[latitude101]

I'm looking for anyone who has some sound and light experiments or knows of a website that I can find simple experiments to teach my 4th graders.

[sparklegirl]

An easy one involves a ruler and a table.

Have the students place a ruler perpendicular to the side of a desk, letting 9 inches or so hang off the side. Have them firmly hold (or put heavy books) down to the part of the ruler that sits on the desk and slightly bend the overhanging part down and release to cause vibrations. Have them listen to the resulting sound. Then have them change the amount of inches they have on the desk and repeat. They should come to the conclusion that the shorter/quicker the vibrations the higher the sound.

[scotiateacher]

Latitude 101
Here is a simple light experiment that has always worked . I talk a little about how the eye and a camera works. I usually put a diagram on the board of the light passing through the lense and focusing upside down on the back of the eye or the camera film (light sensitive plate on digital camera). I then pass out magnifying glasses and a sheet of paper. We focus the overhead classroom lights on the paper. The students enjoy this but the best is yet to come. We turn out the classroom light and move to the windows. This time when we focus the light we can see that the images are upside down.