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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Wave Motion

For Teachers 1st - 12th
Students observe and identify various waves. In this wave motion lesson, student use a Slinky, noise, people, and musical instruments to create waves and observe how each type of wave moves.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Surfs up!

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students learn about longitudinal and transverse waves. In this waves lesson plan, students learn the characteristics of longitudinal and transverse waves by observing demonstrations. They then categories each wave as longitudinal or...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Wave Terms and Concepts

For Students 9th - Higher Ed
In this waves learning exercise, students define 23 vocabulary words associated with the different types of waves and how waves are measured. Students complete 23 matching terms with definitions and draw the superposition of two waves...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

What Are Waves?

For Students 9th - 12th
In this types of waves worksheet, students will read 9 types of waves and classify them as either mechanical, electromagnetic, transverse, or compressional waves. Then students will label two wave diagrams with the 8 kinds of waves...
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Lesson Plan
PBS

Pbs News Hour Extra: You Don't Need a Seismograph to Study Earthquakes

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Three part lesson plan will provide learners with information about earthquakes and how to predict them using various Web sites. Activities include historical background on major earthquakes, investigating mechanical waves, and...
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Unit Plan
CK-12 Foundation

Ck 12: Electromagnetic Waves

For Students 9th - 10th
[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] In this learning module, compare characteristics and behaviors of transverse waves, including electromagnetic waves.
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Unit Plan
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Sound and Light

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
The Sound and Light unit provides students with an understanding of sound and light waves through the theme of the "Sunken Treasure," a continuous story line throughout the lessons. In Lessons 1-5, students learn about sound, and in...
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Lesson Plan
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Riding the Radio Waves

For Teachers 7th - 9th
In this lesson learners learn how AM radios work through basic concepts about waves and magnetic fields. Waves are first introduced by establishing the difference between transverse and longitudinal waves, as well as identifying the...
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Handout
Other

Transverse and Longitudinal Wave Propagation in an Elastic Medium

For Students 9th - 10th
Extensive information about how waves behave in an elastic medium. Covers different types of waves, their characteristics and behavior, the anatomy of the ear, the speed of sound in different media, the parts of a wave, and wave phenomena.
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Unit Plan
BBC

Bbc: Gcse Bitesize: General Properties of Waves

For Students 9th - 10th
Light travels as waves. Waves can be described by their amplitude, wavelength and frequency. The speed of a wave can be calculated from its frequency and wavelength.
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Handout
Wikimedia

Wikipedia: Wave

For Students 9th - 10th
An in-depth encyclopedia article from Wikipedia on waves gives a definition for what a wave is. Other content in the article includes a list of examples and characteristics of waves, information about the difference between transverse...
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Activity
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Make Some Waves

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
In this activity, students use their own creativity (and their bodies) to make longitudinal and transverse waves. Through the use of common items, they will investigate the different between longitudinal and transverse waves.
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Activity
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Wind Chimes

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Using their knowledge of physics, students will build a wind chime. Mathematical computations will be done to determine the length of the pipes.
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Lesson Plan
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Surf's Up!

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
This lesson plan introduces the concepts of longitudinal and transverse waves. Students see several demonstrations of waves and characterize them by transverse and longitudinal behavior. This lesson plan also introduces the Sunken...
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Lesson Plan
Discovery Education

Discovery Education: The Phenomenon of Sound Waves

For Teachers 1st - 5th
A lab activity on sound waves is presented on this website. Students will learn about sound waves produced by different objects in this activity. There are also a set of discussion questions and two other variations of the lab exercise.
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Handout
Georgia State University

Georgia State University: Hyper Physics: Transverse and Longitudinal Waves

For Students 9th - 10th
The physics tutorial illustrates and explains the distinction between transverse and longitudinal waves. Related links provided.
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eBook
CK-12 Foundation

Ck 12: Physical Science: Characteristics of Waves

For Students 7th - 8th
[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] Covers three types of mechanical waves - transverse, longitudinal, and surface - and their characteristics. Includes labeled illustrations and two video animations.
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Handout
CK-12 Foundation

Ck 12: Physics: Waves Study Guide

For Students 9th - 10th
[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] This guide gives a detailed overview of mechanical waves and the characteristics of waves. Covers wave behavior, including types of interference, resonance, and the...
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Lesson Plan
Alabama Learning Exchange

Alex: Transverse Waves

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students will classify waves as mechanical or electromagnetic. Students will describe longitudinal and transverse waves. Students will show a transverse wave using a slinky.This lesson plan was created as a result of the Girls Engaged in...
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Interactive
PBS

Pbs Learning Media: Describing a Wave

For Students 3rd - 5th
This interactive lesson engages students in noticing the shape of (transverse) waves and learning how to describe and measure the amplitude and wavelength of waves.
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PPT
Sophia Learning

Sophia: Transverse and Longitudinal Waves

For Students 9th - 10th
This lesson will describe the difference between transverse and longitudinal waves.
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Unit Plan
Sophia Learning

Sophia: Wave Shape: Lesson 5

For Students 9th - 10th
This lesson will introduce the shape of waves, including amplitude and frequency. It will also describe how the shape of waves changes from one type to the next. It is 5 of 5 in the series titled "Wave Shape."