PS4.A: Wave Properties
What are the characteristic properties and behaviors of waves?
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- Introduction to PS4.A
- K-12 Progression and Grade Band End Points for PS4.A
- Performance Expectations Associated with PS4.A
- Additional Resources for PS4.A
Introduction to PS4.A
Whether a wave in water, a sound wave, or a light wave, all waves have some features in common. A simple wave has a repeating pattern of specific wavelength, frequency, and amplitude. The wavelength and frequency of a wave are related to one another by the speed of travel of the wave, which, for each type of wave, depends on the medium in which the wave is traveling. Waves can be combined with other waves of the same type to produce complex information-containing patterns that can be decoded at the receiving end. Waves, which transfer energy and any encoded information without the bulk motion of matter, can travel unchanged over long distances, pass through other waves undisturbed, and be detected and decoded far from where they were produced. Information can be digitized (converted into a numerical representation), sent over long distances as a series of wave pulses, and reliably stored in computer memory.
Sound is a pressure wave in air or any other material medium. The human ear and brain working together are very good at detecting and decoding patterns of information in sound (e.g., speech and music) and distinguishing them from random noise. Resonance is a phenomenon in which waves add up in phase (i.e., matched peaks and valleys), thus growing in amplitude. Structures have particular frequencies at which they resonate when some time-varying force acting on them transfers energy to them. This phenomenon (e.g., waves in a stretched string, vibrating air in a pipe) is used in the design of all musical instruments and in the production of sound by the human voice.
When a wave passes an object that is small compared with its wavelength, the wave is not much affected; for this reason, some things are too small to see with visible light, which is a wave phenomenon with a limited range of wavelengths corresponding to each color. When a wave meets the surface between two different materials or conditions (e.g., air to water), part of the wave is reflected at that surface and another part continues on, but at a different speed. The change of speed of the wave when passing from one medium to another can cause the wave to change direction or refract. These wave properties are used in many applications (e.g., lenses, seismic probing of Earth).
K-12 Progression and Grade Band End Points for PS4.A
from NGSS Appendix E: Disciplinary Core Idea Progressions
| K-2 | 3-5 | 6-8 | 9-12 |
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Grade Band Endpoints for PS4.A
By the end of grade 2. Waves, which are regular patterns of motion, can be made in water by disturbing the surface. When waves move across the surface of deep water, the water goes up and down in place; it does not move in the direction of the wave—observe, for example, a bobbing cork or seabird—except when the water meets the beach.
Sound can make matter vibrate, and vibrating matter can make sound.
By the end of grade 5. Waves of the same type can differ in amplitude (height of the wave) and wavelength (spacing between wave peaks). Waves can add or cancel one another as they cross, depending on their relative phase (i.e., relative position of peaks and troughs of the waves), but they emerge unaffected by each other. (Boundary: The discussion at this grade level is qualitative only; it can be based on the fact that two different sounds can pass a location in different directions without getting mixed up.)
Earthquakes cause seismic waves, which are waves of motion in Earth’s crust.
By the end of grade 8. A simple wave has a repeating pattern with a specific wavelength, frequency, and amplitude. A sound wave needs a medium through which it is transmitted.
Geologists use seismic waves and their reflection at interfaces between layers to probe structures deep in the planet.
By the end of grade 12. The wavelength and frequency of a wave are related to one another by the speed of travel of the wave, which depends on the type of wave and the medium through which it is passing. The reflection, refraction, and transmission of waves at an interface between two media can be modeled on the basis of these properties.
Combining waves of different frequencies can make a wide variety of patterns and thereby encode and transmit information. Information can be digitized (e.g., a picture stored as the values of an array of pixels); in this form, it can be stored reliably in computer memory and sent over long distances as a series of wave pulses.
Resonance is a phenomenon in which waves add up in phase in a structure, growing in amplitude due to energy input near the natural vibration frequency. Structures have particular frequencies at which they resonate. This phenomenon (e.g., waves in a stretched string, vibrating air in a pipe) is used in speech and in the design of all musical instruments.