ACS: Science ABCs - 'X' is for Xylophone

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ACS: Science ABCs - 'X' is for Xylophone

Xena is a member of
A wild and crazy band.
They play all kinds of music—
They’re really in demand.

Xanny’s on the funnel horn,
While Xavier plays a pan.
Let’s see what Xena’s playing,
As loudly as she can.

Xena loves the xylophone,
And made her own one day
With some water and a spoon—
Hear how her bottles play!

 

Try this activity

What You’ll Need

  • 6 identical glass
    soda bottles
  • metal spoon
  • ruler
  • tape
  • crayon
  • sheet of paper
  • water

 

How do Xena’s bottles make different musical notes like a xylophone?

We hear sounds because of vibrations in the air. Longer objects
vibrate more slowly and make lower-pitched sounds. Shorter objects vibrate faster and make higher-pitched sounds. When Xena strikes the bottles with a metal spoon, she causes the bottles and the water inside them to vibrate. The bottle with the most water makes the lowest-pitched sound. The bottle with the least water makes the highest-pitched sound.

ACS (American Chemical Society)
Science Topics
Physics, Sound
Music, Art, and Language Arts Topics
Musical Instruments
K-6
Kindergarten, 1st Grade, 2nd Grade, 3rd Grade, 4th Grade, 5th Grade
Download PDFs
PDF File
Descriptions of PDFs

Try this activity

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ACS: Science ABCs - 'X' is for Xylophone

Xena is a member of
A wild and crazy band.
They play all kinds of music—
They’re really in demand.

Xanny’s on the funnel horn,
While Xavier plays a pan.
Let’s see what Xena’s playing,
As loudly as she can.

Xena loves the xylophone,
And made her own one day
With some water and a spoon—
Hear how her bottles play!

 

Try this activity

What You’ll Need

  • 6 identical glass
    soda bottles
  • metal spoon
  • ruler
  • tape
  • crayon
  • sheet of paper
  • water

 

How do Xena’s bottles make different musical notes like a xylophone?

We hear sounds because of vibrations in the air. Longer objects
vibrate more slowly and make lower-pitched sounds. Shorter objects vibrate faster and make higher-pitched sounds. When Xena strikes the bottles with a metal spoon, she causes the bottles and the water inside them to vibrate. The bottle with the most water makes the lowest-pitched sound. The bottle with the least water makes the highest-pitched sound.

ACS (American Chemical Society)
Science Topics
Physics, Sound
Music, Art, and Language Arts Topics
Musical Instruments
K-6
Kindergarten, 1st Grade, 2nd Grade, 3rd Grade, 4th Grade, 5th Grade
Download PDFs
PDF File
Descriptions of PDFs

Try this activity

What are you looking for?

Organization

ACS (American Chemical Society)

Website URL

Type of Resource

PDF File
Tutorial
Video

Assigned Categories