Learning Resource Type

Classroom Resource

How Sound Travels | NASA Online

Subject Area

Science

Grade(s)

8

Overview

The speed at which sound travels from one place to another depends upon the medium and how closely packed the molecules are in the matter. Learn more about how sound travels from this simulation.

    Science (2015) Grade(s): 8

    SC15.8.18

    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

    UP:SC15.8.18

    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).

    Scientific and Engineering Practices

    Developing and Using Models

    Crosscutting Concepts

    Structure and Function
    Link to Resource

    CR Resource Type

    Interactive/Game

    Resource Provider

    KnowItAll.org
    Accessibility
    License

    License Type

    Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives
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