The sound waves of thunder are made when lightning very quickly heats the air surrounding it, expanding faster than the speed of sound. Learners explore waves through their own movement of string or set waves to constantly oscillate....

A colorful and comprehensive PowerPoint highlights this lesson on waves. Junior geophysicists pretend that they are hired to analyze seismic waves. A worksheet is provided to go along with an online article about how compact discs work...

Why did the waves get into a fight? They were tired of each other's interference. Scholars observe the wave patterns from dripping water, sound waves, and light waves. They vary the spacing, build barriers, and increase the number...

Do radio waves create light? It's more difficult to understand the things we can't see than those that we can. The simulation compares the relatively small range of visible light to the entire electromagnetic spectrum. It graphs the size...

How did scientists discover what lies beneath the earth's surface? Dig a hole? X-ray vision? Guide your class through the types of seismic waves and how these waves helped shed light on Earth's many layers. The included resources provide...

Three main factors determine the wave height experienced in the ocean. Scholars use a virtual simulator to alter wind speed, fetch, and duration. Each combination creates a unique wave measured in significant height.

Which travels faster, light or sound? Scholars work in groups to simulate the ability for waves to travel through solids, liquids, gases, and through a vacuum. Then, they learn about the properties of a mystery wave and must determine...

If you are at a sports match and the crowd starts two waves that are both headed toward you at the same time, what do you do? The simulation applies the concepts of constructive interference and destructive interference to that very...

Students study definitions of wavelength, wave speed, wave amplitude, and wave period using an interactive JAVA environment. Distance and time are given so speed=wavelength/period can be verified or deduced by students. Waves reflection...

Make sound waves visible with an experiment that asks middle schoolers to build a model ear drum using plastic bottles, rubber bands, plastic wrap, and sand-like substances.

Don't string your class along! Physics scholars discover the fascinating forces behind the music of stringed instruments using an interactive. From a series covering sounds and waves, the interactive asks users to identify nodes and...

Ever wonder what really goes on inside a clarinet? Show your young scientists the physics of open-end air columns through an easy-to-use interactive. Learners examine the features of standing waves and calculate frequency and length in a...

Students examine how sand is formed by erosion and that it can be moved by streams, rivers, and ocean currents in this unit of lessons. They study waves and currents, and structures that change how sand moves by creating story charts,...

Students identify the different parts of a wave. In this physics instructional activity, students explain how animals communicate using sound waves. They discuss the effect of Navy's sonar on dolphins and whales.

Does the depth of a pond matter to the waves created when rain is falling? Many people assume the answer is no, but interestingly, it does matter. Pupils explore this concept and other variables related to wave behavior through a...

How can a pan flute sound one note while we hear a chord? The simulation explores sound waves, vibrations, and harmonics at the molecular level. Scholars control the pipe into which air is being blown, the length of the pipe, and which...

Students participate in a demonstration in which they, themselves, represent seismic P-waves and S-waves.

Students participate in a JAVA activity to vary the seismic P and S wave velocity through each of four concentric regions of Earth. They match "data" for travel times vs. angular distance around Earth's surface from the source to detector.

Radio waves are all around us! How do they transmit sound? Using an interactive, scholars examine how songs travel through the air. The resource explains the process from the radio station, to signal towers, to the radio unit. A look at...

Sometimes it's okay to rock the boat! Science scholars manipulate wave properties using a fun interactive. Part of a larger playlist that dives into waves and sound, the lesson helps users work their way from apprentice to wizard by...

Turn it up! Sound scientists explore the decibel scale through an interactive that calculates movement up and down the scale. Part of a series of interactives that explore sounds and waves, the resource includes a help feature to support...

Four modules are a part of this stellar lesson plan. Space scientists view the electromagnetic spectrum, they generate waves on a computer screen in order to measure frequency and wavelength, discover how light is related to temperature,...

Examine earthquake intensities and ways to measure an earthquake through the comparison of the Mercalli and Richter scales. After completing the pre-lab worksheet, fourth graders compare high and low intensity quakes by testing...

Pairs use an online simulation to determine the epicenter and magnitude of an earthquake. Using real data about the earthquake's maximum S wave amplitudes, they then determine the magnitude. The resource provides a great career...