Tellura Youth Journal: Issue 2, May 2021

Tellura | Youth Journal | Issue 2 May 2021 Cover designed by Ayesha Umair. The articles within this publication are the intellectual property of their respective authors, and must be cited appropriately. They may not be reproduced in any way without prior permission from the authors. Note also that the contents or conclusions derived within these articles represent the viewpoints of their respective authors, not any of the Tellura sta members or editors. The remaining content within this publication is under an MIT License, and supports the Open Source Initiative. More information can be found on https://tellura-sci.web.app/about AT X. This document was compiled using L E

Authors, listed alphabetically Harshini Patel Jack Edelist Leo Wang Meara Sanjayan Nay Chi Htwe

Tellura Members Involved Mahsa Gholiof, Head of Youth Journal Alyssa Murdoch, Editor Chelsea Shi, Editor Hadiqa Shaikh, Editor Hamda Altaf, Editor Manvir Chima, Editor Rija Khalid, Editor Sarah DiMatteo, Editor Ayesha Umair, President

Tellura is a student organization a liated with the McMaster Students Union (MSU). Its mission is to provide a set of accessible guides, materials, and opportunities that help high school and middle school students learn about scienti c research. For any questions or concerns, please contact

tellura@mcmaster.ca

i

Contents 1 Introduction

iii

2 Mycelium: The New Building Material

iv

3 Investigating The E ect of Changing a Guitar's Pickup Con guration on Tonal Quality vii 4 The Nervous System: Reaction Times from Visual and Tactile Stimuli

xxix

5 Bene ts of Exercise During Pregnancy: A Literature Review

xxxiv

6 Mandatory Vaccinations for Children: The Social, Scienti c and Environmental Considerations xxxvi 7 Conclusion

xlvi

ii

1 Introduction Dear Reader, Welcome to Issue 2 of the this Youth Journal! It has been organized by Tellura, which is an MSU-a liated student club at McMaster University. Tellura provides guidance and resources for students in grades 7 to 12 on science research. The youth journal articles are written by secondary school students who are paired up with undergraduate editors and receive guidance and feedback from them.

This journal aims to give

secondary school students a chance to practice science writing and improve their skills through receiving and applying feedback.

In this issue, we explore a variety of topics including mycelium as a building material, the bene ts of exercise during pregnancy, the nervous system, mandatory vaccines for children, and the tonal quality of musical instruments.

We are grateful for the hard work and dedication of the youth journal department and all the authors, to provide you with high-quality student work.

We hope that you will enjoy the second issue of our youth journal and will nd the articles valuable and insightful.

All the best, Mahsa Gholiof Head of Youth Journal

iii

2 Mycelium: The New Building Material Harshini Patel, edited by Chelsea Shi The building and construction sector has globally shown an increase in both emissions and energy use for many years. Building, construction, and operations accounted for the largest share of both global nal energy use (36%) and energy-related CO2 emissions (39%) in 2018.

[4]

Therefore, more action is needed to

curb emissions in order to deliver a low-carbon, sustainably built environment. The solution to this problem is mycelium.

Figure 1: Mycelium; a brous network.

Mycelium is the brous network that exists underneath a fungus. The main function is as the feeding structure of a fungus. Mycelium compensates for the fungus' lack of mobility through its ability to grow rapidly throughout a food source. As well, mycelium has many environmental bene ts and can replace many materials we use in our everyday lives, speci cally in the construction industry.

Suitability as a Building Material To start, mycelium is an e ective replacement that can be used for plastic and many other materials. It possesses many properties that deem it suitable to be used as a building material. It is important to highlight how mycelium would be used as a building material. Mycelium would be incorporated as a building material by creating a mycelium brick.

A mycelium brick is an organic brick formed from organic waste, and the

mycelium of a fungus and the brick holds many characteristics that render it an excellent building material.

Mycelium can handle high amounts of compression while also being lightweight. Depending on the mycelium brick, its compressive strength can be around 30 psi compared to the 4000 psi compressive strength of 3

concrete. However, relative to weight, mycelium bricks are stronger than concrete, with 1 m brick weighing 43 kg and 1 m

3

of concrete weighing 2400 kg.

[1]

of a mycelium

Additionally, mycelium is a very durable

material that is waterproof, non-toxic, re-resistant, and mould resistant.

Further, mycelium bricks also

provide termite proo ng. Though the bricks are created in a way that attracts termites, when the termite eats the mycelium, it causes a fungus spore to activate within the termite, killing it and creating fungi whose spores repel other termites.

[7]

Moving on, mycelium can also be used for insulation purposes which plays a critical role in construction.

Lastly, one of the most unique properties mycelium bricks have is their self-repairing capabilities. To exemplify, if a hole is made in the wall, the mycelium would re-grow in the area and patch it up. Considering all of these properties, it is safe to conclude that mycelium is in fact, a suitable building material.

iv

Environmental Bene ts Mycelium continues to prove to be of use as not only is it suitable for construction, it also has many environmental bene ts.

First and foremost, when using mycelium bricks, there is a massive reduction in

terms of the reliance on fossil fuels. The energy required for fabrication and the massive reduction in the building waste is re ected in the product's disposal as mycelium bricks are 100% biodegradable and can be used as soil. Additionally, mycelium bricks are more convenient and e cient than conventional masonry bricks. Conventional masonry bricks require a very high-temperature kiln ring from 900

◦

C - 1000

◦

C, which

requires an excessive amount of energy, whereas mycelium bricks can be produced at room temperature and do not require ring, therefore, reducing the overall energy consumption drastically.

[7]

To add, when

manufacturing conventional masonry bricks, there is a substantial quantity of greenhouse gases, whereas mycelium does not release any harmful toxic gases pre or post-production and causes no pollution at the end of its life cycle. In addition, mycelium can be grown into speci c forms, thus reducing the processing requirements that most materials have.

Lastly, the abundance of mycelium is re ected upon in the raw

materials used to create the brick and the growth span. Mycelium bricks are created from agricultural and agro-industrial waste in addition to the mycelium content. This means that the bricks are essentially running from the waste of another industry, demonstrating its abundance and substantial environmental bene ts. In terms of growth span, mycelium has an incredibly short span to manufacture. Bricks of size eight by four by two inches can be grown in less than two weeks, and the process produces no waste or carbon emissions.

Overall, mycelium provides multiple environmental bene ts in the creation and disposal processes.

Implementation Challenges Despite all of these pros there are two major obstacles that are halting the progress of the mass development of mycelium in construction. The rst is the fact that the water resistance of mycelium decreases overtime which makes the brick vulnerable to mold and humidity.

Moreover, the materials can be easily infected

during the growing process which can lead to many complications.

[2]

The second obstacle is the aversion

people have for fungi. The bad associations people might have with fungi can make it harder for mycelium to be socially accepted, despite the material being odorless and healthy.

Overcoming Barriers to Implementation In order to decrease energy consumption and carbon footprint, there are some steps towards feasibility that should be taken to progress with this environmentally friendly material.

The rst step is informing

the general public. Although people may have a negative perspective of fungi, if they are informed of the bene ts the material provides and the fact that it is odorless and healthy, it may change their views on this approach which can allow for the material to be socially accepted. The next step is to continue to do more research to overcome the major con of the decrease in water resistance overtime. Although many may think this can only be solved by using chemicals to make the material resistant, there are natural alternatives that are deemed water-resistant materials such as beeswax and lanolin. Overall, we can overcome all barriers by further expanding our knowledge and understanding of the material.

The Future of Mycelium To conclude, as the construction industry continues to have high carbon emissions and accounts for a large share in total energy use, it is necessary for eco-friendly materials such as mycelium bricks to be implemented as they possess the proper properties that make them suitable for construction, as well as its many environmental bene ts in comparison to that of the conventional masonry brick that are most often

v

used. Society must change their perspective and information regarding studies of mycelium bricks should be widely spread. More research also needs to be done so that we can eventually implement mycelium bricks and curb carbon emissions by delivering a low-carbon and sustainably built material.

References https://www.certifiedene rgy.com.au/emerging-materials/emerging-materials-mycelium-brick

1. Bonne n, I. (2017, February 1). Emerging materials: Mycelium brick.

2. Bruin, Sarah De. (2019) "MYCELIUM; A BUILDING BLOCK FOR PARKSTAD LIMBURG." http

s://repository.tudelft.nl/islandora/object/uuid:cd0bf37f-3eb3-407b-ae86-af035005cd22 /datastream/OBJ2/download

3. Corbley, A. (2020, December 10). Stanford Designer is Making Bricks Out of Fast-Growing Mushrooms That Are Stronger than Concrete.

lium-mushroom-bricks-arch/

https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/phil-ross-invents-myce

4. Dulac, J., Hamilton, I., Jordan, M., Abergel, T., Prabeep, A. (2019). 2019 Global Status Report for Buildings and Construction. https://globalabc.org/sites/default/files/2020-03/GSR2019.pd

f#page13

5. G, R. M., S, S. B., B. D. (2018, June).

MYCELIUM COMPOSITES: AN EMERGING GREEN

BUILDING MATERIAL. https://www.irjet.net/archives/V5/i6/IRJET-V5I6586.pdf

6. Ghosh, T. (2018).

DEVELOPING A COMPOSITE MYCELIUM-GLASS BRICK UNIT.

//core.ac.uk/download/pdf/275765978.pdf

7. Lesley (2018, June 18). Mycelium in construction: grow construction materials.

h.info/mycelium-construction

https:

https://wasterus

https://books.google.ca/books?hl=en&lr=&id=Sf8bA9JRBWM C&oi=fnd&pg=PA102&dq=mycelium%2B&ots=kouxVqhX1j&sig=dLPdhrmgDgmw XXxa1UDVGd_MixM#v=onepage&q=mycelium&f=false

8. Mycorrhizal functioning.

9. Vallas T., Courard L. (2017, July 29).

Using nature in architecture: Building a living house with

mycelium and trees. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2095263517300353

10. Why fungi could be the future of environmentally sustainable building materials. (2020, February 28).

https://www.cbc.ca/radio/spark/why-fungi-could-be-the-future-of-environmentally-su stainable-building-materials-1.5479660

11. Win T. L. (2021, January 4). We can't tackle the climate change crisis without changing construction.

Here's why. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/01/planet-warming-emissions-buildings-

construction-climate-goals-risk/

12. Xing, Y., & Gri th, G. W. (2017, November).

Growing and Testing Mycelium Bricks as Building

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/320622072_Growing_and_Tes ting_Mycelium_Bricks_as_Building_Insulation_Materials Insulation Materials.

vi

3 Investigating The E ect of Changing a Guitar's Pickup Con guration on Tonal Quality Jack Edelist, edited by Manvir Chima, Rija Khalid, and Alyssa Murdoch

I. Introduction i. Rationale Ever since I started playing guitar three years ago, I have developed a passion for understanding sound and guitar pickups; more speci cally, I am intrigued by sound design. I experimented with di erent waveforms and sound manipulations when I produced electronic music, and learnt about guitar e ect pedals along the way, but neither gave me the physical understanding I now seek. I wanted to dive deep into the fundamentals underlying the electric guitar the pickups, and how its construction can vary the sound produced. First, how does a pickup ll stadiums of people from the small sound of a plucked string? How does its construction a ect the sound quality? Lastly, is it possible to visually see the di erence in sound?

If tone is mentioned, it refers to the qualitative characteristics of a sound (i.e. the 'voice' of an instrument). For example, the auditory di erence in quality between a state of the art violin and its 'bottom of the line' counterpart. Or the auditory di erence in quality between a male and a female voice. Musically, this is commonly referred to as timbre.

ii. Research Question How does the number of coils in a single-coil guitar pickup impact the tone produced?

This experimental exploration investigates the correlation between the number of coils in a guitar pickup and the tonal quality produced, measured using a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) software.

Theoretical

principles of physics will then be used to justify the phenomena observed. The rst theoretical understandings are in the area of electromagnetism, electromagnetic inductance, and frequency analysis to understand how the pickup produces sound and its FFT graphical representation.

The second theoretical understandings

are in the area of inductor and capacitor (LC) circuits to explain how the previous area correlates with the frequency spectrum.

iii. Background a. Guitar Pickup Construction

A guitar pickup, as shown in Figure 2, is essentially an electromagnet,

which fundamentally consists of an insulated wire coiled around a magnet that can create a magnetic eld from an electric current.

The electromagnet creates a transducer, a device that transforms energy from

one form to another, and in the case of pickups, from string vibrations (mechanical energy) to electrical energy (potential di erence). A single-coil guitar pickup (Figure 2) has only one magnet per string, unlike its humbucking counterpart which has two magnets per string. There are six pole-pieces vertically inserted into the bobbin which act as permanent magnets; their poles are in the same direction to ensure all magnetic elds are in phase and do not 'cancel' each other out when their phases are displaced by half a wavelength.

The strings lie perpendicular to the bobbin across each pole-piece. The leads (wires) connect the coil to the output port which transfers the signal into an external apparatus typically an ampli er.

vii

Figure 2: Single coil guitar pickup. Source: Sound on Sound.

b. Electromagnetism in Guitar Pickups

On a basic level, the magnetic strings' vibrations cause a

disturbance in the magnetic eld of their respective pole-piece, which is communicated as a signal in an alternating current (AC) out of the leads. There are several harmonics 'picked up' by the pickups depending on the location, settings, or construction of the pickup. The harmonics, in combination with their relative amplitudes (audible volume), give the sound its 'character' (tone), which is visible in the FFT. The FFT displays the relative amplitudes of each harmonic frequency in the sound which can be used for comparison.

Each sound has a distinct FFT, where its frequencies and relative amplitudes constitute its audible quality of sound.

The potential di erence ( output ) of the alternating current sent out of the pickup is directly

proportional to the number of coils (see III. Hypothesis & Theoretical I for explanation).

II. The Experiment i. Setup (key components) a. Acoustic Pickup

Due to the absence of coil-winding materials, the experiment utilized a factory-built

acoustic guitar pickup that was unwound: the Fishman Neo-D Passive Soundhole pickup. Moreover, winding coils takes long periods of time, the machinery is exclusive to manufacturers, and precision is an issue with hand-winding. An acoustic pickup was installed temporarily, thus unwinding a relative amount was a viable solution. Figure 3 illustrates the acoustic guitar with the pickup and ampli er.

Figure 3: Guitar, pickup, and ampli er setup.

b. Ampli er

The output cord from the pickup was connected to the ampli er with the settings shown

in Figure 4; it is an Orange Crush 12 plugged into a 120-volt power socket. The ampli er setting remained constant where overdrive was turned all the way down, volume was at 50%, and gain was at 10%. Despite needing minimal gain for audible output, it was minimized to avoid frequency anomalies. All of the equalizer settings (treble, mid, bass) are at 50% to achieve a constant output sound relative to the ampli er for all trials.

viii

Figure 4: Guitar, pickup, and ampli er setup.

ii. Measuring the Data a. Microphone

The microphone shown in Figure 5, manufactured by Vernier, has a frequency range 1

of approximately 20 Hertz (Hz) to 16000 Hz , according to the manual. The microphone's current is 1.45 milliamperes (mA) and the voltage is 5V.

Figure 5: Vernier microphone. Source: Vernier, 2019.

b. Data collection interface

The Vernier LabPro shown in Figure 6 connects the microphone to the

computer by converting the port into USB. Note that the third wired connection in Figure 6 is a power cable.

Figure 6: Vernier Lab Pro setup.

1 There are no uncertainties expressed because they depend on the software being used. Uncertainties with Logger Pro (software) will be discussed.

ix

c. Software

The FFT in Logger Pro 3 by Vernier, installed on a 2016 MacBook Air, takes the raw signal

from the LabPro interface and graphs it in real-time.

iii. Controlled & Monitored Variables Table 1: Controlled Variables.

Variable

Reason for Control

Method of Control

Setup: surface

The surface and position of the guitar

The same surface was used for all trials.

may change the acoustic sound produced.

Pickup: position along

The position impacts the perceived signal

The pickup was placed in the middle of

the strings

from pickup.

the sound hole (circle) 5.10cm

± 0.05cm

from the edge of the hole (equivalent to 2

radius).

Pickup:

uncoiling in-

tervals

Major variations in uncoiling intervals can

The pickup was uncoiled

result in inaccurate and inconsistent FFT

ery time ; small inaccuracies would not

1000 turns ev-

data.

cause signi cant di erences in the fre-

3

quency spectrum due to the insigni cance of +/ a few turns.

Pickup: targeted pole-

Di erent

piece

slightly di erent signals from the pickup.

same pole-piece was targeted.

The distance from the string would im-

The pickup was placed 1.00cm

the string

pact the produced signal from the pickup.

away from the string.

Microphone: position

The microphone position may alter the

The microphone was placed between the

perceived signal from the ampli er.

logos on the ampli er (up/down), and in

Pickup:

distance from

pole-pieces

would

produce

The same A2 string was picked, thus the

± 0.05cm

4

the centre (left/right).

Guitar: tuning Guitar:

muting other

strings Collection:

picking

strength

5

Altered tunings would change the fre-

The guitar was tuned to standard tuning

quency spectrums.

for every trial.

Excess string noise can alter the frequency

The strings, other than the one being

spectrum and cause imprecision through

used, were muted by placing a piece of

random error.

heavy cloth over them.

Inconsistent

picking

strength

change

way

note

the

through attack,

the

decay,

The string was picked using a rest stroke

is

played

at approximately the same strength to

sustain,

release

minimize human error-induced random

(ADSR) which would alter the measured

error.

data. picking

location

6

would

can

change

the

The string was picked at 5.10cm

± 0.05cm

Collection: picking lo-

The

cation

prominent frequencies in the spectrum.

Collection: type of pick

The pick type can change ADSR and the

The Dunlop Jazz III nylon max grip

prominent frequencies in the spectrum.

with a width of 1.38mm (Picking Power,

from the edge of the sound hole exact position of pickup.

7

pick

2016) was used for all trials.

Collection: picking di-

The picking direction can change ADSR.

rection

Downward picking was used (picked towards the strings of higher pitch).

2 Uncertainty from ruler smallest unit is 0.100cm.

3 The pickup has 8000 winds, estimated based on information provided by the manufacturer.

4 Refer to Figure 7 in the appendix for the microphone placement.

5 Standard tuning is (low to high): E2, A2, D3, G3, B3, E4 (Wikipedia, 2020).

6 A classical guitar technique where the pick plays a string and rests on the one adjacent (GuitarWorld, 2017).

7 Dunlop Jazz IIIs are recognized for their rigidity; the max grip feature allows for greater precision to reduce random error.

x

Collection: data collec-

Collecting at di erent times (after the

The string was picked and immediately

tion time

note is played) will change the frequency

after, data collection began.

spectrums depending on which phase is

portant to avoid the attack (initial) por-

measured (ADSR).

tion of the sound as it was the most

It was im-

harsh and emphasized certain undesired frequencies.

Collection: note played

The note played ultimately dictates the

The

fundamental frequency.

played without fretting any notes (open

A2

string

(second

thickest)

was

string).

Ampli er: settings

Changes to the ampli er settings would

The Same ampli er settings were used for

impact relative sound output.

all trials as speci ed in Section b.

of i.

Setup.

Table 2: Monitored Variables.

Variable

Reason for Monitoring

Method of Monitoring

Room (acoustics)

To maintain a constant atmosphere and

No changes to the environment were made

minimize changes that would impact data

during the experimentation period.

collection.

External noise

External noise would impact the input of

The room was kept quiet and any loud

the microphone.

noises resulted in a retake of the trial.

Temperature was not monitored as it was unlikely to impact the frequency spectrum or method.

Note the term interval in this paper references all trials with the same number of coils; a di erent interval refers to trials with di erent numbers of coils.

iv. Procedure The guitar was laid at on a lab bench and the pickup was plugged into the ampli er with the previously speci ed settings.

The pickup was placed in the position speci ed in Table 1 and the microphone was

manually held in place as speci ed in Table 1 and Figure 6.

Measurements for pickup and microphone

placement were made using a ruler. Only the A2 string (second thickest) was used, and a heavy cloth was placed over the others to dampen extra noise. The data was collected as speci ed in Table 1 by all collection variables.

The pickup was manually unwound every interval by approximately 1000 turns, taking approximately three to ve minutes by hand. After unwinding, the leads were either held connecting the cable to the coil or temporarily soldered together. Both methods were used depending on the state of the coil between trials in order to achieve a similar result across all trials and intervals. The state of the coil refers to the natural tendency for the coil to connect to the leads after being severed; some coil intervals did not require soldering as they tended to connect easily, whereas other coil intervals did.

The microphone was connected to the Vernier LabPro data collection interface, which was connected via USB to the MacBook Air with Logger Pro 3 installed. The default 0.03 second collection interval was used.

The note was played and then collection started, intending to target the sustain phase of the sound. Five trials were collected with the same coil interval, then 1000 turns were removed and another ve trials were collected. The process was repeated for ve coil intervals, yielding 25 trials in total.

xi

v. Safety The experiment had no negative implications to the environment or any bystanders. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, latex/nitrile gloves, as shown in Figure 8, and masks were worn to prevent contamination. Safety goggles were worn when performing pickup moderations when necessary.

Figure 7: Safety goggles and gloves.

vi. Method Rationale An acoustic guitar was used in tandem with an acoustic pickup to allow for easier accessibility and adjustability as it was not attached to the body of the guitar. A factory-made pickup was used because the process of making one would be time consuming and would require speci c machinery. The ampli er was used because an audio interface

8

is not compatible with Logger Pro 3. The pickup was unwound 1000 turns

each time because there was an audible di erence and the pickup could still function after 5000 turns were unwound. Logger Pro was used due to free access to the costly software, as well as its user-friendly interface.

III. Hypothesis & Theoretical I i. Faraday's Law of Induction As stated in section iii. of I. Introduction, the vibrating strings cause a disturbance in the respective magnetic elds of their pole-pieces, which are permanent magnets. Faraday's Law of Induction explains why the motion of the strings creates an electric current when in combination with an electromagnet, as shown in Figure 8.

Faraday discovered that a change in magnetic ux (see section ii.) results in an induced electromotive force (EMF). The law states that the induced voltage in a circuit is proportional to the rate of change over time of the magnetic ux through that circuit (Live Science, 2020). It suggests a faster change in the magnetic eld will result in a greater induced potential di erence, but only when there is a change in the ux through the coil.

ii. Magnetic Flux Magnetic ux is a measurement of the total magnetic eld that passes perpendicular to a given surface or 9

area. Because the string is ferromagnetic

and steel is a much better conductor of magnetic ux than air,

the magnetic ux lines prefer to run through a material of better magnetic conductivity.

Thus, the ux

lines change their paths depending on the string's distance from the pole-piece during oscillation, causing an instantaneous change in the coil's magnetic ux. The ux lines from the pole-pieces and their interaction with the string are shown in Figure 9.

8 A device that converts a signal from a pickup into a signal compatible with a computer software.

9 A material that is uncharged but attracts others (Britannica).

xii

Figure 8: Diagram of Faraday's Law of Induction. Source: Magnet Academy, 2019.

Figure 9: Simpli ed pickup diagram. Source: Premier Guitar, 2015.

The rst Statement of Faraday's Law is given by:

φ = BAcosθ φ is the ux in Webers (Wb), kg · m2 · s−2 · A−1 in SI base units, B is the magnetic ux density in Teslas −2 (T), kg · s · A−1 in SI base units, A is the surface area intersecting the ux lines in square metres (m2 ), θ is the angle between the surface area and the direction of ux lines in degrees (Lumen Learning, 2020).

The second statement of Faraday's Law is given by:

V = −N

∆φB ∆t

V is the EMF induced by the change in magnetic ux in Volts (V), N is the number of turns in the coil, ∆φB is the change in magnetic ux in Wb, ∆t is the time elapsed during the change in magnetic ux in seconds (s) (Byju's, 2020).

iii. Lenz's Law Lenz's Law is used to determine the direction of the current around the magnetic ux lines. The law suggests that the current will ow in such a way that it generates a magnetic eld that will oppose the change in ux that generated it. This is to ensure that the magnetic eld generated by the current in the wire is not in the same direction as the ux lines, as that would disobey the law of conservation of energy. Being in an opposite direction ensures that no energy is created, hence the negative sign in Faraday's second statement.

xiii

iv. Hypothesis As the number of turns is decreased, there will be a smaller presence of lower end frequencies.

From

reading guitar literature and my own playing experience, I understand that `underwound pickups' have a brighter, more treble-prominent tonal quality than regular or `overwound pickups', indicating that an auditory phenomenon cutting out lower frequencies exists.

The number of coils directly correlates to the

EMF (as stated in Faraday's law) which will decrease, thus I hypothesize that a decrease in EMF will correlate with a decrease in the range of the frequency spectrum, by cutting out the lower frequencies. In other words, a pickup with more output/EMF (more coils) will have a fuller frequency spectrum, and a lower output pickup will have less lower frequencies in the spectrum. However, this correlation has not been entirely proven, nor does an explanation present itself clearly; furthermore, supporting literature for ndings related to this phenomenon could not be found.

IV. Data Collection & Processing i. Raw Data 8000 coils

Time/s ± 0.0001s

Pressure / arbitrary ± 0.0001

0.0000 0.0001 0.0002 0.0003 0.0004

2.6728 2.6728 2.6716 2.6716 2.6716

7000 coils

O set pressure/ arbitrary ± 0.0001 -0.0018 -0.0018 -0.0031 -0.0031 -0.0031

Time/s ± 0.0001s

Pressure / arbitrary ± 0.0001

0.0000 0.0001 0.0002 0.0003 0.0004

2.6630 2.6618 2.6618 2.6618 2.6618

6000 coils

O set pressure/ arbitrary ± 0.0001 -0.0116 -0.0128 -0.0128 -0.0128 -0.0128

Time/s ± 0.0001s

Pressure / arbitrary ± 0.0001

0.0000 0.0001 0.0002 0.0003 0.0004

2.6618 2.6569 2.6545 2.6520 2.6496

5000 coils

O set pressure/ arbitrary ± 0.0001 -0.0128 -0.0177 -0.0202 -0.0226 -0.0250

Time/s ± 0.0001s

Pressure / arbitrary ± 0.0001

0.0000 0.0001 0.0002 0.0003 0.0004

2.6801 2.6825 2.6838 2.6838 2.6838

4000 coils

O set pressure/ arbitrary ± 0.0001 0.0050 0.0075 0.0087 0.0087 0.0087

Time/s ± 0.0001s

Pressure / arbitrary ± 0.0001

0.0000 0.0001 0.0002 0.0003 0.0004

2.6679 2.6667 2.6667 2.6654 2.6667

Table 3: Raw data sample of Logger Pro FFT of the rst trials for all coil intervals (i.e. not averaged)

Columns: time (s), sound pressure

10

(arbitrary

11

12

), o set pressure

(arbitrary)

Logger pro sampled 0.03 seconds, with one sample every .0001 seconds, yielding 300 rows. The rst ve rows are given to demonstrate the collected data in table format as the full data table is too large; more data is in table 6 of the appendix.

Graph 1 shows the relative amplitudes of the rst trials for all coil intervals at various frequencies in the spectrum. Only the rst trials of all intervals are graphed as there is no averaging feature in Logger Pro that allows for graphing. The colours correspond with the same coil interval, where each group of ve columns represents the amplitude of all coil intervals at a speci c frequency (i.e. red is 8000 turns, blue is 7000, green is 6000, orange is 5000, purple is 4000). The graph extends beyond the range illustrated but the values are too low in amplitude to consider; at 507.81Hz (not on the graph), the rst trial's amplitude is 57.4% smaller than the rightmost data point visible in the graph.

Graph 2 takes the data from Graph 1 but eliminates trials two to four (inclusive) to show the overall trend of most to least number of coils. This is done to clarify the trend since displaying both extremes will yield the di erence in frequency spectrums for opposite scenarios.

10 The deviation from local atmospheric pressure caused by a sound wave (Pulsar Instruments, 2019).

11 Signi es a relative measurement with respect to local ambience.

12 Logger Pro's relative measurement of sound pressure, compared to other trials, used to graph the FFT.

xiv

O set pressure/ arbitrary ± 0.0001 -0.0068 -0.0080 -0.0080 -0.0092 -0.0080

Graph 1: FFT of rst trials of all coil intervals.

Graph 2: FFT of rst trials from intervals of most and least coils

ii. Data Processing a. Average resonant frequency

Resonant frequency (f0 ) is de ned as the frequency with the greatest

amplitude shown in Logger Pro data. Average resonant frequency was found by calculating the arithmetic mean of the resonant frequencies of all trials for each coil interval.

Sample Calculation of Average Resonant Frequency with Uncertainty

1 5 ·(332.0300Hz±0.0001Hz+

332.0300Hz ± 0.0001Hz + 332.0300Hz ± 0.0001Hz + 332.0300Hz ± 0.0001Hz + 429.6900Hz ± 0.0001Hz) = 351.562Hz ± 0.005Hz

Uncertainties in Graph 3 Average resonant frequency (Hz): measured in Hz

± 0.0005Hz as calculated in the sample calculation;

they are too insigni cant to be visible as error bars.

Number of turns (relative): measured by hand in discrete units; the uncertainty is human-error induced, therefore an accurate prediction cannot be made without measuring tendencies of miscounting, thus they

xv

Graph 3: Relative number of turns vs. average resonant frequency (Hz)

are not displayed as error bars.

Analysis Graph 3 shows no distinct correlation between the number of turns and the average resonant frequency of all trials with the same coil interval. Note that zero turns is the starting point, thus the graph reads right to left according to previous graphs.

From zero turns to 4000 turns, there is a slight increase in average

resonant frequency, especially the increase from 7000 to 6000 turns where the average resonant frequency increases by 19.5320Hz

± 0.0005 Hz. Although not certain, the increase from 7000 to 6000 turns could be

due to the pickup having a stronger resonance with particular frequencies at 6000 turns.

However, more

likely, it is a product of random error.

The graph is simply used to illustrate the trend by averages, but is it evident that one does not clearly present itself with the theoretical framework that was established.

b. Di erence in Amplitude Sample Calculation of Di erence in Amplitude with Uncertainty The di erence was calculated by subtracting the amplitude from the trial with the most coils by the amplitude from the trial with the least coils at a given frequency. Note the calculation contains arbitrary units, thus there are no units expressed.

At 332.0200Hz

± 0.0001Hz: Dif f erence = 0.03710 ± 0001 − 0.03400 ± 0001 Dif f erence = 0.00310 ± 0002

Uncertainties in Graph 4 Resonant frequency (Hz): error bars of 0.0001Hz are too insigni cant to be visible.

Di erence in amplitude (arbitrary): error bars 0.0001 are too insigni cant to be visible. *Note that only the values for the rst trials were used due to the interest of time. There is no function in Logger Pro's FFT that averages amplitudes of given frequencies across 25 trials, thus 25 arithmetic mean

xvi

Graph 4: Resonant frequency (Hz) vs. di erence in amplitude (arbitrary) for rst trials of most and least coils.

equations for ve values with four decimal places would need to be manually calculated, then processed; the implications of this will be discussed.

Analysis Graphing the disparity between the highest and lowest number of coils showed there was a vast di erence in amplitudes for di erent resonant frequencies. A point above zero on the y-axis meant the trial with more coils had a higher amplitude for that frequency than the trial with less coils.

A point below zero on the

y-axis meant the trial with less coils had a higher amplitude for that frequency.

Trend Explanation The overall trend is that the lower frequencies are prominent with more coils and the higher frequencies are prominent with less coils; the y-axis disparity between the global maximum and minimum is 0.0423 13

0.0002

±

. There are local maxima and minima, but those correspond with the natural frequency spectrum

of note (A2) played. The areas where the di erence in amplitude is at or approximately zero are where the frequencies have the same or very similar relative amplitude.

Further analyzing the data, there is another distinct trend supported by literature values.

Figure 10

shows the harmonics in ascending frequencies from the fundamental which is labelled as the rst harmonic.

The note played in the experiment is A2 which has the literature values of harmonic frequencies starting from the fundamental of: 110Hz, 220Hz, 330Hz, 440Hz (Jay Lock, 2020). Referring to Graph 4, the local maxima and minima correspond to these literature frequency values given by: 117.19Hz, 214.84Hz, 332.03Hz, 429.69Hz. Note that Logger Pro only measures the amplitude for speci c (seemingly arbitrary) frequencies that are the same for every measurement taken; these frequencies are the closest measurements Logger Pro took to the literature values stated.

The trend shows a distinct decrease in the amplitudes for the higher resonant frequencies, especially the literature value harmonic frequencies, showing that speci c harmonic frequencies were impacted more than others when the number of coils was altered.

13 0.0123

± 0.0001 - -0.0300 ± 0.0001 = 0.0423 ± 0.0002

xvii

Figure 10: Diagram of harmonic series.

c. Connection to Theoretical I Evaluation of Hypothesis The hypothesis' claim that as the turns decrease the presence of lower frequencies will also decrease is supported by the data in Graph 2; the data from Graph 4 displays the data such that the disparities in amplitude are clearly represented. As previously analyzed, there is the trend that the trial with the most number of coils has higher amplitudes of low frequencies and the trial with the least number of coils has higher amplitudes of high frequencies. Thus, the hypothesis is valid in that regard.

The hypothesis also states EMF and the number of coils are directly proportional as supported by Faraday's Law. Although there is no EMF data collected to suggest this is supported, the correlation can be supported by proportionalities. Recall Faraday's law given by:

V = −N (Byju's, 2020). Hence, V

∆φB ∆t

∝ N.

However, it is still unknown why this phenomenon occurs. Now that the data supports the theory that N impacts resonant frequency, and the formula states that N changes EMF, then what is the connection between EMF and resonant frequency?

V. Theoretical II This section answers the question brought forth in the previous section. It aims to correlate the change in the number of coils to the change in resonant frequency.

i. Inductors An inductor is a coil that stores energy in a magnetic eld, (Coilcraft, 2020). Due to Lenz's Law as mentioned in section iii. of III. Hypothesis & Theoretical I., inductors resist changes in current owing through them.

2

Their characteristic - inductance - is measured in Henries (H), millihenries (mH), or Wb/A (kg ·m

·s− 2·A− 1

in SI units).

In the guitar pickup's circuit, the pickup itself acts as the inductor, where the self inductance (of a coil) is given by:

xviii

L=N

φ I

L is the inductance in H , N is the number of turns in the coil, φ is the magnetic ux in Wb, I is the current in Amperes (A).

Therefore L ∝ N , so as the turns decrease, the inductance of the pickup decreases.

ii. Capacitors Capacitors function to store an electric charge, and have two parallel conductive (typically metal) plates 14

separated by a dielectric

. Capacitance is the ability to store energy in the form of an electric charge and

µ

is measured in Farads (F) or microfarads ( F) (Fluke, 2020).

In the guitar pickups's circuit, the cable tends to have capacitive properties. A standard

¼ inch guitar

cable consists of 41 36-gauge copper wires (Premier Guitar, 2011); a cable with two or more wires can store a charge. The cable's performance depends on its capacitance ideally it has none. The other source of capacitance is the wires that make up the pickup (Premier Guitar, 2019).

iii. LC Circuits LC circuits consist of an inductor (L) and a capacitor (C). Figure 11 shows a circuit with an inductor and capacitor, where the current (i) is owing.

Figure 11: Diagram of a simple LC circuit.

a. Resonance

Resonance occurs when the frequency of a vibrating force exactly matches a natural

(resonant) frequency of the object to which the force is applied, (Physics Demos, 2018). When a capacitor is fully charged, it will send a current to the inductor, which causes a change in the magnetic ux and generates an EMF (due to Faraday's Law) that will oppose it in direction (due to Lenz's Law). The capacitor's charges will eventually ip, and the same process will take place the other direction, hence creating an AC circuit.

In an LC circuit the resonant frequency is where the current is maximized for the given inductor, capacitor, and potential di erence (Lumen Physics, 2020).

Note that although there is no intentional resistor (R) placed in the circuit, it is important to factor in resistance from the inductor (pickup) and the capacitor (cable).

14 An insulating material with tightly bound electrons that will not conduct electricity (Britannica, 2020). It is polarized when in contact with an electric eld.

xix

b. Inductive Reactance

Inductive reactance (XL ) is a measure of an inductor's opposition to a changing

current ow (Fundamentals of Electricity, 2020). Essentially, it is the inductor's electrical resistance when used in an AC circuit.

c. Capacitive Reactance

Capacitive reactance (XC ) is a measure of a capacitor's opposition to the

ow of alternating current (Fundamentals of Electricity, 2020). Unlike resistance, inductive and capacitive reactance depend on the frequency of the signal passing through the circuit. Along with resistance, inductive and capacitive reactance contribute to a circuit's impedance (see section d.).

d. Impedance

Impedance (Z) is the measure of opposition of the current that a circuit experiences when

a potential di erence is applied. It is typically measured in AC circuits containing inductors and capacitors and is comparable to resistance in direct current (DC) circuits.

e. Application to The Pickup's Circuit I=

V Z

(Physics Demos, 2018). V is constant due to Kirchho 's second law that states the sum of all voltages around any closed loop in a circuit must equal zero, (Isaac Physics, 2020). When the circuit is oscillating at its resonant frequency, it maximizes the current for the given resistance, inductor, capacitor, and potential

I ∝ Z1 , therefore the smallest value of Z yields the largest

di erence of the circuit (Physics Demos, 2018). value of I. The pickup is in a series circuit given by:

Z=

p

R2 + (XL − XC )2

(Physics Demos, 2018); Z is the impedance in ohms (Ω), R is the resistance in the circuit in Ω, XL is the inductive reactance in Ω, XC is the capacitive reactance in Ω.

Without altering the pickup, R, XL , and XC are held constant due to the unchanged components that comprise the circuit. Thus, referencing the equation above, XL = XC in order to minimize Z . Subsequently,

Z must equal R for Z to be at its minimum value.

iv. Frequency Resonance This section will derive the resonant frequency in the pickup's circuit using inductive reactance, capacitive reactance, and the theoretical assumption that XL = XC .

a. Equations

The circuit's inductive reactance is given by:

XL = 2πf L (Electronics Tutorials, 2020); XL is the inductive reactance in Ω, f is the frequency of the AC signal in Hz, L is the inductance in H.

xx

The circuit's capacitive reactance is given by:

XC =

1 2πf C

(Electronics Tutorials, 2020); XC is the capacitive reactance in Ω, f is the frequency of the AC signal in Hz, C is the capacitance in F.

b. Deriving Resonant Frequency XL = XC 1 2πf0 L = , multiplying by f 2πf C 1 2πf02 L = , dividing by 2πL 2πC 1 , taking the square root of f0 f02 = (2π)2 LC 1 √ f0 = 2π LC where f0 represents the frequency at which Z is minimized. Thus, I is maximized, and it is the resonant frequency of the circuit.

c. Frequency Proportionality

Therefore,

L decreases as f0 increases.

1 f0 ∝ √ L In other words, as the inductance of the coil decreases - as

windings are removed - the resonant frequency increases.

d. Link to Data

Section V. Theoretical II established that the number of coils and inductance are

correlated, which correlates with resonant frequency.

Resultantly, resonant frequency and the number of

coils are also correlated. Therefore, the relationship between coils and resonant frequency does not depend on EMF, as suggested by section III. Hypothesis & Theoretical I.

VI. Conclusion i. Signi cance of Results Recall the following research question: How does the number of coils in a single-coil guitar pickup impact the tone produced? This study answers the research question in two main areas of understanding: how the pickup functions to create sound, and how altering its construction changes the tone of sound produced.

Section III. Hypothesis Theoretical I states that Faraday's Law of Induction is responsible for generating an EMF through a change in magnetic ux caused by the string, which is sent as an electric signal to the ampli er. Section V. Theoretical II also explains that altering the coils in the pickup essentially alters its inductance in the LC circuit which correlates with resonant frequency.

xxi

Both ndings were supported by the data, thus the data is shown to be direct experimental support for the theoretical reasoning behind this paper.

ii. Implications of Results This exploration has implications for consumers of scienti c research and musicians or sound designers.

Implications to physical principles include correlating LC circuits to resonant frequencies, electromagnetic induction with ferromagnetic materials, and recording auditory phenomena with fast Fourier transforms.

Implications to musicians and sound designers include adjusting guitar pickups to meet auditory desires, creating unique musical equipment with LC circuits, and analyzing musical instruments' tone using fast Fourier transforms.

iii. Strengths The ndings were well reasoned with thorough theoretical background. Cited evidence supports most phenomena and established correlations described in this study. Speci cally, the derivations in this study utilized previously accepted formulas. This ensured that any theoretical results were supported by accepted material. Furthermore, the methodology achieved sophisticated results without the use of industrial equipment.

This study can therefore be replicated without the need of special equipment. While a sophisticated audio interface for the FFT and coil winding machinery were not available, the method was designed to achieve similar results using alternative materials.

Finally, considering the counterintuitive method, a thorough

consideration of controlled variables was taken into account.

Moreover, there were no safety or negative

environmental implications involved with the procedure.

iv. Limitations The most signi cant limitation was that arithmetic means were not used in the data processing due to technological constraints.

Resultantly, only the rst trials of each interval were used to distinguish the

trend. This presents as a major source of error as the other four trials did not share identical outcomes.

Despite consideration for surpassing this technological barrier, trends were drawn from only one fth of the whole dataset, meaning random error was unable to be eliminated through repetition. Secondly, Logger Pro did not allow for the analysis of speci c chosen frequencies, but rather only presented seemingly arbitrary frequencies to analyze (i.e.

obtain the amplitude).

This did not permit the analysis of the true FFTs of

the sound, as only certain frequencies were available. Thirdly, a microphone was used in place of an audio interface for the FFT software. This provided another source of error measurement, as we now must factor in the ampli er's settings, the acoustic setting of the location, and the microphone's recording uncertainty.

Lastly, some variables for data collection were loosely controlled as they involved an element of human judgment. Because an acoustic guitar was used, there was no device holding the pickup in a set location, hence it was manually held in place every trial. Picking strength, collection time after the note was played, and unwinding uncertainty were all controlled to the highest extent possible given the circumstances and equipment, but sources of error may still be present.

v. Further Exploration Due to the extent of this paper's exploration and available resources, further exploration was not possible.

However, a possible extension to this work is nding the correlation between the LC circuit's resonant frequency and the pickup's audible frequency. This would likely entail directing the research back to how

xxii

guitar pickups operate with an understanding of LC circuits. A possible investigation is observing the changes in an inductor's magnetic ux (in an LC circuit) when disturbed by a ferromagnetic material.

Research

can further observe the change in ux disturbance when the inductance (thus resonant frequency) of the inductor is altered. This may lead to another theoretical nding in the eld of electromagnetic induction that correlates its resonant frequency to the audible frequency. Alternatively, the correlation between the electrical signal produced by the pickup when its inductance changes requires further research. These elds may be interconnected.

This paper opens a realm of exploration by combining the elds of electromagnetic induction and LC circuits that has several possible directions to expand from, either from a scienti c or musical perspective.

References 1. Windings and How They A ect Tone & Output Building Your Own Electric Guitar Pickups Part 2 Humbucker Soup. (2019). Retrieved 7 December 2020, from https://humbuckersoup.com/wind

ings-affect-tone-output/

2. Guitar Pickup - MagLab. (2020). Retrieved 7 December 2020, from https://nationalmaglab.org

/education/magnet-academy/watch-play/interactive/guitar-pickup

3. PhysLink.com, A. (2020).

How electric guitar pick-ups work?.

https://www.physlink.com/education/askexperts/ae331.cfm

Retrieved 7 December 2020, from

4. Electromagnetic Induction - MagLab. (2020). Retrieved 7 December 2020, from https://national

maglab.org/education/magnet-academy/watch-play/interactive/electromagnetic-inducton

(2020). Retrieved 7 December 2020, from https: //nationalmaglab.org/education/magnet-academy/watch-play/interactive/magnetic-fieldaround-a-wire-i

5. Magnetic Field Around a Wire, I - MagLab.

6. Lucas, J. (2016).

What Is Faraday's Law of Induction?.

Retrieved 7 December 2020, from https:

//www.livescience.com/53509-faradays-law-induction.html

7. LabPro Manual. (2020). Retrieved 7 December 2020, from http://www2.vernier.com/labpro/labp

ro_user_manual.pdf

8. Guitar tunings. (2019). Retrieved 7 December 2020, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guitar

_tunings#:~:text=Standard%20tuning%20defines%20the%20string, as%20variations%20on%20s tandard%20tuning

9. World, G. (2020). Master Sweeping by Learning the Rest Stroke. Retrieved 7 December 2020, from

https://www.guitarworld.com/lessons/master-sweeping-learning-rest-stroke

10. Magnetic susceptibility | physics. (2020). Retrieved 7 December 2020, from https://www.britanni

ca.com/science/magnetic-susceptibility

11. Plc, P., advice, S., & measured?, W. (2020). What is Sound Pressure Level and how is it measured?.

Retrieved 7 December 2020, from https://pulsarinstruments.com/en/post/sound-pressure-lev

el-and-SPL-meters

12. What is an Inductor? | Coilcraft. (2020). Retrieved 7 December 2020, from https://www.coilcraf

t.com/en-us/edu/series/what-is-an-inductor/

13. Inductance of a Coil. Electronics Tutorials. (2020). Retrieved 7 December 2020, from https://www.

electronics-tutorials.ws/inductor/inductance.html

14. Dielectric | physics. (2020). Retrieved 7 December 2020, from https://www.britannica.com/scien

ce/dielectric

xxiii

15. Electricity fundamentals. (2020). Retrieved 7 December 2020, from https://www.fluke.com/en-ca/

learn/best-practices/measurement-basics/electricity

16. Lab, T., & capacitance?, W. (2020). FAQ: What is capacitance | Eland Cables. Retrieved 7 December

2020, from https://www.elandcables.com/the-cable-lab/faqs/faq-what-is-capacitance#:~:

text=Capacitance%20describes%20the%20ability%20of, the%20better%20the%20cable%20perfo rmance

17. Tone Tips from the Road: Instrument Cables 101. (2011). Retrieved 7 December 2020, from https:

//www.premierguitar.com/articles/Instrument_Cables_101#:~:text=On%20a%20standard%20g uitar%20cable, gold%2C%20silver%2C%20and%20platinum

18. Kirchho 's Rules | Physics. (2020). Retrieved 7 December 2020, from https://courses.lumenlearn

ing.com/physics/chapter/21-3-kirchhoffs-rules/

19. Mod Garage:

Exploring Outlaw Pickup Parameters.

(2019).

Retrieved 7 December 2020, from

https://www.premierguitar.com/articles/28851-mod-garage-exploring-outlaw-pickup-para meters

20. Understanding Impedance. (2020). Retrieved 7 December 2020, from https://www.soundonsound.c

om/techniques/understanding-impedance

21. AC Inductance and Inductive Reactance. Electronics Tutorials. (2020). Retrieved 7 December 2020, from https://www.electronics-tutorials.ws/accircuits/ac-inductance.html

22. Capacitive Reactance.

Electronics Tutorials.

(2020).

Retrieved 7 December 2020, from

//www.electronics-tutorials.ws/filter/filter_1.html

https:

23. Faraday's Laws of Electromagnetic Induction - First and Second Law. (2020). Retrieved 7 December

2020, from https://byjus.com/physics/faradays-law/#:~:text=Faraday's%20First%20Law%20o

f%20Electromagnetic%20Induction&text=Whenever%20a%20conductor%20is%20placed, which%20 is%20called%20induced%20current 24. Magnetic Flux, Induction, and Faraday's Law | Boundless Physics.

(2020).

Retrieved 7 December

2020, from https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-physics/chapter/magnetic-flux-

induction-and-faradays-law/#:~:text=%CE%A6B%3DB%E2%8B%85A, normal%20(perpendicular)% 20to%20A 25. Wisconsin Fundamentals of Electricity . (2020). Retrieved 7 December 2020, from https://c03.ap

ogee.net/mvc/home/hes/land/el?spc=foe&id=4571&utilityname=wppi

26. Inductive Reactance. Electronics Tutorials. (2020). Retrieved 7 December 2020, from https://www.

electronics-tutorials.ws/inductor/ac-inductors.html

27. Capacitive Reactance | Basic Electronics Learning Guide. Electronics For You. (2020). Retrieved 7 December 2020, from https://www.electronicsforu.com/resources/capacitive-reactance#:~:

text=Capacitive%20reactance%20(symbol%20XC, signal%20passing%20through%20the%20capacit or 28. Chatham Fundamentals of Electricity . (2020). Retrieved 7 December 2020, from https://c03.apog

ee.net/mvc/home/hes/land/el?utilityname=chathamil&spc=foe&id=4572

29. Isaac Physics. (2020). Retrieved 7 December 2020, from https://isaacphysics.org/concepts/cp

_kirchhoffs_laws#:~:text=Kirchhoff's%20voltage%20law%20(2nd%20Law, and%20also%20conse rvation%20of%20energy

30. Guitar single coil pickup. (2020). [Image]. Retrieved 7 December 2020, from https://dt7v1i9vyp3m

f.cloudfront.net/styles/news_large/s3/imagelibrary/g/guitartech03stratpickup-Sj6O4QM 46BOGL3XcLsO4VNDQfxU5tf2v.jpg xxiv

31. Acoustic guitar pickup. (2020). [Image]. Retrieved 7 December 2020, from https://www.fmicassets

.com/Damroot/ZoomJpg/10001/0992276000_merch_frt_001_nr.jpg

32. Vernier Microphone. (2020). [Image]. Retrieved 7 December 2020, from https://www.vernier.com/

wp-content/uploads/2019/11/product.mca-bta._hero.001-1024x576.jpg

33. Premier Guitar. (2020). Simpli ed pickup diagram [Image]. Retrieved 7 December 2020, from https:

//www.premierguitar.com/ext/resources/images/content/2015-08/Blogs/Oct15_PG_CLM_Bas s-Bench_imge-WEB2.jpg

34. Harmonic series. (2020). [Image]. Retrieved 7 December 2020, from https://www.jasonlocke.com

/twonker/images/harmonic_series-smaller2.jpg

35. Simple LC circuit. (2020). [Image]. Retrieved 7 December 2020, from https://upload.wikimedia.o

rg/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b2/LC_parallel_simple.svg/1200px-LC_parallel_simple.sv g.png

36. Cogverse Academy. (2020). 25 - AC circuits - LC circuit [Video]. Retrieved 7 December 2020, from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6Mmxy1LMZw&ab_channel=CogverseAcademy

37. The Organic Chemistry Tutor. (2020). LC Oscillator Tank Circuit [Image]. Retrieved 7 December

2020, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nh4q7mIhLrY&ab_channel=TheOrganicChemistry

Tutor

38. Physics Demos. (2020). 23.4 Resonance in Electric Circuits [Video]. Retrieved 7 December 2020, from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIdgwL_EAZo&t=340s&ab_channel=PhysicsDemos

VIII. Appendix Figure 6: Diagram of microphone placement on ampli er

xxv

Table 4: Data table for Graph 3 (relative number of turns vs. average resonant frequency/Hz)

xxvi

Table 5: Data table for Graph 4 (resonant frequency/Hz vs. di erence in amplitude for rst trials of most and least coils)

xxvii

Table 6: Averaged raw data sample of the rst 20 (of 300) rows of data; averages were calculated by taking the arithmetic mean of pressure and o set pressure values of all trials with the same coil interval, since the raw data has too many columns.

Note the last row is the average from the last ten-thousandth of a second of raw data from Logger Pro 3

xxviii

4 The Nervous System: Reaction Times from Visual and Tactile Stimuli Leo Y. Wang, edited by Hadiqa Shaikh

Purpose The purpose of this study was to understand and measure the speed at which the body's receptors are able to respond to external stimuli and transmit signals to sensory nerves through re ex arcs. time has served as an integral part of human survival.

Reaction

While people are no longer hunting in the wild

or running from predators, humans continue to rely on reaction time in modern society. In place of more primitive activities, social interactions, interviews, driving, adverse situations, and stress serve as modern-day counterparts which require apt reactions

[1]

. Due to this dependency, understanding the deeper intricacies

and details of reaction time may serve as an integral component of understanding how our bodies function everyday. A deeper understanding of reaction time may also have signi cant practical implications as well.

For example, drinking alcohol has been proven to increase reaction time by up to 120 milliseconds

[2]

, which in

some cases, results in an 80% increase in reaction time! Knowing this, one can purposefully avoid situations that require quick reaction times such as driving and professional interviews when drinking alcohol in an e ort to maintain safety and professionalism. This serves as one of many examples on how understanding reaction time to a greater extent may have great practical implications on everyday life.

This study was

performed to expand the understanding of reaction time and the mechanisms that facilitate it. The materials and methods used were also relatively simplistic to ensure that readers who wish to explore more on their own may replicate and/or modify methodologies utilized in this study with materials found in their own homes.

Procedure An observation table was rst created to keep track of the distance, in centimeters, fallen by the ruler before catching per trial. The table was split into two sections to facilitate the data from left and right hands. The following materials were then gathered; a 30 cm ruler, a sheet of paper, and a pencil. A helper was asked to aid in the conduction of this study.

The subject placed their dominant hand over the edge of a at table and held their hand in a position as if they were to catch something in between their thumb and pointer ngers. The helper then held the ruler from the 30 cm mark in between the subject's thumb and pointer ngers and made certain that the 0 cm mark of the ruler was touching the subject's pointer nger. Without warning, the helper let go of the ruler and had the subject catch the ruler as quickly as possible.

After catching, the measurement directly under the middle of the subject's pointer nger was recorded on the table. This represented the distance fallen by the ruler before catching. The trials described above were performed 5 times per hand, for a total of 10 trials rst, the subject's dominant hand was trialed, followed by the subject's non-dominant hand.

The average of the catch distances was calculated by dividing the sum of all the catch distances by the number of values summed. First, the average distances from the dominant hand were calculated, followed by the non-dominant hand. For both calculations, the sums were divided by 5, as there were 5 trials done per hand. Following this, the reaction time of the subject was then calculated by using the formula:

xxix

r ∆t =

2∆d a

The formula above was simply a rearranged form of the kinematics equation:

1 ∆d = vi ∆t + a∆t2 2 with ∆d representing the distance fallen by the ruler, a representing the magnitude of acceleration of the ruler, vi representing the initial velocity of the ruler, and ∆t representing the time before catching. Since the initial velocity (vi ) of the ruler was zero in all trials, the rst term, vi ∆t, was removed, converting the equation to:

∆d =

1 a∆t2 2

This was then rearranged to isolate time (∆t), resulting in the equation ultimately used in this study. The

−2

acceleration used in the equation was the acceleration of gravity on Earth's surface, 981 cm·s

[downwards].

Only the magnitudes of d and a were used since the motion of the ruler always followed the directionality of a constant acceleration, making the usage of vectors in place of scalars unnecessary in this case.

Observations Distance Fallen by Ruler Before Catching for Left and Right Hands, in Centimeters Right Hand (Dominant hand)

Left Hand

Trial #

Catch Distance (cm)

Trial #

Catch Distance (cm)

1

16

1

13.5

2

14.5

2

9.5

3

15

3

6.5

4

15.5

4

16

5

13

5

12

Results Averages of Catch Distances Left-hand average:

Reaction Times

Right-hand average:

16+14.5+15+15.5+13 = 14.80 cm 5

13.5+9.5+6.5+16+125 = 11.50 cm 5

Reaction time (right):

Reaction time (left):

q

q

2·14.8 981 ≈ 0.17390 sec ≈ 173.90 ms

2·11.5 981 ≈ 0.15312 sec ≈ 153.12 ms

xxx

Discussion Why do discrepancies in reaction times occur?

In this study, the reaction times of subjects catching

a ruler with their dominant and non-dominant hands were measured and recorded. The average reaction time for right hands was around 173.90 ms, while the average reaction time for left hands was around 153.12 ms. Through research, it was revealed that the average reaction time for humans was around 0.25 seconds to a visual stimulus, 0.17 for an audio stimulus, and 0.15 seconds for a touch stimulus

[3]

. Jain et al. also

demonstrated that the mean reaction time for visual stimuli was around 247.60 ms, and that of auditory stimuli was around 228.01 ms

[4]

. From these results, it becomes apparent that the results obtained largely

matched those of touch stimulus as the results from both hands were closest to the 0.15 seconds touch stimulus average provided by the second data set stated. This would mean that instead of relying on entirely visual cues to sense the ruler falling, subjects also focused on the feeling of the ruler sliding downward as well. Having this occur could be a source of experimental error as some drops may not have been initiated with the subject's pointer nger touching the ruler, thus making the reaction entirely based on visual cues.

With this, those trials would result in a much higher reaction time.

Experimental errors could be one reason for varying reaction times between experiments and persons.

However, there are a multitude of other contenders as well. Among these include; gender, age, exercise level, and type of stimulus. According to Jain et al., it was concluded that men generally had a lower reaction time than women for both auditory and visual stimuli, meaning men reacted faster in both instances

[4]

.

This is explained by the fact that men have stronger motor responses than women, as deduced by Silverman [5]

. Having a stronger motor response would allow for a faster reaction time with regard to motor reactions.

However, Silverman also stated that the male advantage in reaction time is slowly decreasing over time, due to the representation of women increasing in driving and fast-action sports

[5]

. This could mean that the

reaction time discrepancies due to this reason will become less apparent over time.

Age also has a drastic impact on a person's reaction time. As a person grows older, their nerves start changing physically, and this physical change causes the speed of conduction to slow down

[6]

. Furthermore,

according to the University of Rochester Medical Center, parts of the brain that are responsible for motor control would lose neurons over time

[6]

.

All this would work to decrease the speed of reaction in older

individuals.

Exercise level is a third possible reason for the variance in reaction time. Physically active people were generally found to have faster reaction times than sedentary individuals

46]

. Gavkare et al. state that this

is due to physically active individuals having better muscle coordination, and improved concentration and alertness

[7]

. This is owing to the fact that the reactions involved in these studies were of a physical nature,

and often, athletes train extensively to hone their physical abilities.

Human reaction times are not constant, they may change depending on what type of stimuli is involved: generally, auditory stimuli result in a faster reaction time than visual stimuli. Auditory stimuli take 8-10 ms to reach the brain, while that of visual stimuli take 20-40 ms

[8]

. This shows how auditory stimuli are

able to reach the brain much faster than visual stimuli, meaning that a response is able to be mounted by the brain sooner; accounting for the faster reaction times in response to auditory stimuli. With respect to auditory stimuli, tactile stimuli or touch stimuli responses are faster still, due to our skin having a very high sensitivity

[9]

.

This sensitivity is closer to that of auditory stimuli but noticeably faster than visual

stimuli, thus causing auditory and touch stimuli to incur a much faster reaction than visual stimuli.

Therefore, when taking all this into account, someone may have higher reaction times than another if they are either older, less active, responding to a slower stimulus, or any combination of the aforementioned.

Inversely, someone may have slower reaction times by ful lling the opposite criteria; being younger, more active, responding to a quicker stimulus, or any combination of the aforementioned. I did not include being male or female as one of the criteria as this criterion is becoming less viable over time.

In the future,

average reaction times between women and men could be much closer together due to the reasons listed

xxxi

above, eliminating this criterion altogether. There are many more explanations pertaining to the variances in reaction time, however, the major ones were discussed here.

What neural processes were present in this reaction?

The response being tested in this experiment

is not considered a simple re ex. A simple re ex is when the signal is able to travel to integrator neurons in the spinal cord, and immediately elicit a motor response to combat a stimulus. This means that decisionmaking in the brain is not required for simple re ex arcs. However, in this experiment, signals from a sensor - such as the eyes, skin, and/or ears - must travel to the brain rst. There, the signals are transferred to the motor cortex, which then sends signals to the skeletal muscles, and these muscles then ultimately elicit the motor response. Therefore, the response being tested in this experiment is not a simple re ex as the brain is required in this arc.

The response starts with a stimulus being encountered by sensory neurons, in this case, the eyes will see the ruler start to fall and/or the skin will detect movement downward from the ruler. These will then send messages along the a erent sensory neurons connected to them to interneurons in the brain. For the eyes, the designated section of the brain is the visual cortex, while the skin will send signals to the sensory cortex

[10]

. The process of sending the signals to the brain is called transmission. In the brain, interneurons

will then undergo the integration of the received signal; this is where the signals are interpreted, and the decision for what response will be mounted takes place. After this, the last interneuron in the network will send an electrical signal - or transmit the signal - to the e erent neurons which connect to the e ectors. The e ectors to which the e erent neurons connect in this case would be the skeletal muscles in the forearm and ngers. Following the reception of this signal, speci c groups of muscles will contract and relax, instigating the action of catching the ruler.

The arc described above may be related to negative feedback loops. In order to combat a stimulus, the body will undergo changes and perform actions that work to reduce the intensity of the stimulus. Eventually, when the stimulus is removed either naturally or due to bodily actions, the responses mounted by the body will cease to occur as well. The stimulus, in this case, would be the falling of the ruler. In order to combat this stimulus, the body will attempt to catch it. Once it does, the ruler will stop falling, meaning the stimulus is now gone as a ruler cannot fall after it has been caught, and by proxy, the body's actions to catch the ruler will stop as well. This demonstrates how the reactions involved in this experiment can be tied to negative feedback loops.

References 1. CogniFit. (2017, January 17). Reaction Time. Retrieved March 31, 2021, from https://www.cognif

it.com/science/cognitive-skills/response-time#:~:text=Goodreactiontimeallowsus, thei nformationthatwereceive.

2. Uren, B. (2016, July 29). How Alcohol Impairs Your Ability to Drive. Retrieved April 27, 2021, from

https://healthblog.uofmhealth.org/wellness-prevention/how-alcohol-impairs-your-abili ty-to-drive#:~:text=Studieshaveshownthatincreasing, limitintheUnitedStates.

3. Experiment:

How Fast Your Brain Reacts To Stimuli.

(n.d.).

Retrieved January 29, 2021, from

https://backyardbrains.com/experiments/reactiontime#:~:text=Theaveragereactiontimef or, secondsforatouchstimulus.

4. Jain, A., Bansal, R., Kumar, A., & Singh, K. (2015).

A comparative study of visual and auditory

reaction times on the basis of gender and physical activity levels of medical rst year students. Retrieved January 29, 2021, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4456887/#ref25

5. Silverman, I. W. (2006, January). Sex Di erences in Simple Visual Reaction Time: A Historical MetaAnalysis. Retrieved January 29, 2021, from https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11199

-006-8869-6#citeas

xxxii

6. A Quick Look at Re exes. (2021). Retrieved January 29, 2021, from https://www.urmc.rochester

.edu/encyclopedia/content.aspx?ContentTypeID=1&ContentID=562#:~:text=Reflexesandag e, slowthespeedofconduction.&text=Buttheeffectofage, agingbystayingphysicallyactive.

7. Gavkare, A. M., Surdi, A. D., & Nanaware, N. L. (2013). Auditory Reaction Time, Visual Reaction Time and Whole Body Reaction Time in Athletes. Retrieved January 29, 2021, from https://pesq

uisa.bvsalud.org/portal/resource/pt/sea-157515

8. Ghuntla, T. P., Mehta, H. B., Gokhale, P. A., & Shah, C. J. (2014). A comparison and importance of auditory and visual reaction time in basketball players. Saudi Journal of Sports Medicine, 14(1), 35-38. doi:10.4103/1319-6308.131616 9. Ng, A. W., & Chan, A. H. (2012, March 14-16).

Finger Response Times to Visual, Auditory and

Tactile Modality Stimuli. Retrieved January 29, 2021, from http://www.iaeng.org/publication/

IMECS2012/IMECS2012_pp1449-1454.pdf 10. McGurrin, Patrick.

(2016, March 31).

Making Sense of Touch.

ASU - Ask A Biologist.

January 31, 2021 from https://askabiologist.asu.edu/understanding-touch

xxxiii

Retrieved

5 Bene ts of Exercise During Pregnancy: A Literature Review Meara Sanjayan, edited by Sarah DiMatteo Pregnant women were originally advised not to perform physical exercise as it was believed to decrease placental circulation and thereby heighten the risk of disorders including miscarriages, preterm deliveries, and intrauterine growth retardation.

[1]

But, recent research has proven that physical exercise performed

during pregnancy is bene cial for both the woman and the fetus. This literature review aims to show the bene ts that physical activity (PA) provides for a pregnant women and possibly her fetus, namely the risk reduction of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), excessive maternal weight gain (MWG) which is associated with obesity in the o spring and caesarian section as the form of delivery (C-section).

Firstly, PA during pregnancy decreases risk of GDM. Gestational diabetes mellitus is a condition, in which pregnant women, who were not previously diagnosed with diabetes, develop chronic hyperglycemia during gestation.

[2]

Generally, this hyperglycemia is caused by impaired glucose tolerance due to pancreatic

β -cell dysfunction on a background of chronic insulin resistance. caesarean deliveries and obesity in o spring.

[1]

[2]

GDM is related to a higher risk of

Exercise has proven to reduce GDM. In a 2019 study,

there was a higher percentage of gestational diabetes in the control group (6.8%) than in the exercise group (2.6%) (odds ratio, 0.363; 95% con dence interval,).

[3]

Therefore, the odds ratio manifests that there is a

lower odds of association between PA during pregnancy and GDM since it is less than 1.

2015 meta-analysis, PA reduced the risk of GDM (RR=0.69; P= 0.009) by 36%.

[1]

[3]

Similarly, in a

The studies that have

been analyzed during this 2015 meta-analysis had PA start before the normal raise in insulin resistance that happens with advancing gestation during mid and late pregnancy, so chronic changes in regulation of skeletal muscle glucose uptake had already been adopted when this heightened resistance was obtained. women will likely be better able to manage the metabolic stress of pregnancy.

[1]

[1]

Thus,

In addition, research-based

guidelines published by the Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada and the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology manifests that regular exercise in pregnant women can cut the risk of gestational diabetes by 40%.

[4]

Secondly, excessive maternal weight gain (obesity during pregnancy) is a risk factor for GDM, caesarean deliveries, mascromia, still birth, and perinatal complications.

[1]

PA has been proven to reduce the risk of

maternal weight gain. The 2015 meta-analysis had reported that PA reduced maternal weight by an average of 1.14 kg (95% CI- 1.50 to 0.78).

[1]

Research on animals shows that maternal obesity results in a heightened

expression of the placental fatty acid transporter, which is associated with a higher concentration in the fetus.

[5]

This increases the activity of lipogenic genes which causes a higher deposition of adipose tissue in the

fetus.

[5]

Thus, excessive weight gain in pregnancy also raises the risk of obesity in the child. In a one-year [5]

study, 57 pregnant women participated in an 18-week PA program during 2nd and 3rd trimesters.

They

were divided into two groups one of which performed PA for more than 21.38 minutes, while the second group performed PA for less than 21.38 minutes.

[5]

The results manifested that more women in the second

group exhibited excess weight and there were two times fewer cases of mascromia in the group who was more active.

[5]

In another study conducted in 2019, the results demonstrated that a larger percentage (30.2%) of

women had MWG in the control group (who did not perform exercise) than in the exercise group (20.5%) with an odds ratio of 0.597%.

[3]

Furthermore, research has proven that PA can decrease the risk of C-section. A C-section is a surgical procedure used to deliver a baby via incisions in the abdomen and uterus.

[6]

Domenjoz I. conducted a

systematic review and meta-analysis which investigated sixteen randomized clinical trials with 3359 pregnant women that implied the risk of C-section for women who performed PA was lower as the relative risk ratio (RR 0.85) was less than 1.

[7]

These results could be explained by the fact that abdominal, diaphragm,

and pelvic oor muscles cause intra-abdominal pressure to increase for disposal activities. strengthen these muscles playing a role in facilitating delivery.

[7]

[7]

Exercise can

Furthermore, stretching thigh and back leg

adductors and resistance exercises of abdominal and pelvic oor muscles allow women to readily maintain natural delivery positions (so they are more ready for delivery physically and mentally) which they may

xxxiv

not practise during regular daily activities.

[7]

In contrast, living a sedentary life can cause ligaments and

muscles in the lower hip area, lower extremities, thigh, and back leg adductor to shorten. in the paralysis of posterior pelvis, causing di culties in childbirth.

[7]

[7]

This may result

Further evidence established by a

study published in Danish, by Emilie Nor Nielson and et. al. showed that increasing levels of PA decreases risk of caesarean considerably, in comparison with women who are moderately active (perform solely daily [8]

activities), were 28% more likely to undergo complexities during delivery.

In conclusion, the literature review that has been conducted shows that PA during pregnancy decreases the risk of GDM, MWG which is associated with obesity in the o spring, and C-section. Exercise helps adopt chronic regulation of skeletal muscle glucose uptake which helps reduce the risk of GDM.

[1]

Furthermore,

exercise helps maintain a healthy weight during pregnancy which helps prevent MWG and strengthens [1,7]

muscles involved during childbirth, thus reducing the risk of C-section.

However, further analysis is

required to determine the best possible type of exercise and intensity to maximize these bene ts.

An

important point to note is that several of these risks are associated with each other in terms of MWG can cause GDM. Therefore, it is logical that exercise plays a role in reducing all factors associated with GDM, MWG, and C-section. This further proves the point made describing the numerous bene ts of PA during pregnancy, although this review concentrates on three bene ts (risk reduction of GDM, MWG, and C-section). This literature review establishes that physical activity during pregnancy is bene cial (namely, its risk reduction of GDM, MWG, and C-section).

References 1. Sanabria-Martínez, G., García-Hermoso, A., Poyatos-León, R., Álvarez-Bueno, C., Sánchez-López, M., & Martínez-Vizcaíno, V. (2015). E ectiveness of physical activity interventions on preventing gestational diabetes mellitus and excessive maternal weight gain: A meta-analysis. BJOG: An International

Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, 122(9), 1167-1174. doi:10.1111/1471-0528.13429 2. Plows, J. F., Stanley, J. L., Baker, P. N., Reynolds, C. M., & Vickers, M. H. (2018). The Pathophysiology of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus. International journal of molecular sciences, 19(11), 3342. doi: 10.3390/ijms19113342 3. Barakat, R., Refoyo, I., Coteron, J., & Franco, E. (2019). Exercise during pregnancy has a preventative e ect on excessive maternal weight gain and gestational diabetes.

A randomized controlled trial.

Brazilian Journal of Physical Therapy, 23(2), 148-155. doi:10.1016/j.bjpt.2018.11.005 4. The Canadian Press. (2018, October 20). Exercising while pregnant boosts health: guidelines. Hamil-

ton Spectator, The (ON).

5. Mizgier, M., Mruczyk, K., Jarz¡bek-Bielecka, G., & Jeszka, J. (2018). The impact of physical activity during pregnancy on maternal weight and obstetric outcomes. Ginekologia Polska, 89(2), 80-88. doi:10.5603/gp.a2018.0014 6. C-section. (2020, June 12). Retrieved November 01, 2020, from https://www.mayoclinic.org/tes

ts-procedures/c-section/about/pac-20393655

7. Rajabi, A., Maharlouei, N., Rezaianzadeh, A., Lankarani, K. B., Esmaeilzadeh, F., Gholami, A., & Mansori, K. (2018). Physical activities (exercises or choreses) during pregnancy and mode of delivery in nulliparous women: A prospective cohort study. Taiwanese Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 57(1), 18-22. doi:10.1016/j.tjog.2017.12.003 8. Owe, K. M., Nystad, W., Stigum, H., Vangen, S., & Bø, K. (2016). Exercise during pregnancy and risk of cesarean delivery in nulliparous women: A large population-based cohort study. American Journal

of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 215(6). doi:10.1016/j.ajog.2016.08.014

xxxv

6 Mandatory Vaccinations for Children: The Social, Scienti c and Environmental Considerations Nay Chi Htwe, edited by Hamda Altaf

Introduction Since the release of 1998's The Lancet article in which Andrew Wake eld suggested a correlation between autism and vaccinations, waves of anti-vaccination campaigns reinvigorated.

Though recent studies deny

any links between the two, an enduring impact remains on some parents' perspectives where vaccines are questioned with skepticism.

Aside from the health risks of vaccines, other reasons for opposition include

religion or ingredients utilized to produce the vaccines. Hence, reasons for anti-vaxxers vary from parent to parent.

The topic of mandatory vaccinations for children transformed into heated discussions especially with the rise of public celebrity bail on vaccinating their children. With growing opposition against vaccines in recent years, concerns are raised by pro-vaxxers communities. Pro-vaxxers believe anti-vaxxers threaten herd immunity. In that, if the ratio of vaccinated to unvaccinated children changes, will there also be a reemergence of childhood diseases? Will the progress to eradication of diseases be hindered? The topic of mandatory (legal) vaccinations is contentious because con icts can arise between parents versus the government. Though it is safer for a community as a whole if vaccinations were required, mandatory vaccinations mean repression for what parents consider best for their child. Besides, mandating vaccines could dismiss individual wellbeing by dismissing health concerns or religious freedom. Medical freedom is also a polarizing topic as vaccines prompt discussions on if authority gures such as the Government should intervene with personal, medical choices. The conversation must continue to set boundaries on what is acceptable and if any exceptions can be made regarding mandatory vaccines.

Analysis Table This table examines the scienti c, environmental, and societal reasons that support or con ict with mandatory vaccinations.

Note that the following points are ranked in order of what the author of this article

prioritizes.

Key

Viewpoint

S/I: Scient c Reason; E: Environmental Reasons; S: Societal Reasons Points and References Type

xxxvi

Rank

For

Vaccines provide solutions in the eradication of many preventable childhood diseases.

Since the development of vaccines and global initiatives in tackling epidemics, many diseases are either close to or are eradicated.

For example, the once widespread

disease, polio, has been reduced globally to 9% and the last child's case contracted of polio was in 2011. Immunization is still required until there is any existence of polio or other diseases that are exterminated. However, full extermination is not an easy process due to a lack of access in rural areas and growing parents' skepticism for vaccines. Such was the case in Japan when pertussis vaccinations for infants declined to 10% in 1976 due to misinformation regarding safety, e ectiveness and the already complete eradication resulting in a significant pertussis epidemic in 1979 with 13 000 cases and 41 deaths in Japan. Thus, the Japanese pertussis outbreak is representative of the medical bene ts vaccines have, and if there is a better global vaccination coverage, the UN reports 1.5 million children's death could have been prevented.

1. Last child's case of polio in 2011; reduced globally by 99% (World Health Organization, 2017).

2. ...in 2017 an estimated 1.5 million children died of vaccine-preventable diseases, (United Nations, 2019).

3. Due to misconceptions about vaccines' safety and the complete eradication of pertussis, only 10% of Japan's infants were vaccinated from pertussis by 1976. Then, Japan encountered a major pertussis epidemic in 1979 with 13 000 cases and 41 deaths (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2018).

xxxvii

S/I

1

For

Vaccines do not impose any long term implications on the natural environment but rather bene cial: promote herd immunity also fending o tropical diseases worsened by anthropogenic activities.

In contrast to antibiotics, the usage of vaccines, in a sense, does not interfere with the natural environment no increased resistance for non-targeted strains and only decreases the severity of a select disease/ trait.

Besides, vaccines are bene cial by increasing herd immunity. For a population to be safe from a highly contagious disease like measles, a high vaccinated population for the disease is required (95%+).

Since some indi-

viduals are medically incapable of receiving select vaccines, eligible individuals should be vaccinated to provide those who are not through herd immunity to ensure the longevity of a growing population. Speaking of longevity, recent industrialization growth resulted in the declining biodiversity like the Amazon rainforest. The decline in biodiversity has many negative implications, one of them being the increased risk of vector-borne and parasitic diseases due to less predation.

There-

fore, health advocates promote vaccinations to defend against the rise of tropical diseases to better ensure the well being of successive generations since vaccines boost herd immunity and are a better environmental friendly alternative than antibiotics.

1. Rise in anthropogenic activities contribute to the declining biodiversity with higher risk of vectorborne and parasitic diseases. Thus, global health advocates encourage investments in medicine and vaccines to safeguard the consequences (Barclay, 2012).

2. Diseases like measles are very contagious and require high vaccination coverage with over 95%.

Since some individuals are ineligible for vaccinations due to medical reasons, every eligible person should be vaccinated to protect others through herd immunity (Salathé, 2015).

3. Vaccines do not place unwanted selective pressures on non-targeted traits; evolution of other unselected

features

or

traits

(Sadedin, 2018).

xxxviii

is

not

interfered

(E)

2

For

Investing for children to get vaccinated is much more economically bene cial; curing diseases once a ected is more costly and instead, money could have been invested into other areas.

A concern raised for vaccination is a ordability in countries that do not o er free immunization for children.

However, if families or countries took the initiative or investments in vaccinated children, the short term sacri ce of paying for vaccination expenses is far less signi cant to long-term bene ts. For example, Unicef predicts that USD 6.2 billion can be saved from treatment costs if vaccinations upsurge in 72 of the poorest countries.

For instance, the decline in measle vaccinations contributed to the outbreak in the United States in 2011, with up to USD 5.3 million expenses on public health institutions.

Had preventative care like vaccines have

been continuously utilized, the costs in treating outbreaks could have been avoided and be less costly.

Furthermore, access to education is one of the most critical components for a country's skilled workers, better the quality of life and vaccinations can help children go to school.

Vaccines provide higher immunity from

diseases, and healthier children mean better school attendance.

For example, Bangladesh's children have a

9% higher chance of attending school due to measles vaccination.

Preventative care through vaccination is

more cost e cient by preventing the disease from going viral and getting to the extremes; a more cost-e ective, less risk method for the economy and people's health.

1. If existing vaccines were scaled up in 72 of the world's poorest countries, over the next decade that could save $6.2 billion in treatment costs, (Unicef: USA, 2014).

2. In Bangladesh, vaccinated children for measles are 9% more likely to attend school and if vaccination is delayed for each year, a child's enrollment for school decreases by 2.4% (Gavi, n.d.).

3. Measle outbreaks in America resurfaced in 2011, causing $2.7 million to $5.3 million USD expenses on the local and state public health institutions (Ortega-Sanchez, Vijayaraghavan, Barskey, Wallace, 2013).

xxxix

(S)

3

Against

Vaccines do not always provide 100% guaranteed success nor safety of a lifetime for every individual.

Since vaccines are non-speci cally designed and instead in a broader sense, there is always a select few medically capable of receiving the same vaccine due to di erences that vary within individuals. For example, babies with severe combined immunode ciency (SCID) cannot receive the rotavirus vaccine. Therefore, mandatory vaccines for all children possess side e ects or even lifethreatening health risks.

They are ranging from mild

symptoms like a headache to febrile seizures with a moderate threat to severe allergic reactions that can sometimes be fatal. Although moderate to severe risks are little, like less than 1 out of a million doses for a severe allergic reaction, the risk is still existent.

Furthermore, diseases always have a chance of reemergence despite already being vaccinated, like the Russian Diphtheria epidemic in which the adults who were previously immunized with diphtheria vaccine in their youths became more likely to contract the disease.

Which is

due to the running low of antibodies of which require booster shots to continue fending o the disease for the rest of one's life.

Thus, vaccines still have aws

and progress is required to maximize e ectiveness while minimizing risks and other considerations.

1. Febrile seizures (moderate) occur in about 1 out of 3000 doses of MMR or some vaccines and life threatening severe allergic reactions occur in less than 1 out of a million doses (Vincent Iannelli, 2018).

2. Some are medically incapable of vaccinating: babies with severe combined immunode ciency cannot get rotavirus vaccine and someone with a longterm heart problem cannot be vaccinated with In uenza live vaccine (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2017).

3. Resilient diseases need booster shots to continue preventing the disease like the Russian Diphtheria epidemic, The same children that were rst immunized decades earlier ran low on the antibodies for diphtheria, (Sowards, 2016).

xl

(S/I)

4

Against

The vaccine manufacturing industry is no exception to resorting to unhealthy practices that impacts biodiversity and habitat destruction.

Previously, vaccinations were abandoned by many pharmaceutical companies due to low-pro t margins. However, with current global initiatives in eradicating childhood diseases, vaccinations have an increase in demands and have been in higher production as compared to earlier years. Unfortunately, the increase in production can also lead to a reckless industry while giving into rising demands and driven by pro ts like the production of H1N1 vaccine, in which gulper sharks were primarily targeted. The gulper sharks already have a hard time reproducing and are on the list of a high risk of extinction, yet commercial shers still hunt them due to their high source of squalene.

Also, Merck, a vaccine man-

ufacturer has been charged for illegally discharging 25 gallons of cyanide in 2006. Both the hunting of gulper sharks and death of sh due to discharging cyanide is representative of the loss in biodiversity and destruction of the habitats due to pro t-driven industries.

1. Historically vaccines were produced at a relatively low price and sold with a low pro t margin.

They were add-ons to other products mostly drugs that pharmaceutical manufacturers were producing," Neal Halsey (Lam, 2015).

2. Merck,vaccine manufacturer, illegally discharged 25 gallons of cyanide (2006) in a Pennsylvania sewer; sh were killed and health advisories were placed (Roumeliotis, 2008).

3. Squalene in H1N1 vaccine is retrieved by commercial shermen from gulper sharks of which already has high risk of extinction (Parpia, 2016).

xli

(E)

5

Against

Some parents oppose vaccinations for distrust in vaccinations to disapproval of ingredients for religious reasons; mandatory vaccines con ict with parents' best interests, prompting questions on if the Government should interfere with parent's interests in their children's health.

The recent resurrection of modern anti-vaxxers is credited by many to Andrew Wake eld's 1998 publication in The Lancet Journal, suggesting vaccines can cause autism. Though the link between autism and vaccines have debunked, some parents remain skeptical of vaccines. Therefore, creating a wave of distrust in the effectiveness of vaccines due to potential risks and health concerns for their children.

Also, some parents refuse

vaccination because of religious reasons such as ingredients and putting their faith in their God. For instance, some individuals from the Muslim communities in Thailand and Indonesia refused to accept vaccines that porkderived. Similarly, some Chirstian families do not wish to vaccinate children because some vaccines, such as the MMR vaccine, utilize fetal cell lines. Also, some families believe that their God or deity will protect and set the fate for their youth. Thus, a mandatory requirement on children's vaccinations will create con ict for opposing parents with the Government's interference due to the di erences in ideological viewpoints in what each side sees best for their child.

1. Andrew Wake eld (doctor and researcher) linked MMR vaccines to autism in The Lancet journal, 1998. (McKenzie & Fox, 2019).

2. Thailand and Indonesia: ...Muslim religious authorities have declared vaccines to be unacceptable since, according to them, vaccines contain pork-derived products. In Islam, consuming pork is forbidden, (Najera, 2018).

3. A [Christian] group in Oregon wrote the state legislature to explain their position against vaccines and their hope to `avoid creating an incentive to develop similar cell lines in the future,' (Randall, 2019) 4. ...individuals want to exercise their right to protect themselves and/or their children if they do not accept existing medical evidence about the relative safety of vaccines, or if their ideological beliefs do not support vaccination, (The College of Physicians of Philadelphia, 2019).

xlii

(S)

6

Conclusion As concluded from the analysis table, I believe that vaccines should be mandatory for children. signi cantly, vaccines are the most e cient and safest method to eradicate diseases.

Most

The potent ability

of vaccines is ranked rst because immunization provides a critical pathway to avoid high mortality rates and longevity of wellbeing. Before the existence of vaccines, many children su ered from horri c conditions including paralysis caused by polio. All thanks to global immunization initiatives, the last child's case of polio was in 2011, and the disease was reduced by 99%. Plus, cases like Japan's pertussis epidemic represent the consequences of refusing vaccination: reemergence of widespread diseases and the goal of eradication hindered.

The outcome of the unvaccinated 1.5 million children's lives depend on vaccines; they can be

protected or remain vulnerable to life-threatening diseases. Therefore, vaccinations' powerful ability is the most signi cant reason since vaccines are essential for the world to continue progressing towards healthier new generations.

Furthermore, environmental reasons like herd immunity linked to biodiversity placed second. To begin, anthropogenic activities increase tropical diseases caused by the decline of biodiversity.

Therefore, global

health advocates encourage vaccines to repromote herd immunity lost by declining biodiversity while fending o diseases. Especially with highly contagious diseases like measles, a population needs to have herd immunity to protect those unvaccinated. Excellent immunity is achieved through a high vaccinated coverage, and thus, every eligible person should be vaccinated to defend unvaccinated individuals. Speaking of unvaccinated individuals, reasons for refusing vaccinations range from medical incapability to skepticism.

As for medical reasons, refusing due to a legitimate medical condition like babies with Severe Combined Immunode ciency (SCID) for rotavirus vaccine is permissible because the purpose of vaccines is to protect, not cause further harm.

Besides, the risks of su ering from a life-threatening reaction from vaccines are

infrequent with only 1 out of a million doses. Which is why the safety issues of vaccines are placed fourth by acknowledging they do exist, but the bene ts and e ectiveness (placed rst) overwhelmingly outweigh the risks. Furthermore, I ranked societal reasons such as mistrust in medical authorities and religion placed, last in sixth place. Skepticism is necessary, however, vaccines causing autism have been debunked through multiple studies. For instance, the Centres of Disease Control and Prevention's 2013 study found that the level of antigens antibodies obtained through vaccinations had no correlation with a child's likelihood to have autism ( Autism and Vaccines, 2020). Besides, The Lancet journal retracted the original study that linked autism to vaccines, alluding to unsupported claims and that vaccines do not cause autism. In terms of ingredient reasons, I believe that a government should provide alternative options through greater investments in biotechnologies. For instance, human insulin is made using recombinant DNA when E.coli's plasmid is combined with a human insulin gene; synthetic insulin is far more e ective than previously, animal-derived insulin. Although human insulin lowers allergic reactions for most individuals, currently, Health Canada still ensures that Hyupurinin, an animal-sourced insulin, remains on the market (Health Canada [H.C.], 2010) for a small minority who are allergic to human insulin. Similarly, I believe that a responsible and ethical government should o er alternatives, even for religious or cultural reasons such as the origins of ingredients.

I also believe that there should be vaccination workshops where medical sta can educate and amplify the importance of vaccinations in areas of high skepticism or reluctancy. Hence, social reasons are potentially resolvable if a government invests in their healthcare systems such as providing alternatives and education on vaccinations. Therefore, I ranked social reasons last because I see them as barriers which could be overcome.

Canada should make vaccinations a legal requirement for children and other age groups to promote herd immunity in protection against life-altering diseases. Religious or personal freedoms is a social implication, but community wellbeing from full eradication is the ultimate goal for a better and healthy future for all youths.

Exceptions should only be made when a child has medical complications of moderate to life-

threatening risks.

xliii

References 1. Barclay, E. (2012, December 29). As Biodiversity Declines, Tropical Diseases Thrive. Retrieved April 28, 2019, from https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2012/12/29/168210441/as-biodiv

ersity-declines-tropical-diseases-thrive

2. Centre for Disease and Prevention. (2020, August 25). Autism and vaccines. Retrieved April 06, 2021, from https://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/concerns/autism.html

3. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

(2017, March 10).

Who Should not Get Vaccinated.

Retrieved April 28, 2019, from https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd/should-not-vacc.html

4. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2018, July 12). Vaccines & Immunizations: Why Immunize? Retrieved April 28, 2019, from https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vac-gen/why.htm

5. Gavi. (n.d.). Why Invest in Vaccines. Retrieved April 28, 2019, from https://www.gavi.org/about

/why-invest-in-vaccines/

6. Health Canada. (2010, October 15). Frequently Asked Questions: Animal-Sourced Insulin. Retrieved March 31, 2021, from https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/drugs-health-produ

cts/biologics-radiopharmaceuticals-genetic-therapies/activities/fact-sheets/question s-answers-animal-sourced-insulin.html#q5 7. Ianneli, V. (2017, October 02).

What Are the Risks of Vaccines?

Retrieved April 28, 2019, from

8. Lam, B. (2015, February 10).

Vaccines Are Pro table, So What?

Retrieved April 28, 2019, from

https://vaxopedia.org/2017/10/02/what-are-the-risks-of-vaccines/

https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/02/vaccines-are-profitable-so-what /385214/

9. McKenzie, S., & Fox, K. (2019, February 18).

Science being 'debunked:' Why are some countries

making a vaccine U-turn? Retrieved April 28, 2019, from https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/16/healt

h/anti-vaccine-movement-history-pushback-intl/index.html

10. Najera, R. F. (2018, November 9). Very Few Religions Expressly Prohibit Vaccination, Yet Confusion Remains. Retrieved April 28, 2019, from https://www.historyofvaccines.org/content/blog/rel

igion-vaccination-confusion

11. Randall, R. (2019, April 26).

Not worth a shot: Why some christians refuse vaccinations on moral

grounds. Retrieved April 06, 2021, from https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2019/april-we

b-only/why-christians-refuse-measles-vaccinations-moral-grounds.html

12. Ortega-Sanchez, I. R., Vijayaraghavan, M., Barskey, A. E., & Wallace, G. S. (2014). The economic burden of sixteen measles outbreaks on United States public health departments in 2011. Vaccine,32(11), 1311-1317. doi:10.1016/j.vaccine.2013.10.012 13. Parpia, R. (2019, January 11). The Environmental Tragedies of Vaccines. Retrieved April 28, 2019, from https://thevaccinereaction.org/2016/01/the-environmental-tragedies-of-vaccines

/#_edn4

14. Roumeliotis, G. (2008, July 19). Blunder at Merck's biggest production site pollutes creek. Retrieved April 28, 2019, from https://www.biopharma-reporter.com/Article/2006/07/06/Blunder-at-M erck-s-biggest-production-site-pollutes-creek

15. Sadedin, S. (2018, February 16). How Do Antibiotics And Vaccines A ect Nature? Retrieved April 28, 2019, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2018/02/16/how-do-antibiotics-and-v

accines-affect-nature/#73b2b7d8bf71

xliv

16. Salathé, M. (2015, February 03). Why a few unvaccinated children are an even bigger threat than you

think. Retrieved April 28, 2019, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/201 5/02/03/why-a-few-unvaccinated-children-are-an-even-bigger-threat-than-you-think/?u tm_term=.ae7ad1d46500

17. Sowards, W. (2016, October 13). Will Sowards. Retrieved April 28, 2019, from https://www.passpo

rthealthglobal.com/2016/10/why-boosters-are-important/

18. The College of Physicians of Philadelphia. (2018, January 10). Cultural Perspectives on Vaccination.

Retrieved April 28, 2019, from https://www.historyofvaccines.org/content/articles/cultura

l-perspectives-vaccination

19. Unicef: USA. (2014, May 01). Infographic: #VaccinesWork. Retrieved April 28, 2019, from https:

//www.unicefusa.org/stories/infographic-vaccines-statistics

20. United Nations. (2019, April 18). 'Vaccines are safe' and save lives, UNICEF declares, launching new

#VaccinesWork campaign | UN News. Retrieved April 28, 2019, from https://news.un.org/en/sto

ry/2019/04/1036891

21. World Health Organization. (2017, April). 10 facts on polio eradication. Retrieved April 28, 2019, from https://www.who.int/features/factfiles/polio/en/

xlv

7 Conclusion This publication was a culmination of the e orts of our authors, the youth journal department, our head designer, and the support of all out members. We hope to continue providing youth journals regularly in the future, and we hope that this served well as a learning and teaching tool on how to apply scienti c writing and skills.

Thank you, Reader, for helping further our goal of promoting scienti c communication.

Tellura

xlvi