1. By: Megan Kelly, Allison Detlefs, and Claire Long
“Lets Make Waves”
By: Megan Kelly,
Allison Detlefs, and
Claire Long

2. Wind is a major factor:
Waves can be anything from gentle ripples to huge storm waves
It is noted that when it is windy at sea the waves are greatly affected
Wind speed is the most important force in driving ocean waves

3. How big a wave grows depends on three things:
1.) the strength of the wind
2.) the length of time the wind blows
3.) distance over which the wind is blowing
The highest sea wave ever recorded was 112 feet in the Pacific in 1933.

4. Shapes of Waves: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8nMrhjQEK4&NR=1
Once the waves pass out of the storm area, the waves change shape
They go from ragged, sharp-peaked waves to gentler more rounded waves that can travel long distances across the sea
The biggest waves of all are called, Tsunamis, a Japanese word
Tsunamis are caused by earthquakes and volcanoes below the Earth’s surface
They are not known for being as impressive out in the ocean, but once they reach land they can reach up to 130 feet and cause major damage

5. Water in Waves: The top of the wave is called the crest
The bottom of the wave is called the trough
The distance from one wave to another is called the wavelength
As waves travel they allow the surface water to form circles
This allows the water deeper down to also move in circles
The circles become smaller and smaller until they die out
Once the waves reach the shore they are no longer moving in circular motions, but oval motions
Because of this the crest becomes higher and steeper, and the distance between the waves gets shorter, this causes the crest to topple and break on shore

6. Passing Waves: Waves pass through water
They do NOT take water with them as they move
This idea is shown if you watch a bottle on the water
As the waves pass the bottle stays in the same place, but bobs up and down
Eventually the bottle with drift, but only because of surface ocean currents

7. Recap: Crest-the top of each wave Trough-the bottom of each wave
Wavelength-the distance from the top of one wave to the top of the next
Wave height-the distance from the trough to the crest
(start at 25 sec)

8. References Academic Content Standards Book (K-12 Science)- -
-Books:
Asimov, Isaac. The Ocean Book. Canada: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.,
Bramwell, Martyn. The Oceans. New York: Franklin Watts, Inc.,
Taylor, Barbara. Oceans. London: Franklin Watts, Inc.,
Additional Resources: -
- Physical Oceanography. 2nd ed. Arlington: National Sciences Teachers Association, 1995.