Lesson Plan: Transverse and Longitudinal Waves Science • Second Year of Preparatory School
This lesson plan includes the objectives, prerequisites, and exclusions of the lesson teaching students how to explain the differences between longitudinal and transverse waves and the motions that produce them.
Objectives
Students will be able to
- recall that waves can carry energy from one point to another,
- describe analogies for energy being transmitted by waves,
- recognize that the direction of the oscillation in the wave may not be the same as the direction of propagation of the wave,
- recall what is meant by the term transverse wave,
- recall what is meant by the term longitudinal wave,
- recognize transverse and longitudinal waves in diagrams,
- recall what is meant by the terms rarefaction and compression,
- recall what is meant by the terms crest and trough,
- recognize how a longitudinal wave is represented using a transverse waveform,
- relate compression and rarefaction to the density of a medium at different points.
Prerequisites
Students should already be familiar with
- the meaning of period, frequency, and wavelength,
- identifying the wavelength of a transverse wave.
Exclusions
Students will not cover
- hybrid transverse–longitudinal motion (e.g., Rayleigh waves),
- calculations of wave motion,
- speeds of waves.
