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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.

Grades 9–12. 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?" Kit materials equip 8 teams rotating through stations and include instructions and digital resources that support 3-dimensional instruction for NGSS.

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.

This activity helps you teach the following Next Generation Science Standards*:
HS-PS4-1: Use mathematical representations to support a claim regarding relationships among the frequency, wavelength, and speed of waves traveling in various media.
PS4.A: Wave Properties: The wavelength and frequency of a wave are related to one another by the speed of travel of the wave, which depends on the type of wave and the medium through which it is passing.

*Next Generation Science Standards® is a registered trademark of WestEd. Neither WestEd nor the lead states and partners that developed the Next Generation Science Standards were involved in the production of this product, and do not endorse it.