Syllabus for The Physics of Music, Stage, and Screen

 

Students will develop an understanding of the fundamental concepts, laws, and the theories of physics as they relate to sound and light. The course content will be driven by student interests in the visual and audio arts.

 

This course is a hands-on, lab-driven course where the students will get their hands dirty as they explore the fundamentals behind their favorite hobbies and activities.

 

Credit: 1/2 unit

Time: half year

Exam: Departmental/project based

Prerequisites: Math II

 

 

The following is a list of student generated questions from this year that we are using a base syllabus for the course.

 

Perception: the Eye and the Brain Sight Light  Art Perception : The Ear & the Brain Sound Sound and our Bodies Sound and Animals Sound and Music Electronics of Music, Stage and Screen Electricity Sound and Electronics General Arts Questions

 

---

 

What is Perception?

 

 

 

Pablo Picasso : "I paint things as I think of them, not as I see them."

 

---

 

 

 

Perception: the Eye and the Brain

 

---

 

Sight

 

1. How do the eye and the brain allow us to see light?
2. How do we see color?
3. What is Color Blindness and how does it work? Do color blind people see different colors than the real color is?
4. Does everyone see things differently? If so, why or how?
5. What do animals "see" if they see non-visible light?
6. What causes sensitivity to light and noise?

 

Light

 

1. What is light?
2. How is light created?
3. What is the electromagnetic spectrum?
4. What are shadows?
5. How do lenses work?
6. How do mirrors work?

    

 

Albert Einstein "For the rest of my life I want to reflect on what light is."

 

 Art

 

1. Is there a connection between art and science?
2. How do we see depth?
3. What is Perspective and how do artists use it?
4. What is Linear Perspective?
5. What is Forced Perspective?
6. How does Julian Beever do his chalk drawings?
7. How do movies give the illusion of motion?
8. How do stereograms work?
9. How do artists use light in the visual arts?
10. How has color been used by painters?
11. How does lighting work on a stage?
12. How does Stop Motion video work?
13. How does a camera work?
14. How do artists use shadow?
15. What is pointillism?  
16. How is symmetry important in the way we see things?
17. What is Anamorphic Art?

 

---

 

Perception : The Ear & the Brain

 

 

 

 

Sound

 

1. What is sound
2. How is sound created?
3. Is sound just a vibration?
4. Are all vibrations the same?
5. How is frequency related to sound?
6. What are bass and treble? What is pitch and tone?
7. Is there a limit to the pitch of sound?
8. What is bass, treble and the other audio options?
9. How can you feel sound?
10. What is a sonic boom?
11. How can you make things louder or softer?
12. Do sound waves break glass at a low or high volume?
13. How do sound waves travel?
14. Do we hear things when they are actually occurring?
15. What is an echo?
16. Why is there no sound in space?
17. Do different pitches travel at different speeds?
18. What is the speed of sound?
19. Does sound go on forever?
20. Is thunder the sound of the lightning hitting the ground or the sound of just the lightning?
21. Why is the sound of lightning so delayed?
22. Why does the sound created when you hit a golf ball sound so strange?
23. If a tree falls in the woods and no one is around to hear it, did it make a noise?
24. When wind comes by strong/fast what is that whistling noise?
25. How can sound be used as a weapon?

 

Sound and our Bodies

 

1. How does the ear work?
2. How do we "hear" sound?
3. Why can we only hear certain sounds?
4. How do hearing aids work?
5. Why are people born deaf or mute?
6. Why does hearing become impaired after going to a concert?
7. How do different sounds of music affect emotions – rap, rock, jazz, etc.?
8. What are decibels?
9. What is the pain threshold for sound?
10. How do you go deaf? What happens?
11. Do we all hear things differently?
12. Why is there no such thing as “complete silence”?
13. Are hearing and seeing directly related such as the nose and the mouth?  eg.  When you are sick you can’t really taste or smell.
14. Why do you sound different singing/on the phone?
15. What happens when you get nervous and your voice gets all high?
16. If you do not have ears can you still hear?
17. Why does your voice sound different on the phone and the answering maching?
18. How does your brain interpret sound?
19. How do you create sound through your voice?
20. How do our bodies make sounds like words or a stomach rumbling?
21. Does anyone hear better than us?  

 

Sound and Animals

 

1. How can dogs hear high pitched whistles that humans can’t?
2. How do animals like bats or whales communicate?
3. What is the difference between human and animal hearing?
4. What is Ecolocation?
5. How do dolphins, whales communicating by sound?
6. Why do dogs howl?
7. What can animals hear that humans can’t?
8. How does a dog whistle work?
9. Why do different types of dogs have different skills of hearing?  greyhound (sign dog) vs. hearing dog?
10. Why can animals hear better than us?

 

Sound and Music

 

1. What are the basic properties of sound and music?
2. How do artists use sound and music in the auditory arts?
3. How does rhythm work?
4. How Do Instruments Create Sound ?
5. How do guitars work?
6. How do different materials effect a drum’s sound?
7. How do drums work?
8. Do different textures create different sounds?  ex. sand paper vs. chalk
9. Why does rubbing strings on a violin create that sound?
10. Why do you have to use a bow with violins?
11. How do you sing?
12. How do vibrations work in a singer’s voice?
13. Why do you get different sounds from the same instrument just by covering holes?
14. Why do different instruments have different shapes?  ex. clarinet and saxophone?
15. How is a stage and auditorium set up for sound and music?
16. How can I make my music more professional? 
17. What are the weird flat things on the ceilings of auditoriums?

 

 

 

 

 

Electronics of Music, Stage and Screen

 

---

 

 

 

Electricity

 

1. What is electricity?
2. How are electricity and light related?
3. How are electricity and sound related?
4. How does a TV work?
5. How does a VCR or DVD player work?
6. Why/How does static electricity make noise?

 

Sound and Electronics

 

1. What happens when you blow out your speakers?
2. Electric guitars – how do they work only with electricity?
3. How does an amp create different sound effects?
4. How can you use light to create sound?
5. Sound transmission through electricity?
6. How do we make our own beats on the computer?
7. How do ring tones on cellphones work?
8. How do Ipods work?
9. How do Mp3 files and downloading work?
10. How do record players work?
11. Is it true that ancient Egyptians recorded sounds into clay?
12. Why do watts matter when it comes to amplifiers?
13. What is the function of a subwoofer?
14. How is music/sound stored in CD/tape/ipod?
15. How do speakers work?
16. How do phones work?
17. How do we hear through headphones?  cell phones?
18. How do “silent keyboards” work?
19. What is the difference between low resolution and high resolution sounds?
20. How does surround sound speakers and the jamming of sound work?
21. How do cell phone sounds work?
22. How does an IPOD work?
23. How do you put music on tape decks?
24. How does subwoofer/amplifier/tweeters/car audio work?  

 

 

---

 

General Arts Questions

 

 

1. Why isn’t there one “ideal”?
2. Does theatre really express how one feels?    And how do we know this?
3. In movies, how do they make it look as if people are flying without showing the wires?
4. How is it possible to simulate humans underwater while breathing?  (think “Across the Universe” during the “Because” sequence)
5. How do filmmakers get dismemberment so realistic?
6. In digital cameras, how can the computer interpret and recreate an image without using exposures (i.e., film)?
7. How do Phasers work on Star Trek?