Journal 4-8

Alana Prettitore
May 26, 2008
Journal 4-8

Waves, Simulation Labs, Elegant Universe, and Honors Portfolios (& the dreaded AP Exams)

I. Research Question

I guess this question was a little bit pointless, but I was looking for an opportunity to learn more about waves. In my research, I didn’t find one exact number for how many types of waves there are. However, I discovered that mechanical, electromagnetic, and matter waves are the three main types of waves. Mechanical waves require a material medium to travel through, including air, water, or ropes. In more detailed terminology, there is another breakdown of the three types of mechanical waves: transverse, longitudinal, and surface. Electromagnetic waves do not require a medium travel. For instance, radio and light are considered electromagnetic. Finally, matter waves are those produced by electrons and particles. The website I used is as follows: http://library.thinkquest.org/10796/ch8/ch8.htm. It was actually quite helpful and I would recommend a teacher or someone else use it in order to better understand this challenging concept.

II. Summary

This week was pretty hectic as well considering that our Honors Portfolios were due; also, the Energy Team finally presented to the entire faculty! It was quite exciting and it was such a rewarding experience for all of us. It seemed that all of the administration and faculty were engaged in our presentation and wanted to support our proposal. There were a few questions afterward – that is always a good sign, because it means that the audience was listening! Anyway, I was a little stressed about the Honors Portfolio, especially since the Energy Team was meeting essentially every week for the majority of this school year! Also, all of the research, outside phone calls, interactions, and publicity attempts, the whole effort was quite substantial!

Anyway, in addition to the honors portfolios, we focused on completing these simulation lab worksheets. They were extremely extensive and completely mostly through interactive websites. Next, we received a plethora of worksheets on sound, color, light, wavelengths, and how they are all connected somehow. My favorite part was of course the Youtube videos. It was totally awesome when the teacher next door came in and said that he was trying to administer an SOL test and if we could please turn down the sound. That was extremely funny because the video was of people trying to scream in order to break glass. The whole scene was hilarious and definitely unforgettable. Anyway, the interesting part was that it’s not just in the movies – one can actually break glass if your voice is a certain pitch. As a musician, I should know this; however, it’s something we never quite covered.

Then, we reviewed for the “Elegant Universe”. Earlier in the year, we started this DVD and learned about String Theory. I found it quite fascinating and I really want to learn more about it. Unfortunately, I wasn’t there for class on Friday due to the fact that I was taking an AP exam…(last one!). It seems to be quite an intriguing theory and want to delve into the issue this year and throughout college.

III. Question

What other interesting phenomena have occurred, like the bridge, breaking glass, and so forth in relation to sound and pitch and waves and such?