String Telephone Lab

In the beginning of class, the students used the string telephones to explore the best way to communicate with the telephones. The string must be tight or the vibrations do not pass all the way through from cup to cup.

After five minutes of exploration, the students came back together in groups and designed an experiment to test. Groups decided which variable (independent variable) to change. Many groups choose to test which type of string works the best: regular string, yard, or fishing line. Other groups tested to see which cup works the best in the string telephone: stryofoam, paper, plastic, dixie, or tin can. Other groups tested string length to see if a shorter length allows you to hear the best.

In the back of the room, I had glasses full of different levels of water. The students made music by wetting their fingers and rubbing around the rim of each glass. We learned that the more water the glass has, the deeper or lower the pitch created.