Question

overview in this activity, students will model seismic waves using a slinky to experience how seismic waves move through the earth. earthquakes produce two main types of seismic waves (body waves and surface waves). both p and s waves are body waves which travel through the body (or interior) of the earth. procedure 1. stretch the slinky between two people. 2. one person move your hand toward and away from you. notice that a wave moves along the slinky. 3. draw the motion of the wave in the box below. explanation this wave is a wave of motion back and forth along the slinky. the back and forth motion is in the same line as the direction of motion. this is called a longitudinal wave. this type of wave is also called a compression wave or a seismic p wave. 4. stretch the slinky between two people. 5. one person move your hand up and down, notice that a wave travels down the slinky. 6. draw the motion of the wave in the box below. 7. now, one person move your hand side to side, notice the wave that travels down the slinky. 8. draw the motion of the wave in the box below. explanation this wave is called a transverse wave because the motion of the slinky is sideways to the motion along the slinky. it provides a model for seismic waves called s waves.

Explanation:

The activity involves modeling seismic waves using a Slinky. There are instructions to draw wave - motion diagrams for different hand - motions (back - and - forth, up - and - down, side - to - side) which represent different types of seismic waves (P - waves and S - waves). For the back - and - forth motion, draw a series of compressions and rarefactions along the length of the Slinky. For the up - and - down and side - to - side motions, draw the Slinky with a wave shape where the displacement is perpendicular to the direction of wave travel.

Answer:

1. For back - and - forth motion: Draw a series of compressions and rarefactions along the Slinky's length.
2. For up - and - down motion: Draw the Slinky with an up - down wave shape where the displacement is perpendicular to the wave's direction of travel.
3. For side - to - side motion: Draw the Slinky with a side - to - side wave shape where the displacement is perpendicular to the wave's direction of travel.