Lesson 2: Properties of Mechanical Waves
Duration of Days: 4
Lesson Objective
Students will mathematically calculate wave speed and differentiate between the motion of the medium and the motion of the wave energy itself.
When you yell across a football field, does the air near your mouth actually travel to the ears of the person on the other side?
What is the structural difference between a sound wave traveling through the air and a light wave traveling through space?
If you increase the frequency of a wave generator, what must happen to the wavelength if the medium doesn't change?
Mechanical Wave
Transverse Wave
Longitudinal Wave
Medium
HS-PS4-1: Use mathematical representations to support a claim regarding relationships among the frequency, wavelength, and speed of waves traveling in various media.
To transition from a single object oscillating (SHM) to a continuous chain reaction of oscillations traveling through a medium (a wave), introducing the universal wave equation.
Why you see lightning before you hear thunder: Both lightning and thunder are created at the exact same instant. However, lightning is an electromagnetic wave, while thunder is a mechanical sound wave traveling through the air medium. Because the speeds are dictated by their wave types and media, the light energy wins the race to your eyes long before the sound reaches your ears.
MPS Science Differentiation Strategies
https://tinyurl.com/5n6c24k7
Unit 6 Assessment