Make a Flute

Sound

Things You Will Need
• Cork
• Cardboard or plastic tube only slightly larger in diameter than the cork (6 to 12 inches long)
• Knitting needle

   

   

   

Do This

1. Push the knitting needle into one end of the cork.
2. Push the cork inside the cardboard or plastic tube to create a plunger.
3. Blow across the top of the tube while moving the cork up and down inside the tube.
4. What happens to the sound when the cork is moved?

Optional

What Should Have Happened

Some musical instruments, such as a flute, produce sound when the player blows across a hole to make a column of air inside the instrument vibrate. If the vibration in the air reaches your ears, it makes the eardrum inside each ear vibrate so you can hear the sounds. Moving the cork changes the amount of air that vibrates inside the tube. This causes changes in the sound.