Understanding Waves

Renee Allen                    Louis Wirth Experimental
                               4959 South Blackstone
                               Chicago IL 60615
                               (312)535-1410

Objectives:

  1. Eighth grade students will gain an understanding of waves.
  2. Eighth grade students will gain an understanding of the properties that all
     waves have in common.
  3. Eighth grade students will gain an understanding of the types of Waves.

Materials Needed: 

  1. Ripple Tank                          4. Paper (Notebook)
  2. Tuning Forks (3)                     5. Pencils(1 for each group)
  3. Rope (Make two pieces 2 meters each) 6. Springs (Slinky) & (Door Screen) 
                 
Strategy: 
       
  Arrange five stations:
     Station 1 Ripple Tank
     Station 2 Tuning Forks and bottle of water
     Station 3 Rope tied to door knob or other solid object
     Station 4 1 Spring  (Slinky)
     Station 5 1 Spring  (Screen Door)
  
  Divide the class up in groups and have each group take a station.  Have the 
students work with waves at the different stations and write down two 
observations at each station.  Student groups should spend at least five minutes 
at each station.  When all groups have spent time at each station, then class 
should take their seats and share on board the observations made at each 
station.  Each group should have a scribe and a scribe can be appointed to 
record all observations on the board.  When all has been recorded, the teacher 
can go over the terms with diagrams and use observation.  The terms that need to 
be covered are: waves (mechanical and electromagnetic), transverse, 
longitudinal, amplitude, wavelength, frequency, and speed.  Next let the 
students go back and explore the different stations. 

Performance Assessment:

  Each student in the group would have the same grade

  5 points ----------5 observations
  4 points ----------4 observations
  3 points ----------3 observations
  2 points ----------2 observations
  1 point  ----------1 observation