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Lesson 5E Lesson
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Beyond the Slinky®, Part 1

Qualitative Characteristics of Waves

Danny Mattox, Bj Sneed, Heather Shaffery, Anna Rodriguez | Published: June 2nd, 2022 by K20 Center

  • Grade Level Grade Level 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th
  • Subject Subject Science
  • Course Course Chemistry, Physical Science
  • Time Frame Time Frame 150 minutes
  • Duration More 2-4 class periods

Summary

In this lesson, students will investigate the qualitative characteristics of waves. The next lesson in this three-part series focuses on the quantitative characteristics of waves.

Essential Question(s)

What is a wave?

Snapshot

Engage

Students predict the heating pattern in a microwave and then see if their predictions are correct.

Explore

Students investigate waves in a series of stations set up around the classroom.

Explain

Students discuss what they observed at the stations as a class.

Extend

Students complete a Card Sort activity to learn about the wavelengths of the electromagnetic (EM) spectrum and the frequency and amplitude of sound waves.

Evaluate

Students use the Claim, Evidence, Reasoning (CER) strategy to revise their original thoughts on how microwaves work.

Materials

  • Lesson Slides (attached)

  • Microwave Demonstration handout (attached; one per student)

  • Wave Stations handout (attached; one per student)

  • 3-2-1 handout (attached; one half-sheet per student)

  • Card Sort With Cut Lines (attached; one card set per student pair)

  • Card Sort Key (attached)

  • Claim, Evidence, Reasoning (CER) handout (attached; one per student pair)

  • Microwave oven

  • Cardboard, cut into a square to fit in the bottom of the microwave

  • Giant chocolate bars, refrigerated

  • Wax paper

  • Metal hanger

  • String/twine

  • Pencils

  • Pie plates

  • Tuning forks

  • Prism

  • Water

  • Styrofoam cups

  • Paper clips

  • Eyedropper

  • Rulers

  • Rubber bands of various sizes/thickness

  • Scissors

  • Flashlight (non-LED works best)

  • Straws

Engage

Introduce the lesson using the attached Lesson Slides. Display slide 3 to share the essential question and go to slide 4 to review the lesson objectives with students.

Go to slide 5. Pass out the attached Microwave Demonstration handout to each student.

  1. Make sure the microwave is set up as described in the note above.

  2. Ask students to draw a diagram of the microwave and depict how things are heated inside.

  3. Place 3–5 refrigerated chocolate bars on a sheet of wax paper, then place them on the cardboard in the microwave. The chocolate should cover most of the cardboard so that you can see the heating pattern clearly.

  4. Reduce the microwave's power. If your microwave uses a power scale of 1–10, choose a setting of 3–4, or 30–40 percent of the microwave's total power.

  5. Ask students to draw and label the chocolate and the cardboard. Then, have students write one or two sentences to predict what will happen when the chocolate is microwaved at lower power while not rotating.

  6. Turn on the microwave for 10–15 seconds.

  7. Check the chocolate for melted spots.

  8. Repeat steps 6 and 7 until there are some obviously melted spots in the chocolate.

  9. Mark the melted spots with a toothpick and measure the distance between melted spots.

  10. Without offering an explanation, discuss the results with the class.

This is what the chocolate looks like before turning on the microwave.
This is what the chocolate should look like after being microwaved.

Explore

Display slide 6 and pass out the attached Wave Stations handout to each student. Inform students they will rotate around the classroom, investigating sound and EM waves at several different stations.

See below for a brief description of each station:

  1. Tuning Forks: Students listen to tuning forks and observe how they affect water.

  2. Coat Hanger Apparatus: Students observe how waves transfer through different objects.

  3. Paper Cup Phone: Students transmit messages through a taut string.

  4. Petri Dish Water Waves: Students create water waves (ripples) and observe wave convergence.

  5. Rubber Bands: Students observe how the thickness and the degree to which a rubber band is stretched affect the pitch of the sound it makes.

  6. Metric Ruler Vibrations: Students create mechanical waves and observe the behavior of the end of a ruler.

  7. Straws: Students investigate how changing the length of a straw alters the sound it produces.

  8. Prisms: Students use a prism to split light and see a rainbow.

Explain

Display slide 7. Once student groups have completed all the stations, briefly discuss the findings from each.

Go to slide 8 and give each student one half-sheet from the attached 3-2-1 handout. Using the 3-2-1 strategy, have students write three things all the stations had in common, two differences they observed among the various stations, and one question they still have about waves. Solicit answers from the class for each of the 3-2-1 prompts.

Extend

Display slide 9 and pair up students. Inform students they will complete a Card Sort to learn more about the electromagnetic spectrum.

Pass out one Card Sort set to each student pair. The cards consist of three different categories: wave (arrange by length), name of wave (arrange by numerical size), and object (arrange by size). Ask students to organize the cards into sets of wave, name, and object, then arrange the sets in what they think is the correct order from longest to shortest.

Go to slide 10 to show students the correct arrangement of the cards. You may print the attached Card Sort Key if you wish to provide students with paper copies of the correct arrangement.

Evaluate

Display slide 11. Pass out the attached Claim, Evidence, Reasoning (CER) handout to each student pair.

Using the Claim, Evidence, Reasoning (CER) strategy, have student pairs provide evidence from their observations to justify the following claim: To heat food evenly, a microwave needs a rotating plate.

Remind students they must use scientific reasoning to explain (1) why this happens and (2) how the evidence justifies the claim.

Go to slide 13 and ask students to return to the Microwave Demonstration handout. Have students revise their diagrams to more accurately depict how a microwave heats food, using what they have learned in this lesson.

Finally, go to slide 14 and show students the “Visible Spectrum of Light” video. This video offers a thorough explanation of the microwave phenomenon and serves as a transition into Part 2 of the “Beyond the Slinky®” lesson series.

Because the Card Sort activity did not delve into the visible spectrum, use this video to facilitate a brief whole-class discussion about how the visible spectrum is the only spectrum our eyes can see before closing the lesson.

Resources

Publisher

K20 Center

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Downloads

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Standards

Next Generation Science Standards (Grades 6, 7, 8)
MS-PS4-1: Use mathematical representations to describe a simple model for waves that includes how the amplitude of a wave is related to the energy in a wave.
Next Generation Science Standards (Grades 9, 10, 11, 12)
HS-PS4-1: Use mathematical representations to support a claim regarding relationships among the frequency, wavelength, and speed of waves traveling in various media.
Oklahoma Academic Standards (8th Grade)
8.PS2.2.2: The greater the mass of the object, the greater the force needed to achieve the same change in motion.
Oklahoma Academic Standards (Chemistry)
CH.PS2.6.1: Attraction and repulsion between electric charges at the atomic scale explain the structure, properties, and transformations of matter, as well as the contact forces between material objects.
Oklahoma Academic Standards (Physics)
PH.PS3.3 : Design, build, and refine a device that works within given constraints to convert one form of energy into another form of energy.*

Facilitator Resources

Click on a file type icon to download an attachment.

  • Card Sort Key—Beyond the Slinky® Part 1
  • Card Sort With Cut Lines—Beyond the Slinky® Part 1
  • Lesson Slides—Beyond the Slinky® Part 1

Learner Handouts

Click on a file type icon to download an attachment.

  • 3-2-1—Beyond the Slinky® Part 1
  • Claim Evidence Reasoning CER—Beyond the Slinky® Part 1
  • Microwave Demonstration—Beyond the Slinky® Part 1
  • Wave Stations—Beyond the Slinky® Part 1

Related Resources

Cover Image The 3-2-1 Instructional Strategy: 3 Ways 2 Use 1 Strategy Across Content Areas
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