A Simple Way of Modeling the Expansion of the Universe: What Does Light Tell Us?

The purpose of this activity is to model the expansion of the universe by investigating the behavior of water waves. It is designed for students in the upper grades of physics and physical science who are learning about the wave nature of light and are ready to discover such important questions about science. The article explains first the Doppler effect through water waves and then extends to how to interpret light waves coming from other galaxies. Therefore, in addition to raising the scientific curiosity of the students, this activity also gives them an understanding of the hypothesis-evidence relation and the interpretation of data