was always covered).
     Of course after this I measured each of the hole's frequencies in La Paz.  Seeing that this would not give me enough trials for accurate conclusions, I repeated this experiment in 3 other places- Chacaltaya, the Cumbre, and Chile.  In this way I also saw how altitude affects sound frequency.
     In the following pages all the steps of my project are visible and further details are revealed.

Isabelle
May 2004
2008