Making Waves Activity
Name ______________________________ Block _____
Materials
textbook
marker
8.5” x 11” paper
4 pieces tape
Instructions
Collect your materials. Your tape shouldn’t be any longer than 3 inches.
Fold the paper in half hot dog style to create 2 long, narrow boxes.
Label one box “transverse wave” and the other “compression wave”.
Tape the paper to the textbook so it doesn’t slide around.
Decide who will use the marker and who will move the textbook.
Marker Person: take the cap off and hold the marker on the paper so you can make
a line. Start at the far end and pull toward you in a straight line.
a. 1st wave = compression wave: put the tip of the marker down in the side of the
paper labeled “compression wave”.
b. 2nd wave = transverse wave: put the tip of the marker down in the side of the
paper labeled “transverse wave”.
7. Box Mover: You will be moving the textbook to simulate the movement of the wave.
a. Shake the textbook forward and back by pushing it away from you then pulling it
toward you rapidly. This simulates a “compression wave”.
b. Shake the textbook side to side by first moving it left then right rapidly. This
simulates a “transverse wave”.
8. Put your team names on the back of your wave models.
9. Answer the questions below on the back of your wave models.
10. Turn in your wave models to either Ms. Armstrong or Ms. Merritt’s Completed box.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Questions:
1. Look at the transverse wave model. On your model, label the following: wave
height, wavelength, crest, trough, and amplitude. Write “See front” as your answer
on the back of the paper.
2. Describe how the transverse wave is different from the compression wave. Include
the following:
a. The difference in appearance.
b. The difference in how they are created.
3. Describe how the compression wave and the transverse wave are the same.
4. Create a way to remember the different parts of a wave. It can be a sentence, a
picture, a song, a poem, or other way to remember where the trough, the crest, the
wavelength, wave height, and the amplitude are in the wave.