Objectives
- Students will observe water moving in waves.
- Students will discuss why waves move in similar patterns.
Materials
- A 1 liter plastic bottle for each student.
- Vegetable oil
- Food coloring
- Water
- Paper
- Pencils
Procedures
- Give each student a plastic bottle.
- Ask students to fill the bottle two-thirds full of water.
- Direct students to add a few drops of food coloring to the water.
- Ask students to fill the bottle to the top with oil, then screw on the top tightly.
- Tell students to turn the bottle on its side and gently roll it around to make waves.
- Instruct students to draw a few pictures of the waves they see.
- Direct students to write down anything they notice about the movement of the waves.
- Have a class discussion about why students think the waves move the way they do.
- As an extension activity, discuss other factors that might effect waves such as the ocean floor, sandbars, rocky coasts and, of course, the moon.
Students will create wave bottles and observe the motion and patterns of waves. This lesson is a great supplement to the study of oceans, tsunamis, and the moon.
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