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homemade stethoscope

Posted: Fri Nov 28, 2014 11:09 am
by zareenaiyoob
I am a parent doing a science fair project with my second grader. what is the hypothesis for this homemade sthethoscope?

If I keep all the tubes to same length say 12inches, can i explain to my daughter that tube diameter is the variable and that is the one will make the difference in the sound?
we haven't started designing yet, but i want her to understand the hypothesis first or can i just say observation instead of hypothesis.

Please help.

Another thing we will do is compare the best homemade stethoscope with a doctor's stethoscope. So if my daughter thinks that the diaphragm is the one giving a good sound in the real stethoscope, is it ok to go head and put that as a conclusion in the final report, because in a real stethoscope everything matters like earpieces etc. I want to get her idea in everything and involve her fully. Please help

Thank you.

Regards
Zareena.

Re: homemade stethoscope

Posted: Sat Nov 29, 2014 11:28 am
by nikhita8
Hello zareenaiyoob,

Interesting project idea! Firstly, a hypothesis is an educated guess on what you think will happen in the experiment. For more information on writing a hypothesis, check out the science buddies project guide: https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... esis.shtml

"If I keep all the tubes to same length say 12inches... tube diameter is the variable and that is the one will make the difference in the sound" This is the main ideas behind a hypothesis, however, a hypothesis should be made by the scientist and is not necessarily always correct. You can just ask your daughter, What do you think would happen if we changed the diameter of the tube? Then, you can use the project guide given above to correctly format the hypothesis.

Lastly, a conclusion is a summary of your results and what happened during the experimentation. The Science Buddies guide for the conclusion is also attached: https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... ions.shtml

So if it was proven through the experimentation that the diaphragm is the one giving a good sound in the real stethoscope, then you can put it in the hypothesis.

I hope that helped. Let us know if you have anyone questions.

Good Luck,
nikhita8 :D

Re: homemade stethoscope

Posted: Tue Dec 02, 2014 2:06 pm
by zareenaiyoob
Thank you for your time and help.

In this project it is difficult to make an educated guess as it involves loudness. Like sound transmission is affected by tube length, diameter etc.

Is there any website or books to explain the properties of sound at a second grade level?

Please help.

Re: homemade stethoscope

Posted: Sat Dec 06, 2014 11:22 am
by nikhita8
Hello zareenaiyoob,

If you go onto the science buddies project page for this project, it gives you a little background information. There are also some key terms and questions on the background page, that I would suggest that you go through with your daughter and learn more about them.

The following website has some little activities that can help your daughter better understand the concept of sound transmission:
http://science-notebook.com/sound01.html

I hope this helps. It would be great if some other experts have other sources that they could suggest.

Good Luck,

nikhita8

Re: homemade stethoscope

Posted: Sat Dec 06, 2014 2:16 pm
by zareenaiyoob
Thank you for the information

Re: homemade stethoscope

Posted: Sat Dec 06, 2014 8:43 pm
by zareenaiyoob
Hi

We are unable to state the variables as the dependent variable sound ( loud, soft, medium) could be because of diameter of the tubes or the material like cardboard, hose, or plastic tubing (independent variables). We are doing this to find the best design so can I just ask my daughter to state the hypothesis without variables as having more than one independent variable will not be a good experiment?

Please help.

Thank you.

Zareena

Re: homemade stethoscope

Posted: Sat Dec 13, 2014 10:45 am
by nikhita8
Hi zareenaiyoob,

You could state they hypothesis without specifically naming the variables. You could say something like "If we change something, then something else will happen", similar to the format shown on the science buddies project guide.

I hope this helps. Feel free to contact us with any more questions.

Good Luck,
nikhita8