Google Science Journal: Hit the Note
You will learn about sound, pitch, and musical notes through a science inquiry activity, then have an opportunity to play a song by tuning cups!
Subjects: Science/STEM | VAPA

Today’s Activities

Engage

1. First, watch OK Go’s “This Too Shall Pass” music video.

Think: What are some science concepts in this video?

2. Next, watch the “Hit the Note Challenge” video.  This will outline your challenge and the creative thinking behind the music video “This Too Shall Pass.” You might want to take a few notes about the challenge and how to be successful.  You will be using the Google Science Journal app to collect the pitch data.  

3. Also, watch the “This Too Shall Pass Q&A” video.  This Q&A explains the creative and scientific processes they went through to create the music video. 

Think: What is one scientific process or principle they used?

Explore

You will explore pitch detection using the Google Science Journal App. Make sure you have familiarized yourself with Google Science Journal App by completing the Get Started Guide. Collect the materials and follow the instructions below.

Materials: glass cups, pitcher, science journal, metal spoon, frequency reference sheet, song list

1. Open the Google Science Journal app, create a new experiment and name it “Hit the Note”.

2. Choose the Pitch Detection too. It is the one that looks like a music note. You will use this to collect your pitch data.

3. Now you are ready to start your experiment! Open the Hit the Note Student Guide review the notes and complete Part 1 and Part 2!

Share

Record the song you created with your set of tuned glasses!  Share it in the Google form.

Show what ya know

Complete the Hit the Note Guiding Questions and discuss them with a family member or teacher.

Did you do today’s activities?

Push the button below to let us know you’ve completed the activities below:

In-Hand Resources

i

Google Science Journal: Hit the Note In Hand Packet

Teaching Tips

Accessibility Feature

Turning on transcripts for YouTube Videos [PDF]

Required for this lesson

You will need the FREE Google Science Journal App to complete this activity.
Available for Android and iOS

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