Activity Overview

To help understand basic wave properties, students make pulses on a Slinky and measure the speed of the pulse for different wave amplitudes. They create standing waves on the Slinky and determine the relationship among speed, frequency, and wavelength. Students make both transverse and compressional waves on the Slinky and contrast the motion of the two kinds of waves. Finally, they build a model to help relate basic wave properties to observations of wave motion.