In this activity, students model how sound travels by sending waves along two stretched plastic1 slinkies tied together.
By the end of this activity, students should be able to:
- understand that sound is a longitudinal wave2 where particles in the medium vibrate back and forth along the same direction as the wave travels
- see that a wave travels along as a series of compressions and expansions in the medium.
Download the Word file (see link below) for:
- introduction/background notes
- instructions on what you need and what to do
- discussion questions
- extension ideas.
- plastic: A synthetic material made from a wide range of organic polymers (such as polyethylene, PVC and nylon) that can be moulded into shape while soft and then set into a rigid or slightly elastic form.
- longitudinal wave: Also known as a compression wave, where the material moves in the same direction as the wave moves, for example, sound waves.
