Buzzing Noise Maker - Sick Science!

Simple attention grabbing, noise creating buzzer

Are you the type that craves attention? Want to make a ton of noise? The Buzzing Noise Maker experiment is perfect for you! The greatest aspect of the Buzzing Noise Maker is that, while you're attracting all that attention and making all that noise, you can explain it by saying, "Hey! Steve Spangler is teaching me about science."

Materials

Index card
Wide rubber band
2 adhesive backed foam pieces
String or yarn
Jumbo craft stick (tongue depressor)
Scissors

Experiment
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Reviews

Use the scissors to cut two of the corners off of a long side on the index card.
Cut two pieces of adhesive foam. The pieces should be about 2 cm x 5 cm.
Place the jumbo craft stick on the long, uncut end of the index card. Only half (lengthwise) of the craft stick should be touching the index card.
Fold one piece of the adhesive foam around the end of the craft stick and index card to hold them in place.
Use the scissors to cut a length of string or yarn 1 meter in length. Lay the string across the second piece of adhesive foam. Leave 5-10 cm on one side of the foam.
Fold the second piece of foam with the string around the other end of the craft stick and index card and tie a loop around the foam.
Stretch a wide rubber band over each of the foam pieces ensuring that the rubber band isn't twisted.
Twirl the Buzzing Noise Maker overhead.

Observations

How does the pitch change when you shorten or lengthen the string?
What happens when you change the twirling speed of the Buzzing Noise Maker?
Can you twirl the Buzzing Noise Maker backwards? Why or why not?

How does it work?

The buzzing noise produced by your Buzzing Noise Maker is produced by the rubber band vibrating against the craft stick. The vibrations are caused by air movement around the rubber band and are maximized when the Buzzing Noise Maker is moving parallel to your twirling motion. The apparatus itself is designed so that aerodynamic drag will keep the Buzzing Noise Maker parallel to air flow.

You may have noticed that the speed of your twirl directly affects the pitch of the noise made by your Buzzing Noise Maker. The faster you spin your Buzzing Noise Maker, the higher the pitch produced by the vibrating rubber band will be.

Additional Info

What else do you think will affect the noise that comes from the Buzzing Noise Maker? Try using different sizes of craft sticks, rubber bands, or even index cards.
Is the shape we made with the index card the best shape for this experiment? Try using different shapes that you think might work better.

Buzzing Bee

Carmen Dunwiddie - July 27, 2011

This user gave 5/5 stars

Always in search for clever gadgets for my kids' travel stash or rainy day box, years ago, I paid $5.99 for a buzzing bee gadget in North Carolina, made just like Steve's, and failed a trying to replicate the thing for my preschool students to demonstrate the vibrations caused by the rubber band as it hits the card as the gadget travels through the air. Mine had a picture of a bee on thin cardboard fitted on a stiff red plastic rod with fittings at each end to hold the rubber band in place and a silk cord to "swing" with. Thanks for solving this for me. We can now "hum" to the director's boiling point!