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Stuff you need

One thunderstorm

A stop watch (or the ability to say "one-mississippi")

Make it happen

1. After you see a flash of lightning, count the number of seconds until you hear the thunder. (Use the stop watch or count "One-Mississippi, Two-Mississippi, Three-Mississippi," etc.)

2. For every 5 seconds the storm is one mile away. Divide the number of seconds you count by 5 to get the number of miles.

Think about it

Light, right? Why does this work?

What travels more quickly, light or sound?

What's happenin'?

One Mississippi... If you said light travels faster than sound, you're right! The lightning and thunder are happening at the same time, but light reaches your eye instantly while sound takes longer.

Do you ever see lightning without hearing thunder? Some call that "heat lightning", but it is really lightning that is over 15 miles away and too far away for you to hear the thunder.

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