Unpacked Content
Scientific and Engineering Practices
Developing and Using Models; Analyzing and Interpreting Data
Crosscutting Concepts
Patterns; Systems and System Models
Knowledge
Students know:
- Waves represent repeating quantities.
- A simple wave has a repeating pattern with a specific wavelength, frequency, and amplitude.
- The frequency of a wave is the number of waves passing a point in a certain time. The unit of frequency is the hertz (Hz) and one hertz is equal to one wave per second.
- Amplitude is the maximum displacement of the wave pattern from equilibrium.
- Wavelength is the distance between consecutive wave crests or troughs.
- The electromagnetic spectrum is the range of all types of electromagnetic radiation. Radiation is energy that travels and spreads out as it travels.
- The types of electromagnetic radiation that make up the electromagnetic spectrum are radio waves, visible light, microwaves, infrared light, ultraviolet light, X-rays and gamma-rays.
- Electromagnetic radiation can be described in terms of a stream of mass-less particles, called photons, each traveling in a wave-like pattern at the speed of light. Each photon contains a certain amount of energy. The different types of radiation are defined by the amount of energy found in the photons. Radio waves have photons with low energies, microwave photons have a little more energy than radio waves, infrared photons have still more, then visible, ultraviolet, X-rays, and, the most energetic of all, gamma-rays.
- Electromagnetic radiation can be expressed in terms of energy, wavelength, or frequency. Frequency is measured in cycles per second, or Hertz. Wavelength is measured in meters. Energy is measured in electron volts or Joules.
Skills
Students are able to:
- Develop a model of a simple wave and identify the relevant components.
- Describe the relationships between components of the model.
- Use patterns observed from their model to provide causal accounts for events and make predictions for events by constructing explanations.
- Organize given data to allow for analysis and interpretation of the electromagnetic spectrum.
- Analyze the data to identify possible causal relationships between waves and their positions in the electromagnetic spectrum.
- Interpret patterns observed from the data to provide causal accounts for events and make predictions for events by constructing explanations.
Understanding
Students understand that:
- Relationships exist between wave properties (e.g., frequency, amplitude, wavelength) and energy.
- These relationships can be predicted and described with models of simple waves.*The electromagnetic spectrum is the range of all types of electromagnetic radiation.
- Electromagnetic radiation can be expressed in terms of energy, wavelength, or frequency and the types of radiation are arranged in the spectrum based on the measure of their energy, wavelength, and/or frequency.
- The types of electromagnetic radiation that make up the electromagnetic spectrum are radio waves, visible light, microwaves, infrared light, ultraviolet light, X-rays and gamma-rays.
Vocabulary
- Manipulate
- Model
- Wave
- Simple wave
- Predict
- Wave properties (e.g., frequency, amplitude, wavelength)
- Energy
- Analyze
- Interpret
- Illustrate
- Electromagnetic spectrum (radio waves, visible light, microwaves, infrared light, ultraviolet light, X-rays and gamma-rays.
- Electromagnetic radiation
- Photons
- Hertz
- Volts
- Joules
- Displacement
