Name:___________________________________________________________________________________

Hr:____________

Slinky Lab

Introduction. Earthquakes release large amounts of energy in the form of seismic waves.
There are two different types of waves, classified by what they travel through. Body waves
travel through the body of the Earth. Surface waves travel along the surface of the Earth, but
do not penetrate through the Earth.
Body waves can be further divided into two different types of waves. P-waves, or primary
waves, are the fast waves because they are the first waves recorded as the result of an
earthquake. They are called push-pull waves because they move by contracting and expanding
along a horizontal path. A P-wave travels through a material as a compressional force. The
second major type of seismic body wave is an S-wave. S-waves are shear waves, and they travel
slower than P-waves. The motion of shear waves is perpendicular to the direction of the wave.
In this activity, you will be modeling these two types of seismic waves using a slinky.
Materials.
Slinky
Stopwatch (phone)

1.
a.
b.
c.
2.
3.
a.
b.
c.
d.

Instructions.
Begin by assigning roles to each group member, the roles are:
2 slinky handlers
1 timer
1 recorder
Start by stretching the slinky 6 feet between the two handlers, with one person holding each end.
P-waves (Push-Pull)
One handler will pull the slinky toward themselves, and then push it away. The other handler will
just hold the end. Notice, that a wave travels from one handler to the other, and back.
Once you have the motion down, the timer will time how long it takes for the wave to travel a
complete trip, back and forth.
The recorder will record the time on the data sheet.
Record the time for 3 trials, and take the average.

Name:___________________________________________________________________________________
Hr:____________

4. S-waves (Side to Side)

a. ONe handler will shake their end of the slinky from side to side, while the other handler olds the
other end steady. Notice, the sections of the slinky move side to side (horizontally), at a right
angle to the direction of the wave.
b. The timer will time how long it takes for the slinky to travel one complete trip, back and forth.
c. The recorder will record the time on the data table.
d. Record the time for 3 trials, and find the average.

5. For each wave type, you will also be making a sketch of the movement on your data sheet.

Data
Wave Speed
Type of Seismic
Wave

Trial 1 (seconds)

Trial 2 (seconds)

Trial 3 (seconds)

P-Wave
S-Wave

Sketch
Type of Seismic
Wave

Sketch the movement of the slinky

Average
(seconds)

Name:___________________________________________________________________________________
Hr:____________
P-Wave (Push/Pull)

S-wave (Side to
Side)

Answer the following questions, using complete sentences.

1. Which of the seismic waves travel the fastest? How fast do they travel?
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2. Which wave would be more destructive? Why?
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3. Using the pictures below, indicate on the line which type of wave is shown. Draw on the
buildings how the seismic wave might move the ground. Hint: Use arrows!

Name:___________________________________________________________________________________
Hr:____________

4. Compare and contrast body waves and surface waves. How are they alike and how are they
different?
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5. Which waves can travel through solids? Liquids?
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