Report Copyright Infringement View in OSM UK

Description

Simulate a tsunami using this simple STEM activity, to support understanding and knowledge of hazards, to be as Prepared and Ready as possible.

Resources

Tsunami in a Glass/Bottle
2 litre plastic bottles
Small gravel
Water
Empty water bottle to pour the water from

Tsunami in a Pan
Sand
Cornflour
Deep dish e.g., glass pyrex, lasagne dish
Jug
Water
Paper/cardboard to build mini houses (optional)

Instructions

Tsunami in a Glass/Bottle
1. Fill the 2-litre bottle with about 4cm of gravel or small stones.
2. Pour about 1 cup of water into the bottle and screw the cap on tightly.
3. Gently lower the bottle to its side, so the gravel forms a slope at the end of the bottle (you'll see that the sand doesn't work so well at this point, in the picture below). The gravel slope represents the sea floor and then the beach. The water represents the ocean.
4. Use the palm of your hand to smack the bottle cap (i.e., the end of the bottle opposite the gravel slope), to generate a wave.
5. Observe the wave formation and the way it crashes upon the gravel. Also note the way the water sloshes around on the gravel following its initial crash - the danger of a tsunami extends beyond the initial landfall.

Tsunami in a Pan
1. Mix the sand and cornflour together and build up a sandy beach at one end of the dish
2. You could create mini houses from paper and cardboard and stand them on the sand
3. Add water to the dish
4. Shake the table that the dish is on and see what happens to the beach when the force of the wave you created hits it.

Tags

• hazard
• tsunami

Badge Links

This activity doesn't complete any badge requirements