Lesson Plan: The Relativistic Doppler Effect Physics

This lesson plan includes the objectives, prerequisites, and exclusions of the lesson teaching students how to calculate the change in the frequency and wavelength of electromagnetic radiation due to relative motion of the source and observer.

Objectives

Students will be able to

  • use 𝑓=𝑓1−𝛽1+𝛽 in all permutations,
  • use 𝜆=𝜆1+𝛽1−𝛽 in all permutations,
  • interpret graphs of 𝑓𝑓 against 𝛽,
  • interpret graphs of 𝜆𝜆 against 𝛽.

Prerequisites

Students should already be familiar with

  • the Doppler effect,
  • spectra, emission, and absorption lines,
  • redshift and blueshift.

Exclusions

Students will not cover

  • the effects of cosmological redshift,
  • the effects of gravitational redshift.

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