M 3SLP..Physics..

The simulation at the source below (number 4 on the list of required reading and sources; see the Background Materials for this module) allows you to experiment with many of the variables that produce sound when an object is hit or scratched. The website contains a good explanation of the variables, which include hardness, base frequency, duration, and pluck time.
University of British Columbia (n.d.). Sound simulation. Retrieved on March 1, 2008, from http://www.cs.ubc.ca/spider/kvdoel/sound_demo6.html
Because this simulation presents so many possibilities, the assignment is open-ended. Choose one object (for example, the circular plate) and experiment with different values of the parameters governing sound generation. Organize your work as follows.
Try striking or scraping the object at three different points. For the circular plate, this could be the edge, the center, and halfway in between.
Systematically vary the parameters (hardness, base frequency, etc.), one at a time. Summarize your conditions, and the results, in a table.
Be sure to click on the “Build” button every time you change the parameters, or the change won’t go into effect. “Strike” or “scrape” the object by clicking on it. (Be sure your speakers are connected and the volume is turned up, but not too far up. You’ll scare the family pets to death.)
Write a two or three page paper summarizing your results, and post it to CourseNet