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Grades 9–12. Through engaging activities students investigate stadium waves, sound waves, light waves, and seismic waves to learn what all waves have in common. Materials support 8 teams rotating through stations. Includes instructions.

Product Details

• Through engaging activities, students investigate stadium waves, sound waves, light waves, and seismic waves to learn what all waves have in common.
• High school laboratory investigation with enough materials for 8 lab groups.
• Carolina Kits 3D®—Labs that use phenomena to support NGSS and 3-dimensional instruction.

The human-driven "wave" common at many stadium-held sporting events serves as the phenomenon for this lab. Over the course of 6 days, students investigate stadium waves, sound waves, light waves, and seismic waves and are assessed on their ability to answer the driving question, "What are some different types of waves, and what do they have in common?"

Time Requirement
Teacher Prep, 45 minutes. Pre-lab, 50 minutes. Investigation (4 days), 50 minutes each day. Assessment, 50 minutes.

Digital Resources
Includes 1-year access to digital resources that support 3-dimensional instruction for NGSS. Digital resources may include a teacher’s manual and student guide, pre-lab activities and setup videos, phenomenon videos, simulations, and post-lab analysis and assessments.

Performance Expectations
HS-PS4-1

Crosscutting Concepts
Cause and Effect

Disciplinary Core Ideas
PS4.A: Wave Properties

Science and Engineering Practices
Using Mathematics and Computational Thinking

Learning Objectives

• Model and investigate stadium waves, seismic waves, standing waves, sound waves, and light waves.
• Use wave models and investigations to show that energy, not matter, is propagated by waves.
• Explore and identify the relationship between wave frequency, wavelength, and wave speed.
• Identify cause-and-effect for many different kinds of waves.
• Relate a wave’s amplitude to its energy.
• Consolidate evidence from multiple investigations to identify properties that all waves have in common.

Prerequisite Knowledge and Skills
Students should be familiar with distinguishing between matter and energy. They should have the ability to work with measurement units and know how units may cancel when performing mathematical operations on measured quantities. They will also need to know how to measure with metersticks, metric rulers, and protractors.