Create a dynamic environment to study the effects of light and sound waves!
Encourage students to discover and become familiar with the types of waves they may experience every day through light and sound experiments. They can experiment with light as they use various objects to deflect, refract, and reflect it. Then play around with shadows as they use a flashlight to change angles and record their observations.
Students can begin by focusing on the basic properties of sound as they learn about wavelength and volume. Expand lessons as they explore octaves, frequency, and pitch. They can even use springs to visualize sound waves or hear how sound changes depending on construction of materials.
Key Benefits:
- Discover how light and sound travel at drastically different speeds.
- Develop a greater understanding of the effects of light and sound on daily life.
- Real world application: The varying speeds of light and sound are very evident when observing lightning; you see the lightening before hearing the thunder. When you want to focus lessons on light, teachers can take class outside to see how the angle of the sun changes the appearance of shadows. Then they can focus on sound and listen to the change in frequency of a siren as a police car or ambulance approaches and then moves farther away from them.
Shop for STEM light and sound kits at STEM Supplies!