ALEX Learning Activity

  

Light and Sound Waves

A Learning Activity is a strategy a teacher chooses to actively engage students in learning a concept or skill using a digital tool/resource.

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  This learning activity provided by:  
Author: Kimberly Payton
System:Fairfield City
School:Fairfield High Preparatory School
  General Activity Information  
Activity ID: 2355
Title:
Light and Sound Waves
Digital Tool/Resource:
Sound Waves/ Readworks
Web Address – URL:
Overview:

In this activity, the student will use Readworks "Sound Waves" to learn about waves.  The students will read an article and answer questions. Finally, students will create a Venn Diagram to demonstrate how light and sound are different.

This activity was created as a result of the Alex Resource Development Summit.
  Associated Standards and Objectives  
Content Standard(s):
Science
SC2015 (2015)
Grade: 8
Physical Science
18 ) Use models to demonstrate how light and sound waves differ in how they are absorbed, reflected, and transmitted through different types of media.

Unpacked Content
Scientific And Engineering Practices:
Developing and Using Models
Crosscutting Concepts: Structure and Function
Disciplinary Core Idea: Waves and Their Applications in Technologies for Information Transfer
Evidence Of Student Attainment:
Students:
  • Use models to demonstrate how light waves differ in how they are absorbed, reflected, and transmitted through different types of media.
  • Use models to demonstrate how sound waves differ in how they are absorbed, reflected, and transmitted through different types of media.
Teacher Vocabulary:
  • Light
  • Sound
  • Absorption
  • Reflection
  • Transmission
  • Media
  • Transparent
  • Translucent
  • Opaque
  • Frequency
  • Amplitude
  • Wavelength
  • Electromagnetic waves
Knowledge:
Students know:
  • A medium is not required to transmit electromagnetic waves.
  • A sound wave, a type of mechanical wave, needs a medium through which it is transmitted.
  • When a sound wave strikes an object, it is absorbed, reflected, or transmitted depending on the object's material.
  • When a light wave shines on an object, it is absorbed, reflected, or transmitted depending on the object's material and the frequency of the light.
  • The path that light travels can be traced as straight lines, except at surfaces between different transparent materials (e.g., air and water, air and glass) where the path of light bends.
  • The absorption, reflection, and transmission of light and sound waves can be identified by observing relevant characteristics of the wave, such as frequency, amplitude, and wavelength.
  • Materials with certain properties are well-suited for particular functions (e.g., lenses and mirrors, sound absorbers in concert halls, colored light filters, sound barriers next to highways).
Skills:
Students are able to:
  • Develop models of light and sound waves and identify the relevant components.
  • Describe the relationships between components of the model.
  • Use observations from the model to provide causal accounts for events and make predictions for events by constructing explanations.
Understanding:
Students understand that:
  • Light and sound waves differ in how they interact with different types of media.
  • The absorption, reflection, and transmission of light and sound waves depends on the type of media through which they are transmitted.
  • Materials with certain properties are well-suited for particular functions (e.g., lenses and mirrors, sound absorbers in concert halls, colored light filters, sound barriers next to highways).
AMSTI Resources:
AMSTI Module:
Electricity, Waves, and Information Transfer
Alabama Alternate Achievement Standards
AAS Standard:
SCI.AAS.8.18- Investigate and describe how light and sound waves travel through a variety of media.
Learning Objectives:

The student will create a Venn Diagram to demonstrate how light and sound waves are different.  

The student will answer questions to demonstrate how light and sound waves are different. 
  Strategies, Preparations and Variations  
Phase:
During/Explore/Explain
Activity:

  1. The students will log into Readworks.

  2. The teacher will have the students read and answer the questions from Readworks Sound Waves.

  3. After the students have read and answered the questions in Readworks Sound Waves, the teacher will make a noise and ask the students how were they able to hear the sound.  (Possible answer is: with their ears)

  4. The teacher will then ask, how did the sound get to their ears and have the students to draw their response on the back of their Venn diagram sheet.  

  5. The teacher will ask the students how are they able to see different images.  (Possible answer is: with their eyes)

  6. The teacher will ask how did the image get to their eyes and have the students to draw their response on the back of their Venn diagram sheet. 

  7. Next, the teacher will have the students complete a Venn diagram to compare and contrast light waves and sound waves. 

  8. Finally, the teacher will lead a class discussion on how light and sound waves differ in how they are absorbed, reflected, and transmitted through different types of media.

 
Assessment Strategies:

The teacher will access the students' work using one or all of the following:
Advanced Preparation:

The teacher will need to do the following:

  • Create a free Readwork.org account, as well as, create a class in Readwork.org. 

  • Input students into the class and distribute the class code and student passwords. 

  • Print Venn Diagram
Variation Tips (optional):
Notes or Recommendations (optional):

Readworks bridges the gap between research and practice in reading comprehension instruction. 
  Keywords and Search Tags  
Keywords and Search Tags: compression, crest, medium, rarefraction, trough, waves