Lesson Plan: Properties of Waves
This lesson plan includes the objectives, prerequisites, and exclusions of the lesson teaching students how to identify and describe different types of waves and their properties.
Objectives
Students will be able to
- define a wave,
- identify examples of waves, including light waves, sound waves, and water waves,
- identify and describe the properties of waves, including their amplitude, wavelength, and frequency,
- identify different types of waves, such as transverse and longitudinal waves,
- identify the crest and trough of a transverse wave,
- describe how waves transfer energy,
- list and describe the different mediums a wave can go through (e.g., water, air),
- compare the speeds at which wave types travel through different media.
Prerequisites
Students should already be familiar with
- states of matter,
- energy transfer,
- light, heat, and sound energy,
- the meaning of perpendicular and parallel.
Exclusions
Students will not cover
- the electromagnetic spectrum,
- how frequency affects wavelength.
