Wave Machine ~ National STEM Centre
A superb, (and, potentially, edible!*) science experiment.
A wave machine is an entertaining way of introducing some basic ideas about wave motion.
Making your own wave machine might take a little while but is the stimulus for lots of investigations & discussion.
(*Students should be advised to take care when handling pointed skewers. They should be instructed not to eat the jelly babies, which should be disposed of safely after use (the jelly babies, not the students*).
The basic principle of a wave: a vibrating source sends a disturbance through a medium. The wave travels, transferring energy, but the medium doesn’t move.
• A wave reflects when it meets a fixed end.
• The meanings of amplitude, wavelength, frequency and wave speed.
• Frequency and amplitude depend on the source; speed and wavelength depend on the medium.
Change various factors
and find out how wave speed changes: separation of the skewers, mass/number of jelly babies, position of jelly babies on skewers, width of tape, thickness of tape, etc.
The introductory film alone is another superb resource from the National STEM Centre.org.uk‘s site.
Category: 2) Useful n Interesting
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As well as our events, we like to share interesting, and more often than not, FREE tools, resources and ideas, some old, some new, and we hope you might find something useful. We'd love your thoughts. Tim & Sarah
