27 Mar 2024
Year 9 built machines with tape, jelly babies and skewers to demonstrate the characteristics of waves last week.
The wave machines replicate the behaviours of waves in physics. They are made of two pieces of tape that extend between a pair of retort stands. The tape contains skewers which have jelly babies impaled on either end. These skewers are placed at even intervals along the tape.
When the first skewered jelly baby is rocked, this energy then transfers to the next skewer in the sequence and so on, emulating a wave. The machine is a great physical representation of an invisible concept. After the machines were built and played with, they were dismantled, with the skewers to be recycled for other experiments and the jelly babies eaten.
“The class had a great time,” explains Science teacher Matt Ingles, “They always enjoy doing experiments, particularly when there is food involved.”
The class will continue to study waves in the coming weeks, exploring their use in technology and their importance in everyday life.
