A Wonderleaf question
Why does thunder boom?
a real page from the book
Thunder booms because lightning heats a narrow path of air very suddenly. The air swells outward in a hard push, making a sound wave that reaches your ears after the flash. That bang is heated air moving, not the sky breaking.
Light gets to you much faster than sound, so the pause between flash and thunder tells you how far away the strike was. Close lightning can snap sharply; distant or long lightning can sound like a rumble rolling across the clouds.
Wonder words
- lightning
- molecules
- shockwave
- rumble
Try it out
During a storm indoors, count the seconds after a flash, then talk about why the sound arrives later.
Read the whole picture book
Watercolour scenes, straight answers, about three minutes cover to cover.
Open the picture bookKeep wondering
- Why do mountains change the weather?
- Why is frost sparkly?
- Why is the sky sometimes gray?
- Why do clouds change shape?
- How do meteorologists predict the weather?
- Why does the air smell different after rain?
One more wonder: Why is space so dark?
And the next question?
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