In continuing our studies of radio advertising, students dug into physics this week as they explored the nature of waves (in preparation to discuss radio waves and radio transmission).
We began with a discussion about images that come to mind when we think about waves. Many students brought up waves in a pool or the ocean, while others pointed out that sound and light travels in waves as well. Cruz took it upon himself to lead the class in a demonstration and hands-on exploration of waves. He and classmates filled various containers with water and tested out how different waves are made--What happened if we blew on the water versus shook the container? What happens if we add an object to the water? Why do some waves move the object while in other cases the object stays in the same place, bobbing up and down? Students learned different terms for measuring waves, such as wavelength and amplitude. Students then broke out into groups based on interest to research one of the following topics and report their information back to the class: sound waves, light waves, and the science of hearing. This will continue into next week, as we missed a couple homeroom periods due to the snow days. Students inquired more deeply about mechanical waves with a class-made wave machine made out of duct tape, gummies, and coffee stirrers (see blog for photos). We used this machine to test out different types of waves and the measurements we have been learning about (wavelengths, amplitudes, frequencies): How could we make the wave have shorter wavelengths? Longer wavelengths? Higher and lower amplitudes? Students were stumped with the question of speed--hitting gummies faster or slower didn’t seem to change the speed of the wave. Then, they realized the answer was quite tasty...we had to remove gummies from the machine! With less matter involved, the waves zipped through the medium (duct tape). Mechanical waves provide a great introduction to waves since they travel through a medium, like energy passing through a rope, the duct tape in our machine, or a wave on the ocean. These are all great visuals and concrete examples of waves that students can see in action. This prepared students for our next discussion, which blew many of their minds: the electromagnetic spectrum.
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