This is part of a Christmas themed trio of posts titled after the three wise men of nativity fame (Gaspar, Balthazar & Melchior). As an aside, how do we know there were three? There were three gifts (I have written about them too!) but the bible makes no mention of how many wise men/kings/magi there were. In fact, Matthew is the only book to mention them when they visit Mary and the baby Jesus in the house where He was born. Luke has Jesus being born in a stable and visited by shepherds but Mark and John don’t mention the birth at all. It is peculiar that such strong impressions of Jesus’ birth have been built upon such slender evidence.
Anyway, notable Gaspars are hard to find and they are even rarer if there has to be a science connection.
There is a composer called Gaspar Sanz (1640-1710) who wrote a piece called Canarios, of which there are dozens of renditions on YouTube. It sounds to my ears as though it has mistakes written into it, as every version has the same little jutters. Perhaps it is just me, let me know what you think.
The further away from the headstock the guitarist presses, the shorter the vibrating section of the string becomes. This changes the note that he is playing. Unlike on a violin or cello, there are frets that strictly define the length of the string when a finger is pressed down. This gives guitarists a little bit of leeway as to how accurately they have to play. For violinists to play perfectly in tune they have to hit precisely the right spot with their fingers. Much more difficult!
Guitar Questions…
- Why do the strings produce a sound?
- What happens to the pitch of the sound as the player makes the strings shorter?
- What happens to the wavelength of the sound waves as he presses nearer to the headstock.
- What happens to the amplitude of the sound wave when he plucks the string more strongly?
- If the frequency of the sound wave doubles, what musical interval does the guitar produce?
It’s all cats on YouTube but this short (quite wobbly at first) clip of a rescued kitten caught my eye as the finders decided to call the kitten Gaspar. I know that some of you are enjoying the company of kittens this Christmas.
Gaspar Questions…
- From the video, what evidence is there that Gaspar is a mammal?
- From the video, what evidence is there that Gaspar is a juvenile?
- From the video, what evidence is there that cats are predators?
- Gaspar’s scientific name is Felis domestica. Which taxonomic group is Felis?
Guitar questions
1. They vibrate causing waves which travel to our ears
2. They vibrate more frequently, so the sound gets higher pitch
3. The sound gets lower pitch
4. The amplitude increases so the sound gets louder
5. It goes up an octave
Cat questions
1. He is drinking milk
2. He is very small, he drinks milk and has oversized head and paws
3. He has claws which dig into the trousers of the man he is climbing
4. Mammal
Cats are the cutest animals 🙂
Thank you for another great post!
Guitar…
Q1 – excellent
Q2 – yes
Q3 – be careful, the question asked about the wavelength of the wave causing the sound, not the sound itself
Q4 – indeed
Q5 – fantastic
Gaspar…
Q1 – yes
Q2 – good
Q3 – indeed
Q4 – that is not quite what I was asking. In the phrase Felis domestica, domestica is the species name. What does Felis refer to? You might need to read Tautonym again to remind yourself.
Thank you!
Guitar Questions…
1. Because of the strings vibrating.
2. It will get higher.
3. The wavelength will increase.
4. The amplitude increases.
5. Octave.
Gaspar Questions…
1. It has hair.
2. It is very small compared to an adult cat.
3. Gaspar has very sharp claws.
4. The Genus.
Those are all excellent answers – sorry for not going through them one at a time. They are just all great!
The cat is very cute, thank you for another great post. 🙂