Choose the sheet for the learner's age. Each prints on a single page. Build the project first, then fill it in together.
Ages 5-7: Draw & tell
Name: ______________________Date: ____________
Homemade Science with Bruce Yeany · Musical Bottles · Ages 5-7
My Bottle Band
Blow and tap your bottles and listen.
1. Draw your row of bottles and color in the water. Put a star on the bottle that sings highest when you blow.
2. When you BLOW, which bottle sings the highest note?
◯ Most water◯ Least water
3. When you TAP, which bottle sings the highest note?
◯ Most water◯ Least water
4. When you tap, what shakes to make the sound?
◯ The air◯ The bottle
5. What made the notes different?
Ages 8-10: Predict, test & record
Name: ______________________Date: ____________
Homemade Science with Bruce Yeany · Musical Bottles · Ages 8-10
Blow vs. Tap Test
Predict which bottles will sing high, then test and record.
1. Predict: when you BLOW, which bottle will play the highest note?
◯ the fullest◯ the emptiest◯ they will all sound the same
2. Predict: when you TAP, which bottle will play the highest note?
◯ the fullest◯ the emptiest◯ they will all sound the same
3. Test 4 of your bottles. Rank each note from 1 (lowest) to 4 (highest).
Bottle
How much water (a little / some / a lot)
Blow note rank (1-4)
Tap note rank (1-4)
4. What did you find out?
5. Why do you think blowing and tapping go in opposite directions?
Ages 11-14: Explain & design your own test
Name: ______________________Date: ____________
Homemade Science with Bruce Yeany · Musical Bottles · Ages 11-14
Explaining Bottle Pitch
Use what you heard and the idea of vibration to explain your bottles.
1. Use the words vibrate and pitch to explain why adding water raises the pitch when you blow.
2. Explain why adding water lowers the pitch when you tap.
3. You blow across a bigger bottle with the same amount of water. Its note will be...
◯ higher◯ lower◯ the same
4. Question: does the amount of water change the blown pitch? Name what you change, what you observe, and what you keep the same.
5. Design a fair test of a new question (for example: cold bottle from the fridge vs. room temperature, or water vs. dish soap when tapped).
Trial
What I changed
What I kept the same
What I heard
6. Where else: name another instrument where a smaller air space or shorter tube makes a higher note.
Answer guide for grown-ups
Homemade Science with Bruce Yeany · Musical Bottles · Answer guide
Answer guide
Ages 5-7: My Bottle Band
Open answer: look for effort and careful observation.
Most water
Least water
The bottle
The water (how much water is in each bottle)
Ages 8-10: Blow vs. Tap Test
Any prediction is fine; the fullest bottle plays highest when blown.
Any prediction is fine; the emptiest bottle plays highest when tapped.
Open answer: look for effort and careful observation.
Blowing: more water = higher note. Tapping: more water = lower note.
Different things vibrate: blowing makes the air inside vibrate, tapping makes the bottle vibrate.
Ages 11-14: Explaining Bottle Pitch
Blowing makes the air inside vibrate. More water leaves less air, which acts like a stiffer spring, so it vibrates faster and the pitch is higher.
Tapping makes the bottle vibrate. The water makes the bottle heavier and slower to vibrate, so the pitch is lower.
Lower (more air inside)
Change: amount of water. Observe: whether the note is higher or lower (by ear, or with a tuner app). Keep the same: same kind of bottle, same way of blowing, same liquid.
Look for: only one thing changes between trials (temperature, or the liquid), everything else stays the same. Cold air lowers the blown note; soap stops the ringing.
Examples: a straw flute or straw trombone (shorter = higher), a flute, organ pipes.