Thunder & Lightning

Science · Weather & Climate · ages 7-9

Name ______________________ Date ____________

What causes the loud sound we call thunder?
- Wind blowing hard
- Lightning
- Rain hitting the ground
What is lightning?
- A kind of cloud
- Rain falling very fast
- A giant spark of electricity in the clouds
During a storm, you usually see the lightning flash before you hear the thunder.
Circle one: True False
Lightning and thunder actually happen at the same moment inside the storm cloud. So why does the thunder seem to arrive later?
- Because the cloud makes the lightning first and waits to make the thunder
- Because sound takes longer to reach your ears than light does
- Because thunder is a separate event that happens after the storm passes
Why do you see the lightning flash before you hear the thunder boom?
- Light travels faster than sound
- Thunder happens a few seconds after lightning
- Sound travels faster than light
Thunder can happen all on its own, without any lightning making it.
Circle one: True False
A girl far from a storm sees a lightning flash but never hears any thunder from it. What is the best explanation?
- The storm is too far away for the sound of thunder to reach her
- That flash made no thunder at all
- Sound travels faster than light, so it already passed her
Malik says, 'The flash of lightning takes a few seconds to travel from the cloud to my eyes, that is why I see it before I hear the thunder.' What is wrong with his idea?
- Nothing is wrong, light really does take several seconds to arrive
- Lightning does not come from clouds at all
- Light reaches his eyes almost instantly; it is the sound that takes several seconds to arrive

Answer key

For grown-ups. Fold this page away before handing over the rest.

Thunder & Lightning W1-mt_BO_AHGLCk0-s1

Lightning · Thunder is the sound lightning makes as it rips through the air.
A giant spark of electricity in the clouds · Lightning is electricity that builds up in a storm cloud and jumps out in a bright flash.
True · Light reaches your eyes almost instantly, while the sound of thunder takes longer to arrive.
Because sound takes longer to reach your ears than light does · Both start at the same time, but sound travels much slower than light, so it lags behind.
Light travels faster than sound · Lightning and thunder happen at the same instant. Light just gets to you much sooner than sound does.
False · Thunder is always the sound of lightning. If you hear thunder, lightning made it, even if you did not see the flash.
The storm is too far away for the sound of thunder to reach her · Every lightning flash makes thunder, but sound fades out over distance, so far-off thunder may be too quiet to hear.
Light reaches his eyes almost instantly; it is the sound that takes several seconds to arrive · Light moves so fast it seems instant to us. It is the slower-moving sound of thunder that causes the delay.