New Delhi, Lodi road, 110003

Physics investigatory project

Effect of Tension on The Pitch of a String

YEAR:
2019-2020

Made By: Anshita Nanda

Class: XII-A
 Certificate
This is to certify that this “physics investigatory
project” on the topic “Effect of Tension on The Pitch of a
String”,
Has been successfully completed by “Anshita
Nanda” of class “XII-A” under the guidance of
“Mr.GAURAV SURIYAN” in particular fulfilment of
the curriculum of central board of secondary
examination 2019-2020.the candidate has carried out
work sincerely and methodically.
I have carefully gone through the contents of project
report and am fully satisfied by work of candidate

Mr. Vicky ghansela

Chemistry department
Air force Bal bharti school
Lodi road, new delhi-03

Made By: Anshita Nanda

Class: XII-A
ANCKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I shall remain thankfully indebted to all those learned souls,
known and unknown hands who directly or indirectly motivated
me to achieve my goal and enlightened me with touch of their
knowledge and constant encouragements.

With stupendous ecstasy and profundity of complacency, I

pronounce my deep sense of indebtedness and gratitude to our
teacher Mr. vicky for his resolute guidance, unwavering
encouragement, abiding interest, constructive criticism,
tremendous enthusiasm and meticulous supervision throughout
the period of my project work.

The words ‘One who directs the path of progress is angelic’ words
are inadequate to express my deep sense of indebtedness to our
principal Mrs Sunita Gupta for his invaluable indirect help
showered on me.

It is my privilege to extend sincere thanks to our lab in charge Mr.

for his whole hearted support & workmanship.

I cherish the sweet memories of good company with my friends.

Made By: Anshita Nanda

Class: XII-A
Table of Contents
1. Certificate
2. Acknowledgement
3. Abstract
4. Hypothesis
5. Materials Required
6. Procedure
7. Experimental variables
8. Observations
9. Results
10. Conclusion
11. References

Made By: Anshita Nanda

Class: XII-A
 Abstract
To produce a certain note on the violin at the correct pitch, there are certain things
that need to happen. The first step is to make sure the violin is in tune by using a
device called a tuner that indicates whether the string is in the right pitch or not,
one’s ear (preferably after having memorized what the strings are supposed to
sound like), or metal forks called tuning forks that produce a certain pitch when
they are hit at the ends. One adjusts their own strings to get the right pitch by
turning the pegs and fine tuners that are connected to each string to either the left
or right. The second step is to determine what note is wanted to be played. There
are four strings on the violin which are G,D,A and E. G is the lowest string that can
be played and E is the highest. If one wants to play an A on the A string, one can
play it by just using the bow and playing the string without using any fingers.
Although, if one wants to play that same note on the D string, one must place their
fourth finger on the D string and then the sound is produced by using the bow.

his process represents the relationship between mass and tension creating pitch.
This relationship is supported as the Department of Communication Disorders and
Sciences from the University of California states, “On the other hand as the Tension
of a vibrating body is increased, the frequency increases. This also is quite familiar
to most of us who have plucked a guitar string while turning the screw to increase
the tension of the string. The pitch rises as we turn the screw,” (Mass and Tension).
One pressing their finger on the string to create a specific pitch is another example
of tension that's increasing because the finger is making less space for the string to
vibrate with. As one turns the pegs to tune the strings, the pitch is increasing or
decreasing depending how out of tune the string is due to the tension the pegs are
creating.

Furthermore, the Department of Communication Disorders and Sciences states,

“...Any object that can vibrate is capable of creating a tone.” Therefore, strings that
are not necessarily meant to be played as an instrument can create a pitch as long
as there's tension.s
Made By: Anshita Nanda
Class: XII-A
 Objective
The purpose of this investigation is to find out how tension created by mass
affects the pitch (frequency) of a string.

Hypothesis
If I increase the mass pulling on the string in intervals of 200 grams then its pitch
will increase at a constant rate because of the constant rate the tension is being
changed at.

Materials Required:
I will use an apparatus that holds a piece of fishing line in a way that it will produce
sound when plucked. The string will be suspended between a loop screw and a
pulley in order for masses to be hung at the end of the apparatus. This will be
further explained with the rest of the materials.

● Apparatus-made of four pieces of 0.0381 m by 0.0889 m wood (pictured

above), loop hook, and pulley

● Plastic box

● Fishing line

Made By: Anshita Nanda

Class: XII-A
● Set of weights

● App- n-Track Tuners

Made By: Anshita Nanda

Class: XII-A
Procedure:

1. I first measured what the length of the string would be from the loop screw to
the piece of wood. This resulted to be .34 meters.

2. I then tied the 200g weight at the end of the string and then let it hang.

3. I then used the n-Track Tuner app to measure and record the frequency of the
string as I plucked it.

Made By: Anshita Nanda

Class: XII-A
4. I continued to pluck it for four more times continuously (a total of five). Every
time I plucked it, I would then put my finger on it to stop the frequency from ringing
for a longer amount of time so I could continue to pluck it again for the next trial.

5. After the five trials, I would tie more weight at the end of the string, 400 grams
and would repeat steps 3 and 4.

6. The rest of the weight measurements I would use to measure the string’s
frequency were 600, 800, and 1000 grams. I repeated steps 3 and 4 for these weight
measurements.

Experimental Variables

Independent: Mass in grams (g)

Dependent: Frequency in hertz (hz)

Controlled:

● Length of string that will be used to pluck from loop hook to the top of the piece
of wood. The same length will be used to capture its frequency.

● Type of string- the same fishing line (with the same weight) will be used to
measure its frequency.

Made By: Anshita Nanda

Class: XII-A
● Area of data collection- I collected the data at my living room where the pitch
would be recorded.

● App- I used the same app called n-Track Tuner to measure the frequency of the
string.

● Plastic container- This was used to better amplify the frequency of the string so
the app can detect it.

● Method of collecting the data for each trial- For every mass, I measured its
frequency five times by plucking the string then putting my finger on it so the pitch
doesn’t last long.

Observations
Table 1- Mass weighting the string down (g) and its five trials of frequency (hz)

From the raw data, I took the trial data for each mass and calculated the average
frequency. The results were then recorded on table 2.

Table 2-Mass that was tied to the end of the string and its average frequency

Made By: Anshita Nanda

Class: XII-A
 Results
By looking at this graph, I have noticed that the frequency of the fishing line doesn’t
increase at a constant rate. To see how exactly the frequency is changing between
the masses (the speed), I will use the formula v= √ (F/(m/L)) as described by the
websites HyperPhysics and Natural and Behavioral Sciences. F is the tension of the
string (Chapter 16), m is the mass of the string (Standing Waves on a String), and L
is the length of the string that the frequency traveled through. Therefore, F is 9.81
N/Kg multiplied by the mass that was hung by the string. L is 0.34 meters as
described in step one of my procedure.*The variable m is 0.000072 kilograms.

Made By: Anshita Nanda

Class: XII-A
*To figure out the mass of the plucked string, I weighed a measured piece of the
fishing line to then calculate how much .34 meters of it weighed in kilograms. The
weighed piece was 18.75 cm ( converted to 0.1875 m) and its mass was 0.03 g
(converted to 0.00003 kg). I used the ratio 0.1875/0.00003=0.45/m to find the mass
of string that was plucked. The solution to m turned out to be 0.000072 kg.

Conclusion
After this experiment, I found out that I was correct that the frequency was going
to increase as the mass was added to the end of the fishing line. Although, I was
wrong that the frequency was going to increase at a constant rate. By using the
formula

v= √ (F/(m/L)), I was able to figure out how the wave speed was responsible for
line’s appearance in graph 1. The line of best fit for the data that came out of the
formula suggested that the velocity was increasing at a quadratic rate.
Made By: Anshita Nanda
Class: XII-A
 References
1. Nave, Carl R. “Standing Waves on a String.” HyperPhysics, C.R. Nave,
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/Waves/string.html.

2. Nave, Carl R. “Wave Relationship.” HyperPhysics, C.R. Nave,

http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/wavrel.html#c1.

3. “The Wave Equation.” The Physics Classroom, The Physics Classroom,

www.physicsclassroom.com/class/waves/Lesson-2/The-Wave-Equation.

Made By: Anshita Nanda

Class: XII-A