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THESIS

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LIBRARY
Michigan State
University

 

 

 

This is to certify that the
thesis entitled

Waves: An Integrated Approach with Real World Applications

presented by

Sandra L. Brough-Gresh

has been accepted towards fulﬁllment
of the requirements for

Master of SdmcL—degree in interdepartmental
Physical Science

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Major professor

Date July 31, 2001

 

0-7639 MS U is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Institution

PLACE IN RETURN BOX to remove this checkout from your record.
To AVOID FINES return on or before date due.
MAY BE RECALLED with earlier due date if requested.

 

DATE DUE

DATE DUE

DATE DUE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6’01 cJCIFlC/DatoDuep65-915

 

 

WAVES: AN INTEGRATED APPROACH WITH REAL WORLD
APPLICATIONS

By

Sandra L. Brough-Gresh

AN ABSTRACT OF A THESIS
Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulﬁllment of the requirements
for the degree of
MASTER OF SCIENCE: INTERDEPARTMENTAL PHYSICAL SCIENCE
Division of Science and Mathematics Education

2001

Professor Merle Heidemann

ABSTRACT
WAVES: AN INTEGRATED APPROACH WITH REAL WORLD APPLICATIONS
By

Sandra L. Brough-Gresh

Students need to understand the use and application of waves and their
interactions in their everyday lives. This nine-week unit was designed to include more
applications of wave properties through laboratory exercises, portfolio assessments,
writing exercises, and classroom discussion utilizing the natural inquisitiveness of ninth
graders. The unit consisted of lecture, discussion, student and teacher designed
laboratory exercises, projects, and performance activities. Classroom discussions
indicated that the students enjoyed learning about wave concepts outside the classroom.
Post-surveys showed that most students felt that they had a good solid understanding of
the objectives at the conclusion of the unit. Comparison of pre- and posttest responses
illustrated that students gained a signiﬁcant amount of practical knowledge about waves

as a result ofthis unit.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to show my deepest appreciation to the following people for all of their

personal and professional support:

0

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Ken - my husband, my best friend, and my biggest supporter
Garrett - my son, who gave me a year oﬁ‘ ﬁom writing to just be a mom

Mom and Dad —for providing me with all the love and support which has led

me to where I am today

Seaholm Science Department — mentors and friends who have helped me

continue to develop as a teacher

Becky Murthum, Helen Waldo and all the other MSU personnel associated
with the Division of Science and Mathematics Education, especially Merle

Heidemann for all of her time and guidance

The Towlsey Foundation for their generous ﬁnancial support

iii

 

 

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DISC

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................... vi
LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................. vii
INTRODUCTION .................................................................................... 1
Statement of Problem and Rationale for Study .......................................... 1
Scientiﬁc Background- The Physics of Waves .......................................... 4
Demographics ................................................................................. 7
Pedagogical Review ......................................................................... 9
IMPLEMENTATION OF UNIT. ................................................................. 14
Introduction ................................................................................. 14
Summary of Activities ..................................................................... 18
Wave Properties Using Sound ............................................................ 20
Calculations Involving Waves ............................................................ 22
Doppler Effect .............................................................................. 23
Instrument Building ........................................................................ 23
Wave Interactions Using Light ........................................................... 23
Color ........................................................................................ 27
Posttest ...................................................................................... 28
EVALUATION ..................................................................................... 30
Quantitative Analysis ﬁ'om Student Surveys. .. . . . . .. . . . ., ............................ 30
Quantitative Data Analysis from Pre- and Posttests .................................. 32
Qualitative Data Analysis from Pre- and Posttests .................................... 39
Qualitative Data from Student Work ................................................... 41
Time of Day ................................................................................ 43
DISCUSSION ....................................................................................... 45
APPENDICES '
Appendix A-I - Unit Objectives: Waves ................................................ 51
Appendix A-II - MEGOSE Objectives: Waves ..................................... 52
Appendix A-III - Seaholm Block Schedule ........................................... 53
Appendix A-IV - Unit Calendar ......................................................... 54
Appendix B-I - Parental/Student Consent Form ...................................... 56
Appendix B-II - Student Sm'vey- pre and post ........................................ 58
Appendix B-III - Waves Unit Protest .................................................... 59
Appendix B-IV - Waves Unit Posttest ................................................. 60
Appendix C-I - Wave Album Project ................................................... 66
Appendix C-II - Instrument Building 101 ............................................. 67
Appendix D-I - Rulers are Noise Makers Too! ........................................ 68

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Appendix D-II - A slinky, a slinky, a wonderful, ..................................... 69

Appendix D-IH - Amplifying Sound Using Resonance .............................. 70
Appendix D-IV - Mach l-Speed of Sound ............................................ 71
Appendix D-V - What’s your Mach? ................................................... 72
Appendix D-VI - The Doppler Effect ................................................... 73
Appendix D-VH - Paths of Light and Lines of Sight ................................. 74
Appendix D-VIII - Reﬂection Challenge .............................................. 75
Appendix D-IX - Refraction-Penny in a Cup .......................................... 76
Appendix D—X - Glass Vial Lab -a convex lens experience ......................... 77
Appendix D-XI - Biology Connection —The Optics of Microscopes .............. 78
Appendix E-I - Drawing Waves ......................................................... 79
Appendix E-II-v=d -:-t ................................................................ 80
Appendix E-III - What’s your angle? ................................................... 82
Appendix E-IV - So you say that light “bends”? ...................................... 83
Appendix F-I - Notes: Wavelength, frequency ........................................ 84
Appendix F-II - Notes: Electromagnetic waves versus Mechanical waves ....... 85
Appendix F -111 - Notes: Speed .......................................................... 86
Appendix F-IV - Notes: Range of perception ......................................... 87
Appendix F-V - Notes: Rainbows and color ........................................... 88
Appendix F-VI - Notes: Electromagnetic Spectrum .................................. 89
Appendix F-VII - Notes: Doppler Effect ............................................... 90
Appendix F-VIII - Notes: Depth distance versus Real distance .................... 91
Appendix F -IX - Notes: Law of Reﬂection ............................................ 92
Appendix F-X - Notes: Curved Mirrors ................................................ 93
Appendix F -XI - Notes: Refraction ..................................................... 94
Appendix F-XII - Notes: Lenses ........................................................ 95
Appendix G-I - Individual Pre-survey Responses — Semester 1... . . . 96
Appendix G-II - Individual Pre-survey Responses - Semester 2 ................... 98
Appendix G-HI - Totals for Pre-survey Responses —Semester 1 and 2 ........... 100
Appendix G-IV - Individual Post-survey Responses — Semester 1 ............... 101
Appendix G-V - Individual Post-survey Responses - Semester 2 ............... 103
Appendix G-VI - Totals for Post-survey Responses —Semester 1 and 2 ......... 105
Appendix G-VII - Pre- and Posttest Comparison — Semester 1 ................... 106
Appendix G-VIII - Pre- and Posttest Comparison — Semester 2 ................... 108
Appendix G-IX - Posttest Comparison — Semester 1 and Semester 2 ............ 110
Appendix H—I - Pretest #3 / Posttest #34 ............................................. 112
Appendix H-II - Pretest #1 / Posttest #35 ............................................. 113
Appendix H-III - Pretest #4 / Posttest #36 ............................................ 114
Appendix H-IV - Pretest #5 / Posttest #37 ........................................... 115
Appendix H-V - Pretest #9 / Posttest #38 ............................................. 116
BIBLIOGRAPHY
General References ...................................................................... 118
Literature Cited ........................................................................... 119

Table 1:
Table 2:
Table 3:
Table 4:

Table 5:

LIST OF TABLES

Description of Students Chosen for Qualitative Evaluation ....................... 17
Summary of Activities .................................................................. 19
Questions Used in Analysis of Pre- and Posttests ............................... 29, 32
Misconceptions from Initial Laboratory Activities ................................. 42
Comparison of Scores By Time of Day ............................................... 43

vi

Figure 1:
Figure 2:
Figure 3:
Figure 4:
Figure 5:
Figure 6:
Figure 7:

Figure 8:

LIST OF FIGURES

Venn Diagram- Light and Sound ..................................................... 26
Average Survey Response — Semester 1 ............................................. 31
Average Survey Response - Semester 2 ............................................. 31
Posttest Question #34: Identify the parts of a wave ............................... 33
Posttest Question #35: What is wave? .............................................. 34
Posttest Question #36: What affects the speed of wave? ......................... 35
Posttest Question #37: How do waves apply to life? .............................. 37
Posttest Question #38: Venn Diagram on Light and Sound ...................... 38

vii

INTRODUCTION

Statement of Problem and Rationale for Study

I have taught science for nine years and I still consider myselfa rookie. I am
constantly looking for new ways to bring science ‘home’ to my students. The Universal
Science and Technology course I have taught for the past six years allows me the
ﬂexibility to continually modify the style and structure of the course as long as the
objectives set by the course curriculum are met. I teach one semester of this course for
ninth grade students, and then teach this same course again second semester to a new set
of students. This semester addresses MEAP objectives focusing on the basic concepts in
laboratory procedure, chemistry, physics, and earth science. I discovered that even
though students were learning science they didn’t see the correlations between the
disciplines or the connections of science outside the classroom walls.

This new unit uses sound and light to teach different characteristics of waves such
as propagation, interaction, and their use in technology. Primary and Secondary seismic
waves were used to show comparisons and contradictions to light and sound waves, and
to check for understanding of the material. To not only make learning more relevant to
my students and to help them see how the sciences overlap and can be applied to
everyday life, I decided to redesign the waves portion of the course. The objectives of
this new waves unit (Appendix A-I) were modeled after speciﬁc MEGOSE objectives '
(Appendix A-II). By utilizing a thematic approach, a central theme was chosen and then
that theme was built upon through examples from different science disciplines. In order

to make the learning meaningful to the students authentic assessment was incorporated. It

is my belief that the students would begin to see, understand, and utilize the connections
and uses for the science that they are learning as a result of these teaching techniques.
The students need to make these connections themselves for the learning to be
meaningful and long lasting (Hartley, 1999).

The class has always been taught with a variety of tools to keep the students on
task and active in the learning process. A range of learning activities and ﬂexible
management of the activities provides the students with responsrbility for their own
learning and development (Postlethwaite, 1993). When students feel that they have input
into the structure of the class they are more willing to take an active role in the learning
process. Learning is an active, not passive process that enables the learners to maximize
their opportunity for understanding (White, 1988).

Laboratory exercises were the main focus of the class. Investigations allow
students to develop questions and demonstrate their understanding by gathering and
analyzing information (Lang, 1999). The style of the laboratory experience varies
depending on the goal of the experiment: to introduce the topic, to develop connections
or relationships, or to draw conclusions about the topic. Lecture, small and large group
discussion, writing activities, and long-range projects round out the ways in which the
students are engaged in science. Activities for group learning are successful when based
on collaboration and not simply exercises in “doing” (National Science Education
Standards, 1996).

I believe science is for all students and that learning is an active process.
Everyone is capable of learning at some level If students are taught how to learn and are

given an avenue to want to learn then who knows how much they can learn. Skilled

teachers guide their students to understand the purposes for their own learning (National
Science Education Standards, 1996). As teachers our goal is to develop an environment
for our students to help them achieve their fullest potential. When teachers treat students
as serious learners they come to understand and apply good teaching practices (National
Science Education Standards, 1996). Every student has to be given the opportunity to
learn. As teachers our focus is to provide such an environment, physically and
emotionally. Teachers need to be ever mindful that the pace, structure, and level of
instruction will vary for each student and for each topic (Texley, 1998).

Our school has been and is still undergoing major renovations. I taught science in
a math room during the 2000-2001 year. This room was wired for electricity around the
perimeter, but the only available water was the drinking fountain down the hall and the
custodial sink around the comer. We had to “make do” with the custodial sink for the
activities when water will be needed.

With these parameters in mind, I decided to focus my research on the physics,
speciﬁcally waves, portion of the course and leave the chemistry topics for later in the
semester when we were to be back into our new science rooms. I knew that even though
I intended to redevelop my entire curriculum to incorporate thematic and authentic styles,
I needed to focus on the one that could be most easily implemented. . .the waves unit.
Seven weeks were set aside for the implementation of the unit. The last two weeks of the
marking period were used to allow extra time if needed to effectively implement the
material. An effective unit should allow, ﬁ'om time to time, groups or individuals more

time to engage in particular tasks when necessary (Bentley, 1992).

 

 

 

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Students oﬁen have difﬁculty seeing the whole picture. They want to learn
what’s going to be on the test and that’s it. This unit teaches the students that the
properties of sound, light and earthquake waves are not separate entities but are all
waves. This unit also encompasses other academic areas: writing, mathematics,
geography, music, and history. The grth of interdisciplinary techniques to facilitate
learning can have a powerful effect on the students involved (Bransford, 1999).
Scientific Background- The Physics of Waves

Waves transmit energy through matter or space. They are limited by where they
can travel. Mechanical waves are produced by vibrating objects and can only travel in
matter. These are sound, water, and seismic waves. Electromagnetic waves are produced
by moving electrically charged particles and can travel in matter or space. These are
light, radio, x-rays, gamma rays, microwaves, ultraviolet light, and infrared light.

All waves are a means by which energy travels. All waves have some common
characteristics such as wavelength, ﬁ'equency, amplitude, and speed. The type of energy
and where and how that energy is transferred varies among light, sound, seismic or water
waves. Light is an electromagnetic wave that propagates transversely. Sound, seismic,
and water waves are all mechanical in nature but their propagation varies. Sound waves
are longitudinaL seismic waves can be transverse, as in the secondary seismic waves, or
longitudinal, as in primary seismic waves. Water waves have characteristics of both
transverse and longitudinal waves. It is important to make the distinction between
transverse and longitudinal waves. Many students have a superﬁcial understanding of
how sound travels. Since sound cannot be seen their perception of sound is oﬁen

misdirected (Hartley, 1999). It needs to be made very clear to the students that

 

 

 

 

 

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occasionally longitudinal waves, such as sound waves, are represented as transverse
waves, such as when displayed on an oscilloscope or heard through equalizers on stereos.

Waves are also described by their propagation or how they travel. Longitudinal
or compressional waves are produced when the density of molecules is compressed and
rareﬁed. The particles in the wave move parallel to the direction the energy is traveling.
Sound waves and primary or P- seismic waves are examples of compressional waves.
Transverse waves are waves that cause the particles in the mdium to vibrate
perpendicular to the direction the energy is traveling. In terms of light waves there is no
mdium. Light waves and secondary or S- seismic waves are examples of transverse
waves.

The amplitude of a wave, the height of a sinusoidal wave, reﬂects the energy put
into a wave. For sound that is the volume, for light that is the intensity (brightness), for
earthquakes that is the vibrations or shaking, and so on. The frequency of a wave is the
number of oscillations or waves that occur per second. The length of one complete
oscillation, or wave, is known as the wavelength.

The energy that produces a wave is carried by that wave. In the case of sound, the
wave travels through the air or medium of propagation as vibrations. These vibrations
require matter to travel and are thus classiﬁed as mechanical in nature. When this
mechanical energy reaches the auricle, or outer car, it is ﬁmneled into the ear canal.
These vibrations then cause the eardrum to move, which causes the hammer and then the
anvil and ﬁnally the stirrup to move. The stirrup is attached to the oval window. Behind
the oval window is the cochlea, which is ﬁlled with ﬂuid. The mechanical energy is

transferred into the ﬂuid. As the ﬂuid oscillates back and forth, tiny hair cells along the

inner wall of the cochlea are forced to move which in turn sends electrical signals along
the auditory nerve to the brain. This is where the mechanical energy is converted to
electrical energy. The electrical energy travels to the brain and a ‘sound’ is heard.

The energy of a visrhle light wave determines the brightness of the light. You are
able to see an object because light reﬂects oﬂ‘ of the object and into your eye. The type,
or color, of visible light, that you see is determined by the particular frequency of light
that enters the eye. The separation of light and the formation of rainbows are due to
reﬁ‘action. When visible light travels through a denser medium like a prism the light
slows down. As visible light slows down it bends or reﬁacts. White light consists of a
wide range of ﬁequencies, 400-700 nm, and each wavelength of light will bend at a
different angle. As a result of the different angles of refraction the colors separate into
the visible spectrum commonly known as Roy G. Biv. Violet light reﬁacts the most
because it has the highest frequency and therefore the shortest wavelength. Red refracts
the least because it has the lowest frequency and the longest wavelength. That is why red
is always on top in a rainbow and violet is on the bottom except in a double rainbow.

Concepts such as reﬂection and reﬁ'action are normally presented using light as
the theme. Little information is provided in the texts about the reﬂection or reﬁ'action of
sound. The law of reﬂection is easy to observe using light rays, but students can hear the
energy reﬂecting when using sound waves. Refraction, the bending of waves as they
travel from one medium to another of different density, can be seen using light. However,
reﬁaction of seismic waves is how we know that the earth’s structure consists of different
layers. Refraction also describes long shore currents and the effects of weathering and

erosion on a shoreline. Another phenomenon discussed mostly in terms of one type of

wave is the Doppler effect. Most textbooks describe the Doppler effect as the apparent
change in pitch of a sound due to movement of the observer or the source. It would be
more accurate to describe the Doppler effect as the apparent change in frequency of
waves so that it would also apply to light. The formula for wave speed is v = M‘, for all
types of waves. The actual speeds vary greatly ﬁ'om sound to light to seismic waves but
the formula and process for calculating speed remains the same.

Using sound and light as examples is the traditional way of teaching waves. Most
textbooks, at this level, have a chapter on waves and sound together and then a chapter or
two on light and wave interactions. Students seem to learn that sounds are waves because
they are in the same chapter. Because light is discussed in separate chapters this
connection is sometimes lost. In essence, the textbooks suggest to students that light is
more important than sound and any other waves for that matter by simply having more
pages on one topic than another. Recently, textbooks have included connections to
seismic and water waves in the areas where sound and light are discussed.
Demographics

Birmingham Public Schools serve more than 7,600 students in grades K-12 ﬁom
ten large residential communities with a combined population of 80,000 persons. The
community is composed primarily of professional and business families. There are 13
schools: eight elementary, two middle schools, two high schools and a unique district
wide school of choice with a science and technology emphasis for grades 3-8. Students
ﬁ‘om Birmingham Public Schools consistently score high on state and national

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Seaholm High School is one of Birmingham Public School District’s two
comprehensive high schools for grades 9-12. Seaholm High School is fully accredited by
the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools and the University of
Michigan. Each student is required to complete two credits in science and two in math
with one additional credit in science or math.

The school follows a block schedule with seven 50-minute classes on Mondays
and 95-100 minute block classes on Tuesdays-Friday (Appendix A-III). Classes meet
three times per week: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday or Monday, Wednesday, Friday.
Tuesdays and Thursdays there are late starts (Appendix A-III) so students only have three
block classes, the morning is set-aside for students to come in for extra help. T-Block is
‘Teacher Block’ and is used for staﬂ‘ development time. S-Block is ‘Student Block’ and
is designed for students to come in for extra help, use the media center, or to do make up
work. Classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays are 100 minutes and Wednesday and Friday
classes are 90 minutes. The reason for the difference is simply more instructional time
was needed to meet the state requirements for minutes of instruction. Seaholm chose to
shorten the ‘T’ and ‘3’ block times and extend the classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays to
meet the required time.

Seaholm has a student population of 1,041 with an average class size of 21.
Seaholm is 96% white, 3% Asian and 1% black and Hispanic combined. On average
approximately 80% of Seaholm graduates go on to 4-year colleges and approximately
another 10% go on to 2-year colleges.

I teach the entry-level ninth grade science course, Universal Science and

Technology. Biology is an option for ninth graders who are in the honors math track. On

average, 80% of all incoming ninth graders will take Universal Science. My average
class size is 24 students. The students come from primarily two different middle schools.
However, I do have students that are coming to public schools for the ﬁrst time. The
background knowledge of my students varies greatly based on which middle school they
attended. I have found that in our own school system two students ﬁom the same middle
school will have very diﬁ‘erent backgrounds because the depth at which the objectives
were covered varied ﬁ'om teacher to teacher despite having a set list of objectives to
teach. In addition, about 10% of my students receive modiﬁcations and or
accommodations depending on their individual education plans. Another 5% of my
students are repeating the course.
Pedagogical Review

According to the National Science Education Standards there are basic
fundamental themes of education: science is for all students, learning is an active
process, and improving science education is a part of a system of education reform
(Texley, 1998). There are two ways we remember new information. The traditional
classroom emphasizes one method, which is memorization of isolated facts and concepts.
A second method is based on the theory that our minds organize pieces of related
information into complex webs, called schemata. A thematic approach takes advantage
of this process by having all the subjects revolve around a central theme, thus enabling
students to develop complex webs of interconnected information (Peters, 1995).

Teachers are always looking for curricular connections to help students
comprehend concepts by exposing them to multiple perspectives. The National Science

Education Standards emphasizes the need to present unifying concepts and processes

such as modeling throughout the curriculum (National Science Education Standards,
1996). Concepts are often introduced and taught as sequential but isolated topics: “We
are done with sound so let’s go on to light.” Teachers seem to believe that they are
making the learning manageable by breaking it down in to speciﬁc units but this can
often lead to misconceptions. The most common misconception that I have encountered
is that since sound and light are taught separately they must be unrelated. Some students
even develop the notion that math is unrelated to science. For example, while scheduling
classes for next fall a group of juniors asked the physics teacher if they were going to use
math in Honors Physics.

A better approach is to teach multiple topics that may initially seem different but
ultimately have a common basis (Hartley, 1999). According to Don Tapscott (Tapscott,
1998), “Give children the tools they need and they will be the single most important
source of guidance on how to make the schools relevant and eﬂ‘ective.” Students need to
be given not only basic information but also an avenue to apply that knowledge to elicit
further learning. New information becomes meaningful when it is integrated into our
existing knowledge. Therefore, developing integrated units, using the thematic approach,
is good for both students and teachers (Texley, 1998).

If students can develop the skills to organize their thoughts and look for
similarities between topics, then the level of learning is greatly increased. Instead of
reviewing basic terminology the instructor should implement the information. One way
for students to see these similarities is through laboratory exercises and other
applications, such as projects and performance assessments that use and reuse the

terminology. If students can learn that terms maintain their basic meaning even when

10

applied to different topics then they can build on their previous knowledge instead of
starting at ground zero. “The goal is to think and organize [similarities in acquired
knowledge] in terms of systems” (Aldridge, 1996). To achieve this the teacher should
thoughtfully integrate ideas to facilitate greater learning for the students and to develop
skills to apply science in everyday life.

The Standards developed by the NSTA suggest that content be delivered in ways
that are developmentally appropriate, interesting; and relevant to everyday life. Making
science applicable is a way to capture student interest while promoting inquiry (Texley,
1998). In order to achieve this, however, students must be actively engaged in science
through inquiry and other scientiﬁc investigations with various levels of hierarchy.
Teachers must provide an environment that allows the students to learn because the
amount of material to be covered is constantly increasing. The amount of knowledge to
be learned is overwhelming for students and teachers and new knowledge is being
constructed at a rate that is equally overwhelming (Hegarty—Hazel, 1990). Without a
means to organize, categorize, and conceptualize the information presented the students
will have diﬁculty in learning new information. “The natural and designed world is
complex; it is too large and complicated to investigate and comprehend all at once”
(Aldridge, 1996).

Another approach leaves a lasting effect on both the students and the teacher.
Embedded assessment, also known as continuous or classroom-based assessment, enables
the teacher to modify instruction based on the immediate feedback of the students.
Teachers need to communicate with learners, to tell them what is expected, ways to

improve, listen to their concerns, and assess their strengths and note their diﬁculties

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(Bentley, 1992). By sharing understanding and providing feedback teachers are able to
make adjustments to their instruction as they try to meet the needs of the students. As
teachers become more responsive to their students’ understanding of the material, the
students become more positive about the class. As students become more positive they
become more focused and their level of understanding and achievement also increases
(Gallagher, 1999).

In this unit on waves I incorporated aspects of chemistry, physics, earth science,
biology, anatomy, as well as writing, reading, art, mathematics, history, music, and
technology. This thematic approach is a perfect ﬁt for my teaching style, the required
curriculum, and the age of students being taught. It also is in line with the current
research on learning. Coherent integration of topics not only increases the depth of
understanding but the breadth of content coverage (Texley, 1998).

According to Bransford, in the book How People Leg (1999), “research on
learning has uncovered important principles for structuring learning experiences that
enable people to use what they have learned in new settings.” In the situation reported in
this paper students were introduced to wave properties while doing laboratory
experiments on sound. The students then were given similar exercises involving light and
the students were expected to use that knowledge they gained previously when studying
sound. The goal was to teach the students how to use what they have learned to help
them as they continue on as learners.

Schools have an obligation to provide students with opportunities for learning and
acquiring the skills needed to be a learner. Ideally, schools should instill the desire for

learning and growing that will enable students to be productive members in their

12

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communities. The best hope for educators is in new ways to teach students how to learn.
“Students cannot take command of their own learning when they lack the knowledge and
skills to learn meaningfully” (Hegarty-Hazel, 1990). Students do the experiments but do
not see the meaning of the events. In essence we need to help them understand the nature
_ of science itself. By teaching students how to learn the schools are providing them with
the skills they will need outside the high school doors.

“The goal of education is better conceived as helping students develop the

intellectual tools and learning strategies needed to acquire the knowledge that

allows people to think productively and contributes to the individuals’
understanding of learning that can assist them in becoming self-sustaining,

lifelong learners” (Bransford, 1999)

As teachers we need to teach the students the content of the course and how to
learn so that they can grasp major ideas and apply that knowledge across the curriculum
and outside the classroom. The more often the material, content, is introduced in
different contexts the more likely the information will be learned. It is our duty as
teachers to provide an experience for students that help them to facilitate the greatest
possible learning (Hegarty-Hazel, 1990).

By using a thematic approach to teaching real world applications, a little of the
constructivist approach, and embedded assessment I have developed a unit with very
tangible objectives for students of various learning abilities and styles. This unit was
designed to engage the students in an engaging and worthwhile experience. The reason

we can appreciate the world is that it has structure that is interesting, sensible, and related

to our very selves (Rosen, 1998). Science can be fun.

13

IMPLEMENTATION OF UNIT

Introduction

This unit on waves was developed at Michigan State University during the
summer of 2000 by signiﬁcantly revising the original units on waves. Originally, sound,
light, and earthquake waves were taught as separate mini units with a brief comparison
between types of waves at the end. This new unit was designed to fully integrate the
phenomena of sound, light, and earthquakes using the basic properties of waves as the
focus. The different types of waves were used to emphasize various properties of waves.
For example, when discussing speed of waves in relationship to distance and time it is ,
more tangible to the students to study sound waves, which travel at a speed that is
comprehensible to them. When analyzing the behavior of waves when they encounter a
barrier it is easier to use light as the focus so the students can actually see what happens.
Earthquake, or seismic, waves are a natural way to show the impact of waves on society
and the advancements and limitations of technology in our world today.

The main difference between the new and the old units is the integration of the
three units on waves. Instead of studying earthquakes for three weeks, sound for two
weeks, and light for three weeks, students engaged in an eight-week unit on waves.
Laboratory exercises were modiﬁed to include pre-lab questions. Mini/pocket labs also
were also developed and others adapted to introduce topics, which were then explored in
greater depth in other experiments. Long-range projects and performance assessments
embedded into the unit were added to the unit in order to assess and measure in-depth

thinking skills (Brookhart, 1999). Each lab was designed to lead into the next activity.

14

This year for the ﬁrst time I used a textbook (Dobson, 2001), which has served as a great
resource for some of the slower students and also as an avenue to challenge some of the
more advanced students.

The unit began with simple lab experiments and students focusing on writing
hypotheses and answering questions in complete sentences. Each lab write up then
included one more component until the students were writing full laboratory reports. The
students began laboratory report writing by focusing on their hypothesis, forming an
educated guess before they begin the exercise. The focus then was directed towards the
recording observations and answering of questions component. The students practiced
designing tables to place measurable data. Eventually each portion, component, of a full
laboratory report was implemented. Integrated in between the lab experiments were
other writing activities and projects to assess their knowledge and provide ownership and
control by the student (Brookhart, 1999).

This new unit was implemented the ﬁrst week of school (Appendix A-IV). In the
past I started out by slowly reviewing topics ﬁom middle school, going over
measurement and the scientiﬁc method. This time, the ﬁrst activity was a laboratory
exercise. The students jumped head ﬁrst into science and the mood was set for the
semester. The unit was planned for seven weeks, allowing two weeks for adjustments,
since this would be the ﬁrst time the unit included so many new activities and laboratory
exercises.

The unit began with ﬁequency versus wavelength and properties of waves, which
led into calculating speed. Discussion followed, illustrating the differences and

similarities of various waves. Also, instead of teaching measurement as a separate

15

activity it was integrated into the appropriate laboratory exercises. Writing, music, and
art activities were also incorporated to appeal to those students who have a more creative
side.

Since this is a semester course the unit on waves was implemented again in
January with a new set of students. Therefore data in the fall will be referred to as
‘Semester 1’. This data was analyzed and the material reevaluated if needed for a second
implementation in January, which will be referred to as ‘Semester 2’.

One factor of concern was the time of day the classes met. The unit was
implemented into all ﬁve of the Universal Science and Technology courses that I taught,
112 students for ﬁrst semester and 116 students for second semester. It has been my
experience that the ninth graders in the afternoon block tend to have a lower class
average than the other classes. There are a couple of factors contributing to this: 1)
tracking in math. The lower level math classes were offered in the morning, leaving the
lower tracked students to take science in the afternoon and 2) students have four block
classes on Wednesdays and Fridays and by the end of the day they are too mentally tired
to focus on the fourth 95-minute class. As a result of fewer academic offerings in the
aﬁemoon the afternoon Classes tend to be larger and that may have had some effect since
I didn’t have the opportunity for as much individualized attention as in the morning
classes. It has been suggested that the reliability of the posttest scores is likely to
represent consistent, typical performance for the students if performance does not depend
on time of day or other external factors (Brooklmrt, 1999).

All students were given the consent form and only 153 students, 67%, returned it

(Appendix B-I). Of the 153 students who returned the form, 152 agreed to me using their

16

 

data The 1
(Appendix .'
of the stude
pre- and p0:
believed the,
and posttest;
As I .
from the sun
indhidual Stu
Speciﬁc mm
above averag.
Chosen One
fr0m each Set

The StUdents \

Table ]

data. The primary data came from pre- and post surveys and pre- and posttests
(Appendix B-II, B-III, B-IV). Evaluation of the unit was made by comparing the results
of the students’ pre- and post surveys and in their responses to certain questions on the
pre- and posttests. The survey data provided a rough idea about how much the students
believed they learned as a result of the unit. The comparison of responses on their pre-
and posttests allowed me to see what the students actually learned ﬁ'om the unit.

As I descrlhe the effectiveness of the unit I will be using mostly group data results
ﬁ'om the surveys and pre- and posttests. Logistically, it was too difficult to monitor 152
individual students performance on individual activities and assignments. However, the
speciﬁc responses on the pre- and posttest from six students will be discussed. Two
above average students, two average students, and two below average students were
chosen. One student ﬁ'om these three levels of performance, in my opinion, was selected
from each Semester group. The choices were made after their grades were turned in.
The students will be referred to as Students A, B, C, D, E, and F in this thesis (Table 1).

Table 1: Description of Students Chosen for Qualitative Evaluation

 

STUDENT PERFORMANCE SEMESTER
LEVEL
Above average
Average
Below average
Above average
Average
Below average

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

mmuow>
NNNr—r—v—

 

Students’ grades on the posttest and ﬁnal quarter grades were used to compare
student achievement in relation to the time of day as a qualitative analysis and not as an

evaluation of the unit. Scores were also compared between the Semester 1 group and the

17

Semester 2 group. This comparison between ﬁrst and second semester was done to see if
the students would do better after having the ﬁrst semester of a block schedule to get
acclimated and after having a semester more of math and science. The students’ quarter
grades were based on homework and laboratory reports. Analysis of the responses to the
students’ pre- and post survey and pre- and posttests will be used to evaluate the overall
effectiveness of the unit. It is unrealistic to evaluate each response on every homework
assignment and laboratory report. However, since the posttest was designed to evaluate
the material covered in the homework and laboratory activities it is a fair determination
of the success of unit and its design.

The Wave Album project (Appendix 0-1) was designed as a performance
assessment. The students were to collect pictures of waves and classify the pictures as
examples of longitudinal or transverse waves and as electromagnetic or mechanical
waves. Unfortunately, the project was implemented differently for the two test groups so
data were not collected for evaluation of the unit for this thesis. However, the feedback
ﬁom the ﬁrst semester group did aﬂ'ect the change in the due date for the second semester
group based on class evaluations. The students’ opinions stated that they thought it
would have helped them learn the terminology better and their understanding of the uses
of waves.

Summary of Activities

Numerous activities were included in this unit ranging from long-range projects,

and laboratory exercises to class activities and homework assignments. Table 2 shows

the order of presentation of each activity along with a brief description of each activity.

18

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Table 2: Summary of Activities
Name of Actim' Description Appendix
Wave album‘ Performance assessment 01
Rulers are Noise To determine the relationship D-I
Makers Too" between wavelength and frequency
A slinky, a slinky... To observe transverse and D-II
longitudinal waves
Drawing waves“ To illustrate properties of waves E—I
Amplifying Sound To use resonance to amplify sound D-IH
Using Resonance“
Mach-1* To determine the speed of sound D-IV
What’s your mach? * To determine the ratio of a person’s D-V
speed to the speed of sound
V = d/t To calculate speed... E-II
Doppler Eﬂ‘ect To describe how a sound changes due D-VI
to movement
Instrument Building* Performance assessment C-II
Paths of Light and To determine the relationship D-VII
Lines of Sight between real distance and depth
distance
What’s your angle? To measure angles E-III
~ Reﬂection Challenge To determine the, relationship D-VIII
between the angle and number of
irmges
So you say light To observe reﬁaction E-IV
bends?

Penny in a cup To observe how light bends D-IX
Glass vial lab* To compare observations of a glass D-X
vial to a convex lens
Microscope lab“ To apply rules of optics to a D-XI

microscope

 

*Denotes a new activity.

19

 

Wave Properties Using Sound

The students were introduced to the properties of sound by using various
demonstrations. First I did a couple of demonstrations that produced sound. Next I
asked for a few volunteers to make sound with various instruments that I gave them: a
tuning fork, a whirl tube, and a singing rod. The class was asked to write down how the
student volunteers were able to produce sound. Then I asked the volunteers to change the
amplitude of the sound that they were producing, which led to further class discussion. I
then asked the vohmteers: How could they change the frequency of the sound? The
vohmteers could ask for assistance ﬁom the class if they didn’t know the answer. By
doing this activity I was able to make a brief evaluation of how much the class as a whole
knew about the basic properties of sound.

Many students had misconceptions about volume and frequency of sound. They
thought that as the ﬁequency increased the volume did also. I had anticipated the
confusion, which is why the ﬁrst laboratory activity dealt with the relationship between
the length of a vibrating object and the frequency of sound titled Rulers are Noise Makers
T 00! (Appendix D-I). Before the exercise the students were given prepared notes on
frequency, wavelength, and amplitude of waves (Appendix F-I). From this activity the
students could see the relationship between the length of one oscillation, the wavelength,
and the ﬁ'equency of many kinds of waves.

The second activity involved making waves with s1inkys;A slinky, a slinky, a
wonderﬁd, observational, demonstrational toy (Appendix D-II). Before the lab I
explained the difference between a longitudinal and a transverse wave and demonstrated

how to model each with the slinky (Appendix F-II). The students were reminded that the

20

waves they were seeing were mechanical waves because the slinky consists of matter.
Therefore the transverse wave they saw was a good representation of a secondary seismic
wave but only a model of a transverse light wave. The properties of mechanical and
electromagnetic wave were also introduced before the activity began. To make sure the
students knew what their “waves” should look like we practiced drawing waves, both
transverse and longitudinal, with increasing and decreasing frequency and increasing and
decreasing amplitude, using individual dry erase boards.

The ideas that the students should have grasped were that the amplitude of a wave
can change without changing the ﬁqu or the wavelength and that the speed of a
wave is dependent on the medium in which the wave is traveling (Appendix F-III). The
students easily grasped the second idea but struggled with the ﬁrst. Based on this, I
developed an activity based on drawing waves (Appendix E-I). Using a record player,
we practiced drawing waves by altering the amplitude without changing the frequency.
To evaluate the students’ level of understanding, they were given an open notes pop quiz
in which they were to match various pictures of sound waves with descriptions of speciﬁc
volumes and pitches.

Since many of the students started to ask questions about how and why they hear
we tookadayto discussthe earandhearing. First we discussedtherange ofhuman
hearing and the range of ﬁ'equencies for infra- and ultrasound (Appendix F-IV). This
comparison provided a wonderful opportunity to compare terms used to describe sound
with terms used to describe light. When students see that preﬁxes added to diﬁ‘erent
words still maintain the same basic meaning, they see the subject as interesting and they

learn (Rosen, 1998). It was explained that electromagnetic waves we can see are called

21

visible or white light. Most students were familiar with Roy G. Biv, but were unaware
that each color is a particular ﬁequency (Appendix F-V). Roy G. Biv is a pneumonic
device for the visible light spectrum with each letter representing a different color in
order from lowest to highest ﬁequency: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, blue,
and violet. The students then realized that infrared was light with a ﬁequency lower than
red and ultraviolet is light with a frequency higher than violet (Appendix F-VI).
Discussing hearing also provided an excellent opportunity to explain the transformation
ﬁom rmchanical to electrical energy.

Amplijying Sound using Resonance was the next lab, focusing on the concept of
resonance (Appendix D-III). The students already knew that amplitude refers to the
energy and, in the case of a sound wave, the volume, but the term resonance hadn’t yet
been introduced. Some students were becoming quite engaged as evidenced by their
questions: “Is that why a guitar is hollow?” or “Is that why pianos are made out of
wood?”

Calculations Involving Waves

Mach 1 (Appendix D-IV) and What ’s your Mach? (Appendix D-V) introduced
mathematics into this unit. Instead of being given the formula to calculate speed, the
students determined the speed of sound and then a person’s running speed. The majority
of the students knew that speed is equal to distance divided by time but did not know how
to use the proper units (Appendix E-H). I coordinated the methods that the math
department uses in Algebra I and Pre-algebra in teaching velocity.

Next, the students calculated the speed of sound in air by resonating a column of

air at a known ﬁ'equency. I made ‘graduated cylinders’ and ‘hollow tubes’ out of PVC

pipe instead of glass, which were cheap and unbreakable. This activity reinforced one of
the outcomes ﬁ'om the Amplifying Sound using Resonance lab.
Doppler Effect

Sound was used to introduce the Doppler effect since students can hear the
clunge in the pitch of a sound when the source of the sound is moving (Appendix F-VII).
The Doppler effect was connected to the ‘red shift’ and to Doppler radar. A wonderful
demo of the Doppler effect is to strike a timing fork and then swing it around or to simply
toss around the room a buzzer or other device that emits a constant sound (Appendix D-
VI).

Instrument Building (Appendix C-II)

One week of class was used for the students to build musical instruments working
in groups of four. This project was designed as a performance activity and covered many
of the Michigan Essential Goals and Objectives for Science Education, MEGOSE
(Appendix A-II). Students also explained how a sound recording or reproducing device
works, which is MEGOSE objective PMV 13. This activity provided the opportunity for
the students to design, build, and demonstrate their knowledge on how musical
instruments produce sound and how the ﬁ'equency and volume of the sound of an
instrument can be varied.

Wave Interactions Using Light

Light was used to study the interactions of waves: reﬂection, reﬁaction,
interference, and diffraction. The ﬁrst lab on wave interactions was on reﬂection
(Appendix D-VII). The students placed an object at a speciﬁed distance in front of a

plane mirror and then marked where they perceived the image of the object to be located.

23

The students then repeated the lab with a ‘reﬂect a view’. The students graphed the real
distance versus the depth distance to determine the relationship between the two variables
(Appendix F-VIII). The techniques for graphing were introduced to many and reinforced
for some during this exercise. Students were to evaluate their data and draw a line of best
ﬁt while also contemplating whether or not their line should go through the origin.

The Law of Reﬂection was introduced through a lab using plane mirrors and a
single beam of light that was reﬂected from the plane mirror at various angles. What ’s
your angle? (Appendix E-III) was used to review the skill of measuring angles and
reading protractors. The students analyzed their data by marking the normal and
measuring the angles of incidence and angles of reﬂection (Appendix F-IX). As a
challenge, the students they were asked to determine the relationship between the
numbers of images seen versus the angle between two plane mirrors (Appendix D-VIII).

Using the Light Boxes sold by Arbor Scientiﬁc, the students’ explored reﬂection
by placing curved mirrors in the path of three parallel beams of light. These light boxes
are able to emit a single beam of light or multiple parallel beams of light. Each Light
Box kit also contains plane and curved mirrors, an assortment of lenses, and colored
slides that provides the opportunity for the students to experiment with light on their own.
The students were able to see that concave mirrors do indeed converge light rays and
cause them to cross at the focal point and the convex mirrors diverge light rays
(Appendix F-X). To reinforce the notion that each point on the curved mirror obeys the
law of reﬂection, the students set up a series of ﬂat mirrors in a curved path much like a
concave mirror. They traced the path of parallel beams of light hitting the pattern of

mirrors and then noticed that the light rays also converged as withthe concave mirror.

24

I soon noticed that the students were designing their own experiments to see what
happened when they sent light rays through the various lenses in the light box kits. The
students discovered reﬁaction on their own, requiring only the name to attach to the
phenomenon that they observed (Appendix F -XI). The students were given a mini
activity on reﬁaction (Appendix E-IV).

Penny in a cup (Appendix D-IX), rather than being an introduction to reﬁaction
served as an application of what the students saw using the light box and lenses. The
students observed reﬁaction through plane lenses and curved lenses (Appendix F-XII).
The concepts of converging and diverging paths of light were applied to lenses and the
similarities and differences between curved mirrors and lenses were discussed. As a
challenge the students were given a glass vial ﬁlled with water and an index card with the
words CARBON (in red) and DIOXIDE (in blue) written on it. The students were asked
to view the words through the vial according to the directions found in the lab (Appendix
D-X). After discussing their ﬁndings the students could see the similarities between the
water ﬁlled glass vial and convex lenses. Some students also noticed that air bubbles in
the vials behaved like concave lenses, a wonderful surprise. The students were applying
concepts to observations.

One day was taken to regroup and go over vocabulary that the students had
encountered during their laboratory experiences to make sure that they were keeping the
concepts of reﬂection and reﬂection separate in their minds. As an introductory activity
the students took notes on the deﬁnitions of reﬂection, reﬁaction, diﬂraction, and

interference. The discussion also reviewed characteristics of waves and the diﬁ‘erences

25

and similarities that they have seen so far between sound and light waves. The Venn

diagram (Figure 1) was generated as a class during each semester of the unit.

 
    
 

Hear

    
   

Electromagnetic wave Mechanical wave

    
  

     
  

Carries energy Longitudinal wave

 

Transverse wave

  

Travels fastest in space Travels fastest in solids

Energy vibrates perpendicular
to the direction the wave

is traveling

   
 
   
  

  
  
  

Reﬁact
Reﬂect
Diffract

 
  
    

   

Energy vibrates parallel
to the direction the wave

is traveling

     
   
 

  
  

 

D o pplCl' EECCI

    
 

 
 

Amplitude-brightness Amplitude-volume

 

Frequency-pitch

  
 

Frequency-color

 

Figure l: Venn Diagram- Light and Sound

The slinky was used once again to show the students reﬂection of a wave. The
students watched the wave pulse travel down the slinky and travel back but on the
opposite side. Newton’s Third Law of Motion was discussed as an explanation to the
phenomena of the pulse bouncing back. The pulse bounces back on the opposite side in
which it originated. Newton’s Third Law: For every action there is an equal an opposite
reaction. The class asked questions about SONAR and ultrasounds. It seemed that the
students were able to comprehend sound bouncing, reﬂecting, oﬁ‘ a wall.

Reﬁaction was then demonstrated using a long spring attached to one end of the
slinky. As wave pulses were sent down the slinky the students could see that some
energy did travel into the spring and also energy reﬂected back down the slinky. The

students asked if that was why there was also a reﬂection when they shone their light

26

beams into the various lenses. They also wanted to know if that was why they saw
rainbows coming out of the triangular prisms. Before going on to color of light the
students were asked to identify the parts of various drawings on the board: angles of
incidence, angles of reﬂection, angles of reﬁaction, normal, incident ray, reﬂected ray,
and reﬁacted rays. Once this was done there was a quick review of how to recognize if
something was a mirror or a lens based on the light rays drawn.

The idea was to implement the microscope lab (Appendix D-XI) at this point.
Due to time constraints this laboratory exercise was done as an extension after
completion of the unit. The decision was made to leave this activity for the last week of
the quarter when the students would be preparing for midterms in their other classes. By
placing this exercise later in the unit, I was able to administer their unit test (posttest) at a
time that seemed less demanding from their other classes. The belief, on my part, was
that the students might perform better when they weren’t busy studying for midterms in
all of their other classes.
Color

The separation of white light into its component colors was demonstrated to the
class by placing a folder over the screen of the overhead with just a small slit cut in it so
only a small beam of light is projected onto the wall. Next a card with a piece of
diffraction grating in the center was placed in ﬁont of the projecting lens and the color
spectrum shown on the wall with violet closest to the center white beam and red furthest
out (Appendix F-V). The students were given a spectroscope to observe the spectrum of
the classroom ﬂuorescent lights and the spectrum from the natural light coming through

the windows. If white light can be separated into all the colors, what happens if the

27

colors are put back together? The students were quick to say black, thinking of pigment
and not light. Once again using the light boxes the students experimented mixing light of
different colors. They were given some speciﬁc combinations to try: red and blue, blue
and green, red and green... and then they could design their own experiments.

The ﬁnal activity was blowing bubbles to show constructive and destructive
interference. The concepts of superposition were illustrated for the students using the
slinky before getting the bubbles out.

Posttest

The ﬁnal day of the unit was spent completing the post survey (Appendix B-II)
and the posttest (Appendix B-IV), which was modeled after the pretest. The posttest
consisted of a series of multiple-choice questions followed by ﬁll in the blank, true/false
(where the false needed to be corrected to make them true) and some performance
objectives. The remainder of the posttest included the short response questions from the
pretest, a wave diagram in which the students were to label the parts of a wave, and a
Venn diagram, which the students were to generate on their own on light and sound.

The data analysis was based on ﬁve speciﬁc questions: three short response and two

diagrams (Table 3).

28

Table 3: Questions Used in Analysis of Pre- and Posttests

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pre- Post- Test Question

#3 #34 Identify the parts of a wave.

#1 #35 What is a wave? (What determines how and where it can
travel.)

#4 #36 What aﬁ‘ects the speed of a wave?

#5 #37 How do waves apply to life? (What are some applications
of waves in every day life? —Be speciﬁc and explain)

#9 #38 Complete a VENN Diagram on sound and light.

 

Due to the calendar of events at school, topics such as vision, how microscopes

work (Appendix D-XI), and using seismic waves to determine information about

earthquakes were done after the posttest but were still part of the same marking period

along with the rest of the waves topics (Appendix A-IV).

29

 

EVALUATION

Evaluation of this unit required consideration of several factors. Most
importantly, were the students able to successfully comprehend the material as a result of
this new unit? Quantitative data ﬁ'om surveys and pre- and posttests were evaluated.
Speciﬁc responses from six students were compared along with random samples taken
from laboratory reports, homework assignments, and pre- and post lab discussions for a
more qualitative look at the data. Other factors considered included: the different time of
day that the class was oﬂ‘ered, the difference between semesters with the Semester 2
group already having completed a semester of science and math before being introduced
to the unit, and the effect of a block schedule (Appendix A-III).

Quantitative Analysis from Student Surveys

The student survey responses indicate that the students believe that they learned
something. The students’ responses on the pre survey for Semester 1 (Appendix G-1) and
the Semester 2 (Appendix G-II) ranged ﬁ'om 0 to 4, with the most common response
varying from question to question. The survey, its questions and scale, can be found in
Appendix A-II. The average response, for each question on the pre survey, (Appendix
G-III) illustrated that as a class the students probably had heard the terms but really
weren’t sure what they meant. The average response on the pre survey ranged from 0 to
2. On the post survey the students’ responses for Semester 1 (Appendix G-IV) and
Semester 2 (Appendix G-V) once again ranged from 0 to 4, but this time the most
common response was 3 (Appendix G-VI). The students believed that they had a good

solid understanding of the objectives on the survey as seen in their responses. It is

30

evident that the students believed that they knew more information at the conclusion of
the unit each semester. This evidence is seen in the comparison of the average pre- and

post survey responses for Semester 1 (Figure 2) and for Semester 2 (Figure 3).

 

Average Survey Response - Semester 1

 

 

 

Average Response

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

#12 #13 #147#15
2.0 0.9 1.1 1.4 1.1 1.4 0.9 0.6 1.1 1.6 0.8 0.7 0.6
3.0 2.9 2.6 3.2 2.3 2.8 3.3 3.3 2.9 3.1 2.6 2.7 2.5

Survey Question

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 2: Average Survey Response - Semester 1

 

Average Survey Response - Semester 2

 

4.0
3.0
2.0 ~
1.0 -

0.04 :5 53- 5 i5 33 3% ii_ is: s g;:
#1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6 #7 #8 #9 #10l#11

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Average Response

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

lPre 1.7 1.5 1.9 0.7 1.0 1.3 0.9 1.2 0.8 0.5 1.1 1.5 0.7 0.6 0.5
EJPost 2.5 2.5 2.7 3.0 2.3 2.7 2.5 2.9 3.1 3.1 2.5 2.7 2.5 2.7 2.1
Survey Question

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 3: Average Survey Response - Semester 2

31

There doesn’t appear to be any real difference between Semester 1 as compared to
Semester 2 ﬁom the students’ point of view in the post survey averages. The students all
believe that they knew more science at the conclusion of the unit. Their average
response on the post survey for every objective for Semester 1 and for all but two
objectives for Semester 2 was that they had a good, solid understanding of the objective.
This data seems to support the idea that Semester 2, having already completed one
semester of science and math, didn’t have an advantage over Semester 1, as I would have
thought.

Quantitative Data Analysis from Pre- and Posttests

The pre- and posttests were diﬂerent. The pretest (Appendix B-IH) consisted of
ﬁee response type questions only, whereas the posttest (Appendix B-IV) was a
combination of multiple-choice, ﬁll in the blank, true and false (correcting the false), and
free response. Only the ﬁee response questions from the pre- and posttest were
compared, speciﬁcally ﬁve questions (Table 3).

Table 3: Questions Used in Analysis of Pre- and Posttests

 

Pre Post Question

 

#3 #34 Identify the parts of a wave.

 

#1 #35 What is a wave? (Describe how and where it can travel.)

 

#4 #36 What aﬂects the speed of a wave?

 

#5 #37 How do waves apply to life? (What are some applications of
waves in everyday life? — Be speciﬁc and explain.)

 

#9 #38 Complete a VENN Diagram on sound and light.

 

 

 

 

 

32

Speciﬁc responses for these selected questions were tallied for Semester 1
(Appendix G-VH) and for Semester 2 (Appendix G-VIII). The data shows the number of
students who included the listed response in their answer to the question on the pre- and
posttest. The percent column shows the percentage of students from the test group that
gave each response. There were seventy-six students in both Semester 1 and Semester 2.
A student could have had multiple responses for each question. However, the highest
possible number recorded for each speciﬁc response was 76 per semester.

The students were asked on the pretest, “What are the parts of a wave?” and on
the posttest they were given a diagram and asked to identify the parts of a transverse
wave. The data (Appendix G-VH, G-VIII) shows that only one student new all the parts
of a wave on the pretest, however about two-thirds of the students could identify all the
parts of a wave on the posttest. This posttest comparison between semesters can be seen
in Appendix G-IX. Another 28% could properly identify the crest and trough on a

transverse wave. The results of this question were also compared between semesters

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Figure 4).
Posttest Question #34: Identify the parts of a wave.
Ilst Sem
crest/ trough El 2nd Sam
all parts cone“ :-:-:-:-:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:-:;:3:-:;:;:;:;:;:;:;:-:-:-:-:-:-:.:-:-:;:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:.:-:-:-:;:-:-:-:-:-:-
g 1 1 ‘1' 1 1
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

 

 

 

Figure 4: Posttest Question #34: Identify the parts of a wave.

33

The question “What is a wave?” received multiple responses. After seeing that on
the pretest most students, if they put anything, wrote about movement or energy. In order
to direct the students to more than a deﬁnition of a wave, discussions in class dealt with
not just moving energy but how did that energy move and where. Therefore, on the
posttest the question was modiﬁed to elicit more in depth responses. On the posttest the
question included how and where waves travel. From the data, 86.8% of the students in
Semester 2 mentioned that a wave is a disturbance, a vibration, or simply energy on the
posttest a huge jump ﬁom 7.9% on the pretest. More importantly is the signiﬁcant
improvement in the other responses. There was also an improvement in the quality of

responses in Semester 2 as compared to Semester 1 (Figure 5).

 

Posttest Question #35: What is a wave?

 

polarizers

  

 

 

 

mOVing! travels, umports :::::::I:::::1:::.:::::l:::l:ljl'l:l:l'l'lﬂ'l'i'l'2:35:39“

 

 

 

 

energy, diStmbaIlce, Vibration V"--] I ISt 88111
El 2nd Sem

-------------------------------------

 

   

 

 

parallel, perpendicular a

   
 

longitudinal, transverse m

 

matter, space

mechanical, electromagnetic

l

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 5: Posttest Question #35: What is a wave?

34

Since I was able to implement this unit twice I had the opportunity to make
changes before it was implemented again. The only changes made were to leave more
time for post lab discussions and to leave notes on the board longer. By leaving the notes
ﬁom the previous day on the board until I needed to use the board again. For whatever
reason, there was a sizeable difference in the number of responses that met the objectives
of the question in Semester 2 as compared to Semester 1.

Both groups were aware that the density of the medium or the matter that the

wave was traveling in had an eﬂect on the waves speed, question #36 on the posttest

(Figure 6)-

 

Posttest Question #36: What affects the speed of a wave?

 

 

I lst Sem
E 2nd Sem

type

 

 

SOlll'CC

distance

 

 

frequency, amplitude, wavelength

 

  

force, energy, volume a

 

 

 

temperature

 

 

 

 

matter/medium

 

density ...... .. . _. ............... .. _

------------------------------------
...................................

 

 

 

 

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
Figure 6: Posttest Question #36: What affects the speed of a wave?

 

 

 

However, the Semester 2 group seemed to have a greater comprehension of the impact on
temperature on the speed of a wave. There were also a number of students that believed
that frequency, wavelength, and/or amplitude aﬁ‘ected the wave’s speed. Class
discussions speciﬁcally addressed the fact that speed is not frequency and frequency is

not speed. The conﬁrsion may be attributed to the students’ understanding of the word
‘aﬁ‘ects’. Some of the students, when asked, thought that the question meant how do you
calculate the speed of a wave. Time was spent in class discussing and calculating the
speed of a wave using v = d/t and v = xf (Appendix D-IV, D-V, E-II, F-I, F-III). The
data suggests that there was less conﬁrsion about what the question was asking since
Semester 2 had fewer students report that ﬁequency, wavelength, and/or amplitude
affected the speed of a wave. There were also a small number of students in each
semester that reported the force, energy, or volume of the wave affected the speed. These
factors show that there needs to be a greater clariﬁcation in the wording of the question
but possibly also in how the information is presented and utilized during the unit.

The idea of making the science applicable to life, the ‘authentic’ assessment
approach, was a driving force behind changing this unit ﬁom the way it had been taught
in the past. Students need to realize the impact of what they learn and how it can affect
them. This thought was the reason behind posttest question #37: How do waves apply to
life? The purpose was to elicit responses beyond that we need light to see and sound to
hear. Unfortunately, the students’ responses overall did not demonstrate a thorough
understanding of the objective. Considering that there were no activities to develop this
objective beyond the sound recording or reproducing portion of the musical instrument

project and some brief class discussions the results are not too surprising (Figure 7). If

more time had been spent dealing with actual applications of waves as a separate activity

more students may have been able to give more in depth responses.

 

Posttest Question #3 7: How do waves apply to life?

 

 

1
I lst Sem

El 2nd Sem

 

radar, sonar, ultrasound m,

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Doppler

 

microwaves, cell phones

 

 

 

 

 

hear, see ...................................

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
-----------------------------------

 

 

 

 

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

 

 

 

Figure 7: Posttest Question #37: How do waves apply to life?
More time will be put into developing activities to meet this objective in the future. The
majority of the students still stated the use of light and sound to see and hear but they
were also aware of various other uses of waves. Students could state that microwaves
were used not only for microwave ovens but also for cellular phones.
The ﬁnal question that was analyzed for evaluation of the unit was the Venn

diagram constructed on light and sound (Figure 8).

37

 

 

Posttest Question #38: Venn Diagram on Light and Sound

IlstSem
£3an Sem

 

 

 

 

energy

 

waves

 

frequency: color, pitch
Amplitude: brightness, volume

Doppler

 

diﬂ‘ract

 

reﬂect

 

refract

fastest in space, fastest in solids

 

polarized
perpendicular, parallel

 

 

 

 

 

electromagnetic, mechanical

 

 

transverse, longitudinal

 

 

see, hear

 

 

 

 

 

 

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

 

 

Figure 8: Posttest Question #38: Venn Diagram on Light and Sound

38

The data show that the majority of the students in Semester 2 knew three things: sound
and light are both waves, light is electromagnetic while sound is mechanical, and light is
transverse while sound is longitudinal The majority of the students in Semester 1 could
only state that light and sound are both waves. The placement of the due date for the
wave album may have been a factor here. The students ﬁom Semester 1 stated, on their
class evaluation forms at the end of the unit, that they had wished the wave album had
been due before the unit test (posttest). They wrote, “I would have been forced to learn
what electromagnetic, mechanical, longitudinal, and transverse meant before taking the
test”. This comment, which was found on several evaluation forms led to the change in
the due date for the wave album for Semester 2. Changing the due date of the project to
before the test could be responsible for more students including the terms mechanical,
electromagnetic, longitudinal, and transverse in their Venn Diagrams on the posttest.

Venn diagrams can be very useful in helping students categorize ideas and to look
for patterns to help them study and comprehend the vast amount of material presented to
them Possibly utilizing this diagramming style more often in the future would assist the
students in being able to generate them on their own in testing situations. The diagrams
were used more often in Semester 2 than Semester 1, which could also explain the
differences seen in the number of responses for each characteristic between the two
semesters.
Qualitative Data Analysis from Pre- and Posttests

Exact responses from six students were used to qualitatively evaluate the unit.
The responses used are ﬁom ﬁve speciﬁc questions (Table 3) on the pre- and posttest.

On the pretest only student A knew any parts of a wave, mentioning just crest and trough.

39

In regards to identifying the parts of a wave, students A and D could identify all the parts.
of a wave correctly on the posttest (Appendix H-I). Students B and E could label three
parts correctly and students C and F could only identify two wave parts correctly on the
posttest. This correlates to the students overall performance in the class. The two above
average students could identify all the parts, the average students could label more than
halfthe parts correctly and the below average students could only identify two out of the
ﬁve wave parts.

For the question ‘What is a wave?’ it is evident that only student D had a correct
and thorough response (Appendix H-II). All six students’ responses were more in depth
on the posttest as compared to the pretest however, students A, B, C, E, and F’s responses
were incomplete or contained incorrect information. This test group of six students
mirrors the overall class data (Figure 5).

In the case of question #36 two students stated that frequency affects the speed of
a wave (Appendix H-III). One of these two, student A, was an above average student and
the other, student F, was a below average student. Part of the confusion may be since v =
M, it appears that ‘v’ depends on ‘N and ‘f’; therefore ‘f’ affects ‘v’. These responses
along with the class data for question #36 (Figure 6) support that the teaching of this
concept requires reevaluation.

“Light is needed to see and sound is needed to hear and radios are for listening to”
were common responses ﬁom the class and the six selected students. One student,
Student D, discussed applications of waves, even uses of sound waves such as SONAR,
ultrasounds as in the process of lithostripsy, even though the term ‘lithostripsy’ wasn’t

used (Appendix H-IV). Once again, the six students show a true representation of both

40

Semester 1 and Semester 2 in the quality of their responses. On a positive note, the
responses on the posttest were all correct and showed that the students did learn
something about the applications of waves since the pretest. Student D, who did have a
well thought out response on the pretest also showed great improvement on the posttest.

The Venn diagram on light and sound continued to support student D being
categorized as above average with 10 of the counted responses in their answer (Appendix
H-V). Student B, an average student, didn’t have any of the responses listed in their
answer to question #38. The question was worth four points, which means that they were
expected to list at least four things. Being able to see and hear is counted as one
characteristic. Unfortunately, the students tend to do less and hope for more.
Qualitative Data from Student Work

The ﬁrst three activities were the most difﬁcult in terms of student
comprehension. The concepts of ﬁ'equency and speed have been shown in the data to be
an area of confusion and misconception by the students. The laboratory reports ﬁom
these activities contained many incorrect responses, which appear to be caused by a
misunderstanding, miscomprehension, or possrhly just carelessness on the part of the

students (Table 4).

41

Table 4: Misconceptions ﬁ'om Initial Laboratory Activities

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Activity Misconception

Rulers are Noise Makers Too! When the sound is shortened it gets higher

Rulers are Noise Makers Too! As the ruler shortens the vibrations
become louder

Rulers are Noise Makers Too! The shorter the ruler the lower the pitch

Rulers are Noise Makers Too! When wavelength becomes shorter the
ﬁequency is faster

Rulers are Noise Makers Too! The longer the section of ruler vibrating
the louder it is

A slinky, a slinky... Changing the amplitude made the wave go
slower

A slinky, a slinky... Increasing the amplitude makes longer
wavelengths

A slinky, a slinky... Decreasing the frequency slows down the
wave

A slinky, a slinky. . .. Increasing the amplitude made the wave
go faster

A slinky, a slinky. . .. Changing amplitude will change the
wavelength

Amplifying Sound using Amplitude determines ﬁequency

Resonance

Amplifying Sound using Wavelength determines amplitude

Resonance

Amplifying Sound using Frequency is determined by how fast or

Resonance slow the wave is

Amplifying Sound using How loud or soft. . .basically the pitch

Resonance

Amplifying Sound using Higher pitch is louder

Resonance

Amplifying Sound using A bigger tuning fork is louder

Resonance

 

 

42

 

Subsequently, more time was spent providing the students with the appropriate ,
terminology on activities due to the written responses ﬁ'om these activities. Part of the
diﬂiculty could be attributed to the timing of the activities. They were the ﬁrst three
activities and for Semester 1 that was the ﬁrst few days of the school year. However, the
misconceptions were not corrected as was seen in the data ﬁom posttest question #36
(Figure 6)-

Time of Day

Test scores and quarter grades indicate that the time of day had no real effect on

these scores (Table 5).

Table 5: Comparison of Scores by Time of Day

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Semester 1 Semester 2

Class Average Quarter Average Quarter
Hour Test Score m Hour Test Score _Gr_ad_e

2 67 77 2 67 82

3 71 82 3 60 82

5 62 76 5 67 81

6 69 76 6 63 81

7 60 71 7 67 85

Mean = 66 76.4 Mean = 65 82.2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In looking at the scores on the unit test for Semester 1 the two morning classes,
2nd and 3", had relatively close averages. There was a larger gap in the scores between
the two afternoon classes, 6th and 7'“. The lowest scores were in a midday class, 5"I hour,
and in an afternoon class, 7th hour. 3“1 and 7th hours had the greatest difference ﬁ'om the
mean. 3rd hour’s scores had the greatest difference above and 7th hour the greatest below

the mean.

43

In comparing the two groups, ﬁrst and second semester, scores from second
semester show that all classes but 3rd varied only 2 points from the mean. However, in
2"‘1 semester 3'1d hour was ﬁve points below the mean whereas lSt semester they were 4
points above. Therefore, there is no real evidence to support the idea that the time of day
had any impact on the ﬁnal outcome of the students’ grades on the unit test and on their
quarter grades. However, in comparing the ﬁnal quarter grades it can be seen that the
second semester group had a higher average compared to the ﬁrst semester group (Table
5) [82.2/76.4]. 3"1 hour once again differed, but above the mean this time by six points
for the ﬁrst semester group. But, in the second semester group, 3'‘1 hour’s average was
equal to the mean. In addition, the largest variation was three points above the mean by
seventh hour for the second semester but the greatest deviation below the mean was
seventh hour for ﬁrst semester with 5 points below. Overall the quarter grades for second
semester are six percentage points higher but there unit test average was one point lower.
Adjusting to the ninth grade, the block schedule, and already having one semester of

science are possrhle reasons behind the higher average.

44

DISCUSSION

My primary goal in developing this unit on waves was to create a curriculum that
would engage students and help them learn. In my opinion, if students are interested and
keep engaged while doing science, then they are more likely to learn and want to learn.
There are some constraints that I cannot overcome no matter how much the curriculum is
altered. First and foremost, like most every teacher, there just is never enough time to
teach all the material that I need, let alone want, to teach.

The unit I designed does a nice job covering the required material However,
although it was my intention to do so, I was unable to implement the embedded
assessment style that would have beneﬁted more of the students. From the class
evaluations and the student opinion polls given at the end of the marking period, the
students stated that they liked all the labs but that they had difﬁculty understanding the
material when it came time for the quizzes and tests. Having fun doesn’t mean that they
are learning the material that the lab intended to teach. The laboratory exercises will
need to be revisited with some other forms of assessment during the activity to insure
more learning is taking place, possibly the embedded assessment that I described during
the introduction. The ﬁrst three activities will especially need to be changed in hopes of
eliminating, as much as possible, the misconceptions noted in Table 4 and in posttest
question #36 (Figure 6).

One example of the lack of connection between doing the lab experiment and
understanding the objective of the lab is the Paths of Light and Lines of Sight lab. It was

obvious looking at the student-generated graphs that the data ﬁom the 'reﬂect a view'

45

activity was more closely associated with the line of best ﬁt. Most students, through the
class discussion and through answers on their laboratory reports, stated that the real
distance was slightly larger than the depth distance instead of that they were equal. When
asked, “If you were standing two feet in ﬂoat of a mirror how far behind the mirror is
your reﬂection?” most students answered correctly, two feet. The activity and the post
lab discussion need to be revised to bring together their insight with their observations.
They knew the answer but when the data didn’t give exact results they discarded their
previous knowledge. The students didn’t seem to comprehend what is meant by
‘mathematical relationship’. Some students had real distances that differed ﬁ'om their
depth distances by tenths of a centimeter. If the numbers were 2.1 and 2.2, for example,
then the students didn’t see these as essentially equivalent and concluded that real
distance is not equal to depth distance. I suppose the students are thinking in terms of the
math only. The students need to estimate the uncertainty, or accuracy, of the
measurement. This same problem was seen when the students were doing their graphs.
If the points were not exactly along one straight line they ﬁgured they did the entire lab
wrong. Explaining a line of best ﬁt was confusing to some students.

One problem is that the opportunity to ask these questions and the time for their
spontaneous curiosity needs to be embedded into the class. Possibly setting aside a few
minutes each day, or a ‘curiosity comer’ might meet this need. However, if the students
don’t have questions there needs to be some activity that constructively utilizes this time.
For example, no matter how much planning one does, classroom instruction does not go
according to a perfectly set plan. A perfect example is my third hour class, second

semester. These students always ﬁnished their labs, quizzes, everything, at least ten

46

minutes before the other classes would ﬁnish. Third hour is even ten minutes shorter
than the classes that meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays. This group had the lowest
average on the posttest so I don’t believe that ﬁnishing early was because they acquired
the information more quickly than the other classes.

One factor that isn’t evident in the data is the makeup of the class. This third hour
class consisted of twenty students. Among these twenty were two students repeating the
class for the second time and three more repeating it for the third time. These ‘two- and
three- timers’ deﬁnitely had an impact on the dynamics of the class. The ‘trivia game’
was a way to try to spark some interest in science into the students who continually
avoided putting in any effort into their learning and to effectively use any extra time. All
ﬁve students that failed the course before did so because of the same reason: they
wouldn’t do their homework or lab reports, which was two-thirds of their grade. Grades
in the class are based on three things: tests and quizzes, homework and notebooks, and
laboratory experiments and activities. Each of these three areas is equally weighted for
one-third of the students’ grade.

As a result of teaching this unit I found that there are some techniques that need to
be implemented into the unit more often. One is concept mapping to help the students
organize their thoughts and to better structure their notes. Through all the conﬁrsion of
teaching in the math rooms and moving into our ‘new’ science wing I didn’t put the time
into teaching the students how to do and use concept maps effectively. I fell into the old
way of just writing notes on the board because it took less effort on my part. With the
new technology that is being integrated into our school, Power Point could be used for

outlines of the daily notes and then as the notes are discussed use concept mapping on the

47

board to help the students see the connections between topics as was my original
intention.

A second technique that one of my fellow teachers used as part of her tenure
evaluation was to have each quiz cumulative. In this way the students would be better
prepared for the big tests at the end of units and for their semester exams. This teacher
stated that her overall scores went up by twenty percent. I plan to implement this strategy
in the ﬁll in hopes that my students’ scores will also improve.

In addition, I would like to revise some of the currently used activities. For
example, the percentage of students who stated that ﬁequency, wavelength, and/or
amplitude aﬁ‘ect the speed of a wave on the posttest was too high [39.5%/23.7%]. After
seeing the large number of students that believed that frequency, wavelength, or
amplitude affected the wave’s speed, I tried to readjust the presentation of this particular
material in the beginning of the unit to include statements such as “Speed is not
Frequency” (Appendix F-III) in hopes or correcting this misconception. The data show
that the percentage of students with the misconception decreased in the 2"d semester
group. The data also suggest that the second semester group was more eﬂ‘ective in
providing the response that I was hoping to see. In addition, in the Rulers are Noise
Makers T 00! activity I plan to do a demonstration of oscillating masses connected by
strings in hopes of providing a visual to also help to clarify the speed and ﬁequency
issue.

The development of a few more authentic assessments incorporated into the
current activities could help to increase the quality of responses on posttest #3 7. Allowing

the students to apply their knowledge to everyday occurrences provides the opportunity

48

for the science to become more meaningful to them. The redesign of the unit from three
separate units to one integrated unit provided better transitions ﬁ'om one activity to the
next. The integration allowed more lab activities than in the previous structure, which
kept the students engaged in science. Since data between years is difﬁcult to compare
because of all the variables I am making these statements based on my own opinion. My
opinion is based upon the interactions that I observed in the classroom and my own
interactions with the students during S-block, during class, and conversations in the halls.
Overall, I am pleased with how the unit played out. The students did learn
science as is seen in the comparison of their pre- and posttest data. The majority of
students had a basic understanding of the materials at the conclusion of the unit as was
also seen in the test data. I would like the students to have a good, solid basis. With all
things in life there is always room for improvement. I plan to continue to update, modify,
alter, delete, or add each time I teach this unit. I am pleased with the new set up of the
curriculum compared to the former structure. I believe that the students were able to see
the connections between the concepts of light and sound easier in the modiﬁed structure.
However, the students I teach are constantly changing and evolving as the world around
them changes. The course needs to change and evolve with them. As a teacher it is my
duty, my job, and my desire to be the best that I can be which means the course that I

teach needs to be the best it can be.

49

APPENDICES

50

APPENDIX A-I

UNIT OBJECTIVES: WAVES

Recognize that waves transfer energy.

Distinguish between mechanical and electromagnetic wave.
Explain the relationship between particle motion and wave motion.
Distinguish between transverse and longitudinal waves.

Identify the parts of a wave.

Recognize what ﬁctors affect the speed of a wave.

Solve problems involving wave speed, frequency, and wavelength.
Solve problems involving wave speed, distance, and time.

Relate loudness and pitch to properties of sound waves.

Relate brightness and ﬁ'equency to properties of light (electromagnetic waves) waves.
Describe how waves behave.

Describe how waves reﬂect.

Explain why objects appear to be different colors.

Describe how waves are reﬁacted as they pass between mediums.
Describe how rainbows are formed.

Distinguish between constructive and destructive interference.
Describe the Doppler effect in terms of sound and light.

Describe how you are able to see.

Describe how you are able to hear.

Describe applications of sound and light in everyday life.
Determine the epicenter of an earthquake using seismic waves.
Describe the evidence of plate movement.

51

APPENDIX A-II

MEGOSE OBJECTIVES: WAVES

C15 «Design and conduct scientiﬁc investigations.

C18 «Recognize and explain the limitations of measurement devices.

C19 «Gather and synthesize information ﬁ'om books and other sources of
information.

C20 «Discuss topics in groups by being able to restate or summarize what others
have said, ask for clariﬁcation or elaboration, and take alternative perspectives.

C21 «Reconstruct previously learned knowledge.

R8 «Show how common themes of science, mathematics, and technology apply in
selected real world contexts.

R9 «Describe the beneﬁts and risks of new technologies or patterns of human
activity.

R10 «Recognize the contributions made in science by cultures and individuals or
diverse backgrounds.

R12 «Describe some general limitations of scientiﬁc knowledge.

R14 «Discuss the historical development of key concepts and principles.

PMO8 «Perform measurements and calculations to describe the speed and direction
of an object.

PWV12 «Relate characteristics of sounds that we hear to properties of sound waves.
PWV13 «Explain how sound recording and reproducing devices work.

PWV14 «Relate colors to wavelengths of light.

PWVIS «Explain how we see colors of objects.

PWV16 —Describe different types of waves and their technological applications.
PWV] 7 —Describe waves in terms of their properties (frequency, amplitude,
wavelength, wave velocity).

PWV18 —Describe the behavior of waves when they interact.

PWV19 —Relate changes in detected ﬁequency of a source to the motion of the source
and/or the detector.

PWV20 —Explain how energy is stored and transformed in vibrating and oscillating
objects.

52

APPENDIX A-III

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SEAHOLM BLOCK SCHEDULE
MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY
1ST T-BLOCK T-BLOCK
7:25-8:15 7:25-8:00 1ST 7:25-8:00 1ST
S-BLOCK 7:25-9:00 S-BLOCK 7:25-9:00
2"” 8:00-8:40 8:00-8:40
8:22-9:16
2ND 2ND
3RD 3RD 3“”
9:23-10:13 8:40-10:20 8:40-10:20
9:10-10:40 9:10-10:40
4111
10:20-11:10 4A class 4A class
10:30-12:10 5A class 10:30-12210 5A class
4A lunch 10:50-12:20 4A lunch 10:50-12z20
5A class 12:10-12z50 5A lunch 12:10-12:50 5A lunch
11:17-12:07 12:20-1 :00 12:20-1 :00
5 A hmch ................................ ................................
12:07_12:52 .. ........ ..................
........................ 4B lunch 4B lunch
5B lunch 10:30-11:10 SB lunch 10:30-11:10 5B lunch
11:10-11:55 4B class 10:50-1 1 :30 4B class ‘ 10:50-11:30
5B class 11:10-12:50 5B class ll:10-12:50 5B class
11:55-12:45 11:30-1:00 11:30-1:00
6th
12:52-1 :45 6th 6‘“
7‘” 7‘“
l :00-2:40 l :00-2:40
7‘" 1:10-2:40 1:10-2:40
1:50-2:40

 

 

 

 

 

53

 

APPENDIX A-IV

UNIT CALENDAR

WEEK 1:
Day 1 (50 minute class)
Pretest and student survey

Day 2 (90-100 minute class)
Frequency versus wavelength
Lab: Rulers are noise makers too!

Day 3 (90-100 minute class)

Lab: A Slinky, a slinky....

Drawing waves using record player
Lab: Amplifying sound

WEEK 2:

Day 4 (90-100 minute class)
Lab: Mach 1

v = d/t

Lab: What’s your Mach?

Day 5 (90-100 minute class)
v=ltf
Lab: Speed of sound in air

WEEK 3:

Day 6 (50 minute class)
Lab: Doppler Effect
Instrument building

Day 7 (90-100 minute class)
Quiz

Seismic waves
Instrument building

Day 8 (90-100 minute class)
Instrument building

WEEK 4:

Day 9 (50 minute class)
Present sound poems

54

Day 10 (90-100 minute class)
Media center-instrument building

Day 11 (90-100 minute class)
Quiz: v=d/t and FM
Lab: Paths of Light and Lines of Sight

WEEK 5:
Day 11 (50 minute class)

Graphing

Day 12 (90-100 minute class)
What’s your angle?

Reﬂection lab: Plane mirrors
Extra credit: Reﬂection challenge

Day 13 (90-100 minute class)
Curved mirrors

Reﬁ'action: So you say light bends?
Pemry in a cup

WEEK 6:
Day 14 (50 minute class)
Present Instrument Projects

Day 15 (90-100 minute class)
Lenses, convex and concave
Lab: Glass vial

Day 16 (90-100 minute class)
Quiz: reﬂection and reﬁ'action
Color- rainbows

WEEK 7:
Day 17 (90-100 minute class)
Interference: constructive and destructive

Day 18 (90-100 minute class)
UNIT TEST

WEEK 8:

Day 19 (50 minute class)

Vision: correcting nearsighted and ﬁrsightedness
Microscope Lab

Using Seismic waves- locating epicenter of an earthquake

55

APPENDIX B-I

Parental/Student Consent Form

Date: August 28, 2000

To: Parents/Guardians/ Students

From: Mrs. Brough-Gresh

RE: Collection of data for Master’s thesis

For the past four summers, I have been working on my master’s degree, at Michigan
State University, which focuses on the integration of the physical sciences. This past
summer I redesigned the waves section of the Universal Science and Technology A with
more laboratory exercises and more authentic applications of the content to every day
occurrences. This unit will be approximately eight weeks in length.

In order to evaluate the effectiveness of this unit, I will be collecting pre- and posttest,
self-evaluation at the beginning and also at the conclusion of the unit, journal entries,
inquiry and reﬂection questions ﬁom the laboratory exercises and student interviews.
Also some homework responses may be quoted. This work is required of all students.
With your permission, I would like to use data ﬁom the above mentioned for my master’s
thesis. At no time will any student’s name be used in, or connected to the thesis.

Please ﬁll out the bottom portion of this letter and return it to me by September 1, 2000.
I am asking to use your student’s data from the waves unit for my thesis. There is no
penalty for denying permission to use your data. Your decision will not affect your
student’s grade in any way. I want to indicate that a withdrawal in no way exempts the
student from doing the same work as everyone else; it just means that I will be unable to
use his/her data in my thesis. Your privacy will be protected to the maximum extent
allowable by law.

Thank you for your time. Please contact the Internal Review Board chairperson David E.
Wright (517) 355-2180 for questions about participants’ rights as human subjects for
research. If you ever have questions or concerns about your student or the class, please
contact me (203-3783), for we are a team in your child’s education.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Sandra Brough-Gresh

 

I give Mrs. Brough-Gresh my permission to use my data collected ﬁ'om the waves
unit. I understand that Mrs. Brough-Gresh will not use my name and that all student data
will remain conﬁdential.

I do not wish for Mrs. Brough-Gresh to use my data in her thesis. I understand
that I will not be penalized for choosing to withhold my results.

 

 

Student Name (printed)
Student Signature Date
Parent/Guardian Signature Date

 

57

APPENDIX B-II

STUDENT SURVEY- pre and post

Please rate your understanding for each of the following using the scale below.

0 0=Ihavenoideaatall

2 = I have a basic understanding of the objective.
3 = I have a good, solid understanding of the objective.
4 = I could teach it to the class.

1 = I have heard of it and think I might know something about it.

. Design and conduct scientiﬁc investigations. 0 1 2 3 4
. Recognize and explain the limitations of measurement devices. 0 1 2 3 4
. Show how common themes of science, mathematics, and
technology apply in selected real world contexts. 0 1 2 3 4
. Compare and contrast mechanical and electromagnetic waves. 0 1 2 3 4
. Explain how energy is stored and transformed in vrhrating
and oscillating objects. 0 1 2 3 4
. Describe how waves travel from place to place. 0 1 2 3 4
. Relate characteristics of sounds we hear to properties of sound waves. 0 1 2 3 4
. Explain how sound recording and reproducing devices work. 0 l 2 3 4
. Describe waves in terms of their properties (ﬁ'equency, amplitude,
wavelength, velocity). 0 1 2 3 4
10. Calculate the speed of a wave given the wavelength and frequency. 0 1 2 3 4
11. Relate colors to wavelengths of light. 0 1 2 3 4
12. Explain how we see colors of objects. 0 1 2 3 4
13. Describe different types of waves and their technological applications. 0 1 2 3 4
14. Descrrhe the behavior of waves when they interact. O 1 2 3 4
15. Relate changes in the detected frequency of a wave to the motion
of the source and/or the detector. 0 1 2 3 4

58

APPENDIX B-III

WAVES UNIT PRETEST

0 Please answer each of the following questions as completely as you are able.

What is a wave?

Wlmt types of waves exist?

What are the parts of a wave?
What affects the speed of a wave?
How do waves apply to life?
How do you see?

How do you hear?

SQE‘PP‘N?‘

0 Complete a concept map about waves using the following terms: electromagnetic
waves, mechanical waves, longitudinal waves, transverse waves, crest, trough,
amplitude, compression, rareﬁction, and wavelength.

0 Complete a Venn Diagram about sound and light.

59

APPENDIX B-IV

WAVES UNIT POSTTEST Name
Hour

 

Multiple Choice—Write the letter of the word or words that best completes the statement
or answers the question.

(1 point each)
1. Seismic waves are an example of _ waves.
a. light b. sound
c. mechanical d. electromagnetic
2. _ waves can NOT be polarized.
a. transverse b. light
c. longitudinal d. ultraviolet light

3. George is sending pulses down a rope at a rate of 2 per second. The distance
between pulses is 5 meters. What is the speed of the wave?

a. 2.5 m/s b. 10 m/s
c. 2 Hz d. 2.5 Hz
4. The frequency of a light wave determines _.
a. the color b. how bright it is
c. how ﬁst it is d. the size of the wave

5. The frequency of a sound wave determines _.
a. the pitch b. how loud it is
c. how ﬁst it is d. the size of the wave

6. A yellow shirt looks yellow because it _.
a. reﬂects red and green light
b. reﬂects yellow light and absorbs all others
c. absorbs red and green light
(1. absorbs yellow light and reﬂects all others

7. When light moves into a substance of greater density the light is _.

a. bent toward the normal b. bent away from the normal

c. reﬂects off the boundary d. changed into a virtual image
8. Sound waves _.

a. reﬂect b. refract

c. diffract d. all of the above

60

9. White light separates into different colors when it passes through a prism because
of _.
a. diﬁ‘erences in wave speed b. changes in amplitude
c. differences in wavelengths d. droplets in the air

_10. During a thunderstorm, you see lightning before you hear thunder because _.
a. the thunder occurs after the lightning
b. the thunder is ﬁrther away than the lightning
c. sound travels ﬁster than light
d. light travels ﬁster than sound

11. A train of waves is moving at a speed of 30 m/s. The frequency of the waves is
10 Hz. What is the

wavelength?
a. 300 m b. 30 m
c. 3 m d. 0.1 m
_12. The frequency of a sound is 500 Hz. A person begins running toward the sound.
The ﬁequency the person hears _.
a. stays the same b. increase
c. decrease d. stop

13. Sound travels ﬁstest in _.
a. air b. water
c. warm water d. glass

14. This type of electromagnetic waves has slightly longer wavelengths as compared

to red light.
a. yellow light b. ultraviolet light
c. infrared light d. green light

___15. Light can be modeled as _.
a. an electromagnetic wave
b. a stream of particles called photons
c. rays that can travel in a straight line
d. all of the above

16. A ﬂat mirror forms an image that is _.
a. virtual b. smaller than the object
c. real (1. larger than the object

17. Which of the following wavelengths of visible
light bends the most when passing through a prism?
a red b. yellow
c. green (1. violet

61

F ill-in-the-Blank- -Write the word or words in the blank provided to best completes the
following statements. (1 point each)

18. The greater the of a sound wave, the louder the sound.

19. The bending of waves as they pass from one medium to another is

 

20. The imaginary line perpendicular (90 degrees) to a surface where light hits a mirror is
called the .

21. The law of reﬂection states that the angle of incidence is equal to the angle of

 

 

 

 

22.The primary colors of light are , , and

23. When the energy of two waves adds together momentarily it is called
interference.

24. mirrors cause light rays to diverge.

 

TRUE/FALSE--Write a T in the blank if the statement is TRUE. If the statement is
FALSE, correct the underlined word and write it in the blank. (1 point each)

25. The energy of a wave depends on the a_n_rplitude of the wave.

 

26. As the ﬁequency of a wave increases, the wavelepgtir
increases.

 

27. A(n) electromagpetic wave consists of changing electric and
magnetic ﬁelds.

 

28. Reﬂection is the bouncing back of a wave as it meets a surface
or boundary.

29. According to the Doppler effect, light from a star moving
away from the Earth will have a higher frequency then light
from a star moving towards the Earth.

30. The area of a sound wave where the molecules are closest
together is called the reﬁ'action.

PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES

31. Measure the following angle to a tenth of a degree.
(1 point)

 

32. Measure the width 4—-> of this test paper. cm (1 point)

33. Draw a wave with twice the amplitude of the wave below but with the same

frequency. (1 point) /\
34. Answer the following using the diagram on the right. (3 points)
TA /1\
D‘L
B=ln1_ V V
C=
l- m—f—i

One wavelength = m

 

 

 

 

 

Amplitude = m

SHORT RESPONSE—Answer the following in complete sentences. (3 points each)

35. What is a wave? (What determines how and where a wave can travel?)

63

36. What affects the speed of a wave?

37. How do waves apply to life? (What are some applications of waves in everyday
life?——Be speciﬁc and explain.)

DIAGRAMS-
38. Conrplete a Venn Diagram about light and sound.

(4 points)

64

39. Complete the following concept map. (3 points)

(WA? >

Are either

 

 

 

 

 

 

which whrlch
and can 1either be
transverse
waves
in which in which
particles particles
vibrate vibrate

I.

O\
‘JI

APPENDIX C-I

Wave Album Project

A Waves Collection

Make a collection of 20 pictures of diﬂerent examples of waves.

Look through magazines, catalogs, and newspapers for examples.

You can use up to 3 original drawings.

Cut out examples for your collection, put each picture on a page and classify it
as either transverse or longitudinal and as mechanical or electromagnetic.
Mark the wavelength on your picture with a ruler and a pen if it is visible.
Be sure your collection is neat and in a folder or notebook.

Include a title page or cover.

The last page of your album is to be a written reﬂection and should include:
o A statement of how the waves are related to one another.

0 A diagram or chart categorizing the waves that need a medium to travel
and those which do not.

0 Your thoughts on this project.
0 DUB AT END OF MARKING PERIOD

*Adapted from “Glencoe Physical Science” (Performance Assessment),
McLaughlin/Thompson, 1999. p. 11.

66

APPENDIX C-II

Instrument Building 101

This is a group project. Group size will depend on the class size. Groups will be decided
on by the luck of the draw. You will be given one week of class to build and research.
One day will be designated as Media Center Day. Each day of class will contain a
“Science Commercial” for approximately 15-20 minutes to cover some miscellaneous
topics in waves. You also have S & T block time available to you. Projects will be

presented in class.

Requirements:
0 To design, build, and demonstrate an instrument. (5 points)
. 0 You must be able to alter the volume. (3 points)
0 You must be able to alter the ﬁ'equency using at least two different
methods. (4 points)
0 You must be creative. (4 points)
0 To describe how a sound recording or reproducing device works. (9 points)
0 Examples include but are not limited to:
I Tape recorders, medical ultrasound devices, hearing aids, laser
disk players, CD players.
0 Make sure to give credit to the source by which you acquired the
information.
0 To work as a team. (10 points)

0 You must involve everyone in the group.
I You have the freedom to do this as the group decides, but you must

have a journal to record your progress and individual duties.

Use your time wisely.

HINTS:
0 Keepitsmallsothatitcanbeeasilytransported,likeinashoebox.
0 Exchange phone numbers or e-mail so that your group members can contact each

other.
° Divide up the duties to save on time, i.e. secretary/typist, researcher, builder,

designer, presenter, poster maker, etc. . ..

67

APPENDIX D-I

Rulers are Noise Makers Too!
Mni Lab — Wavelength versus Frequency
Problem: How does the length of a vibrating object affect the ﬁequency of a sound?
Hypothesis:

Procedure:

1. Hold the ruler on the table with the rmjority of the ruler sticking out from the
table.

2. Flick the loose end of the ruler, observe the vibrations, and listen to the sound
produced. Record your observations.

3. Shorten the amount of ruler extending out ﬁom the table and repeat step 2.

4. Continue to adjust the length of the ruler while observing the vibrations and
listening to the sound produced. Record your observations.

Observations:

Analysis:
1 . What happens to the length of one vibration as the ruler shortens?

2. What happens to the sound produced as the ruler shortens?

3 . What is the relationship between the length of one vrhration and the sound

produced?

68

APPENDIX D-II

A slinky, a slinky, a wonderful observationaLdemonstrational toy
Goal: To observe the characteristics of transverse and longitudinal waves

Pre Lab: deﬁne transverse wave, longitudinal wave, amplitude, ﬁequency, and
wavelength

Procedure (Part A):
1. Using a slinky make a transverse wave.
2. Change the amplitude. Record your observations.
3. Increase the frequency. Observe the wavelength and record your observations.
4. Decrease the frequency. Observe the wavelength and record your observations.

Procedure (Part B):
5. Using a slinky make a longitudinal wave.
6. Change the amplitude. Record your observations.
7. Increase the frequency. Observe the wavelength and record your observations.
8. Decrease the ﬁequency. Observe the wavelength and record your observations.

Observations:

Analysis:
1. Which type of wave was easier to observe and why?
2. What part of the wave was affected by an increase in your energy input?
EXPLAIN.
3. Does a change in amplitude affect the wavelength? The frequency?
4. What happens to the ﬁequency of a wave when the wavelength decreases?
5. Does the speed of the wave change? EXPLAIN

Extension (Hypothesis):
0 Observeatransverse wavepulsemadeinaspringandaslinky
simultaneously. Why does the wave pulse in the spring travel much ﬁster
than in the slinky?

69

APPENDIX D-III

Amplifying Sound using Resonance

Pre lab/Post lab Questions:
1. How is sound produced?
2. What determines the frequency of a sound?
3. What part of the sound wave shows the volume?

Problem: How you can amplify the sound of a tuning fork?

Hypothesis: (Write your best educated guess to the problem, in other words, a good
answer to the question.)

Materials:
Tuning fork
Rubber mallet or tennis shoe sole

Procedure:
1. Strike the tuning fork with the rubber mallet or against the sole of your shoe.
2. Touch the base of the timing fork to objects around the room. Listen to the sound
from the tuning fork. Record your observations.
Observations: (Record any observations.)

Analysis: (Answer the questions in complete sentences.)
1. What do you notice about the sound ﬁ'om the tuning fork if you strike it harder?

2. What types of objects helped amplify the sound of the tuning fork in step 2?
Conclusion: (Your hypothesis is clearly stated. Describe what you can derive ﬁ'om your

observations and the support you have for this. Make connections to everyday life. List
any questions that you’ve encountered as a result of this laboratory exercise.)

70

APPENDIX D-IV

Mach l-Speed of Sound

Pre lab/Post lab Questions:
1. What is the speed ofsound?
2. What state of matter does sound travel ﬁstest in?

Problem: Whatisthespeedofsoundinair?
Hypothesis:

Materials:
2 boards

Stopwatch
Football ﬁeld (or any known distance)

Procedure:
1. Have one person on a goal line with two boards.
2. Have a second person stand on the opposite goal line with a st0pwatch.
3. Have the person with the boards hit them against each other and the person with
the stopwatch to start timing when they see the boards hit.
Stop timing when you hear the sound. Record.
Repeat two more times.
Calculatethespecdofthe soundusingv=d-z-t.
Calculate the average speed of sound for your class.
Record the average speed of sound for all classes.
Calculate the percent error for each class.

339°99‘SAP

HINT: The football ﬁeld is 100 yards ﬁ'om goal line to goal line. 1 yard = 0.9144 meters

Data Table: (Holds measured or observed data and is organized, neat, with labels and
units.)

Results Table: (Holds calculated values and is organized, neat, with labels and units.)
Analysis:

1. How do you account for your error? Is it acceptable?

2. What might change the speed of the sound on an hour to hour or day to day basis?
3. How would you calculate the speed of sound in water?

71

APPENDIX D-V

What’s your Mach?

Purpose: To calculate the speed of a person and to compare the person’s speed to the
speed of sound.

Procedure:

Mark off a known distance.

Time one person rimning that distance.
Repeat step 2 twice more.

Average the three trials.

Calculate the person’s average speed.

Analysis:
1. What is the ratio of the speed of sound to the person’s speed?
2. What is the ratio of the speed of light to the speed of sound?
3. EXTRA CREDIT POINT: What would this person’s Mach speed be?

P'PP‘NE"

Data Table:

Results:

Conclusion:

72

APPENDIX D-VI

The Doppler Effect
Problem: How and why does the sound of a moving object change as it passes you?
Hypothesis:

Materials:
Sound source (smoke detector beeper)

Procedure:
1. Gently toss the sound source around the room and note what happens to the
sound.

Analysis:
1. What lnppens to the sound you hear as it is moving away ﬁ'om you?
2. What happens to the sound you hear as it is moving towards you?

Extension:

If you watch the local weather forecast you may have noticed that they use
Doppler radar. Radar sweeps horizontally, giving information on the location, intensity,
and direction of a storm’s movement. Radar can also sweep vertically, giving
information on cloud height and the altitude at which snow and ice are melting. Doppler
radar uses microwaves as opposed to radio signals or somrd waves. (Remember sound
waves and radio waves are NOT the same thing.)

This is basically how it works. A Doppler radar signal is sent out, intercepted,
and returned to the station. The pitch and of course the wavelength is received different
than the original signal If the signal comes back with a higher ﬁ'equency, the object is
approaching. If the signal returns at a lower ﬁequency the object is moving away ﬁom
the station. The signals are analyzed to determine the location, movement, and speed of
the object. With Doppler radar the objects it locates are storms. The same principle is

applied when police monitor for speeding drivers. Doctors also use it to monitor blood
ﬂow during an ultrasound.

73

APPENDIX D-VII

Paths of Light and Lines of Sight
Real Distance versus Depth Distance

Background Info: Light is a form of energy that travels in a straight line. All waves

travel in a straight line until they meet some type of barrier. The waves could reﬂect,
reﬁ'act, or diﬂi'act. There are two basic categories of visible light: incident light and
reﬂected light.

Pre Lab:
0 Deﬁne: real distance, depth distance, dependent variable, independent variable

Problem: How ﬁr into a rrrirror is an object’s reﬂection?

Materials:
Mirror Red Reﬂect-A-View
Mirror brackets Pin in a cork or piece of clay
Ruler Scrap piece of paper (8% x 11)
Procedure:

1. Place your mirror on the table about 15 cm in hunt of you with the reﬂective side
ﬁcing you and the piece of paper up against the back of the mirror.

2. Place the pin in front of the mirror, about 10 cm away.

. Look in the mirror and mark with your pencil on the paper where you perceive the

image of the pin to be located.

Record your real and depth distance in a data table to a hundredth of a centimeter.

Repeat until you have completed four trials with different real distances.

Construct a line graph of your data. You must decide what are your dependent

and independent variables. Your graph must have a title, labels on the axis, units,

and a line of best ﬁt.

7. Repeat the entire lab but now use the Red Reﬂect-A-View.

DJ

9‘5”?

Observations:
Data Table:

Analysis:
1. What is the relationship between the real distance and the depth distance?
2. Did the mirror or the Reﬂect-A -View give you more accurate data? EXPLAIN
3. Should your line of best ﬁt go through the origin? WHY or WHY NOT?
4. Why don’t all the points lie on your line?

Conclusion:

74

APPENDIX D-VIII

Reﬂection Challenge
So how many are there?

Purpose: To test your understanding of science and math.

Materials:

Two Mirrors

Mirror brackets

Protractor

Pin in a cork or piece of clay

Procedure: -

Arrange two mirrors so that they are 180° to one another (side by side).

2. Place the pin between the mirrors. You should see two pins, the original
and one reﬂection.

3. Place the mirrors at 90° to each other and place the pin between the two
mirrors. Observe the number of pins seen. (Count the original and all the
complete reﬂections.)

4. Repeat placing the mirrors at 60°, 45°, 30° and parallel to one another.
Record the number of pins each time.

H
0

Data Table: (Construct a data table)

Analysis:
1. What is the mathematical relationship between the angle of the mirrors and the
number of pins?

75

APPENDIX D-IX

Refraction-Penny in a Cup

Pre lab/Post lab questions:
1. What affects the speed of waves?

2. What is the relationship between the angle of incidence and angle of refraction?
Problem: How does water bend light?
Hypothesis: (What is your best answer to the question?)

Materials:
Dixie cup

Penny
Water

Procedure:
1. Place a penny at the bottom of a short, opaque cup.
2. Slide the cup slowly away from you until you can no longer see the penny.
3. Without disturbing the penny, have your partner SLOWLY pour water into the
cup until you can see the penny.
4. Repeat the lab until all group members have observed the “movement” of the
penny.

Observations:

Analysis:
1. Did the penny itself actually move? Explain how you were able to see the penny
after the water was in the cup.

2. Sketch the light path ﬁom the penny to your eye before the water was added to
the cup.
3. Sketch the light path from the penny to your eye after the water was added.

Conclusion:

76

APPENDIX D-X

Glass Vial Lab- a convex lens experience

Pre lab/ Post lab questions:
1. What aﬂ‘ects the speed oflight?
2. What kinds of images are seen through convex lenses?

Problem: How does the location of a lens affect the observed image?
Hypothesis:

Materials:
Seabd glass vial ﬁlled with water
3 x 5 card with SULFUR DIOXIDE printed in red and bhre

Procedure:

1. PlacethevialonthecardandarrangethevialsoitisparallelwithSULFUR
DIOXIDE. Observe the words through the vial Record your observations.

2. Hold the tube 1 cm over the card, keeping it parallel to the words and record your
observations.

3. Repeat step 3, holding the tube at several other heights above the words and
record your observations.

4. Hold the vial perpendicular to the words and observe them through the vial and
record your observations.

Observations:

Analysis:
1. How do you explain the diﬂerent observations as the vial is lifted oﬂ‘ of the card?
2. Are the images seen at these heights real or virtual? '
3. What everyday object would give the same results as this little glass vial?
4. Why do the individual letters appear diﬂ’erently when the tube is parallel and
when it is perpendicular?

Conclusion: (Your hypothesis is clearly stated. Describe what you can derive ﬁom your
observations and the support you have for this. Make connections to everyday life.)

77

APPENDIX D-XI

Biology Connection-The Optics of Microscopes

Pre lab/Post lab questions:
1. What happens to light as it passes into a denser medium?
2. How are the reﬁacted rays from a convex and a concave lens different?

Purpose: Apply rules of convex and concave lenses to understand the physics of a
microscope.

Materials:
Microscope
Magazine cuttings

Procedure:

1. Cut out a lowercase ‘e’ ﬁ'om one of the magazine clippings.

2. Place the clipping on the stage of the microscope so that the ‘e’ is right side up.

3. Put the 10x objective into place and bring the image into focus. (Make sure to use
the course adjustment ﬁrst and then the ﬁne adjustment.)

4. Look at the image of the ‘e’. Compare the image of the ‘e’ to the actual ‘e’ on the
stage. Record your observations.

5. Repeat steps 2-4 with a capital ‘1’ and a ‘0’. Record your observations.

6. Using any clipping, move the object to your left while looking through the
microscope. Record your observations.

7. Move the clipping away ﬁ'om you (up) while looking through the microscope.
Record your observations.

Observations:

Analysis:

. How much larger is the image as compared to the object?

How does the image of ‘e’ appear as compared to the actual ‘e’ in step 4?

What happens when you put the ‘I’ under the scope? The ‘0’? Explain.

How do your observations from steps 6 & 7 relate to your observations from steps
4 & 5?

5. Does a microsc0pe have convex or concave lenses? Explain.

ewNH

Extension:
1. ,Place several diﬂ'erent clippings under the microscope.
2. Observe the colors that are seen through the scope as compared to the colors that
the naked eye can see ﬁ'om the clipping. Explain your observations.

Conclusion:

78

APPENDIX E-I

Drawing Waves

0 Draw a sound wave that has a wavelength of 6 cm and an amplitude of 1 cm.
(Remember sound waves are not transverse waves, even though we draw them as
such so that we can easily see their characteristics.) _T_h_is wave will be your
reference waye for Lach_stgp_be_;lc_>vl

 

1. Using your reference wave keep everything the same except increase the
amplitude.

o How would the sound ﬁ'om this wave compare to the sound that would be
produced from your reference wave?

2. Using your reference wave keep everything the same except this tirrre decrease the
wavelength.

0 What happened to the ﬁequency?

79

APPENDIX E-II

v d + t
velocity (speed) = distance + time
o The unit for distance is meters (in)
0 The unit for time is seconds (5)
o The unit for speed is therefore meters per second (m/s)

Make sure to show the formula, substitution, and units on your answer. *Remember the
speed of a wave is determined by how far the wave travels in a given amount of time.

1. Thunder is heard 2 seconds after the lightning bolt is seen 680 meters away. What is
the speed of the sound?

2. You see the batter strike the ball, but here the sound 1.4 seconds later. You are 476
meters away. How ﬁst is the sound?

3. Ifthe speed ofsound inairis 340 m/sandyouare 200 meters ﬁ'omthe starting line of
a race, how long after you see the smoke will you hear the sound of the starter’s pistol?

4. You are walking along and you see an accident. You hear the crash 1.2 seconds after
you see it. The speed of sound in air is 340 m/s. How ﬁr were you ﬁom the scene?

80

5. You decide to test the laws of science at “Echo Point”. The cliff wall is (0.5 km) 500
meters away. Knowing the speed of sound in air, how long does it take for your clever

utterance to return to you? How long did it take for your voice to get to the cliff wall in
the ﬁrst place?

6. The speed of sound in water is 1.5 kin/s (1500 m/s). A submarine sends out an active
sonar signal and hears the return ping in 0.04 seconds. How ﬁr away is the “obstacle”
from the submarine?

7. A charter boat uses a depth ﬁnder to locate reefs. If the beep takes 0.02 to reach the
reef, how deep is the reef? (Remember the speed of sound in water is 1500 m/s)

81

APPENDIX E-III

What’s your angle?

0 Measure the following angles to one place smaller than the last division. (With
most protractors that is the tenths place.)

 

82

APPENDIX E-IV

So you say that light “bends”?

Background Info: Refraction is the process by which waves change direction due to a
change in the wave’s speed. The change in speed is caused by a difference in density as
the wave travels ﬁom one medium to another.

0 Light slows down when it enters a substance of higher density.
0 Sound will speed up when it enters a denser substance.

Predict what the refracted ray would look like in each of the following and then test them
using the LIGHT BOX and the card with the narrow single slit and draw

PREDICTION ACTUAL

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

83

APPENDIX F-I

NOTES: Wavelength, frequency

Sound-
Produced by vibrating objects

Waves-
The energy ofa wave is seen in the amplitude
For sound the energy determines the volume
For light the energy determines the brightness
For earthquakes the energy determines the shaking

Wavelength-

Distance between two consecutive (corresponding) points on a wave
Symbol for wavelength is it (lambda)
Measured in meters (m)

Frequency-

Number of vibrations (waves) per second
Symbol for ﬁequency is f
Measured in Hertz (Hz)

Amplitude-

Shows the amount of the disturbance
Measured ﬁom the equih’brium to the crest or ﬁom the equilibrium to the trough

84

APPENDIX F-II

NOTES: Electromagnetic waves versus Mechanical waves

Waves-
Transmit energy through matter or space

-limited by where they can travel:

Mechanical waves: waves that are produced by Vihrating objects and can
only travel in matter

Ex: sound, water, seismic

Electromagnetic waves: waves that are produced by moving electrical
charges and can travel in matter or space

Ex: light, radio, x-rays, gamma rays, microwaves, ultraviolet light,
inﬁared
-described by how they travel

Longitudinal (compressional): particles in the wave move parallel to the
direction the energy is traveling

Ex: sound, primary (P) seismic waves

Transverse: particles in the wave move perpendicular to the direction the
energy is traveling

Ex: light, secondary (S) seismic waves

   
    

   

LIGHT . SOUND

     

Transverse wave Longitudinal wave

    
       

Electromagnetic wave Mechanical wave

85

APPENDIX F-III

NOTES: Speed

*The amplitude of a wave can change without changing the frequency or wavelength of a
wave.

The speed of a wave is determined by the density of the medium in which the wave is
traveling and the temperature of the medium
-Mechanical waves can travel the ﬁstest in denser matter (solids).
-Electromagnetic waves can travel the ﬁstest in the absence of matter (space).

SPEED IS NOT FREQUENCY
Speed is how ﬁst the wave travels ﬁ'om one place to another.
Frequency is how often waves (oscillations) occur.

Speed (velocity) equals Distance Traveled divided by Time
v = d / t
(m/S) (In) (8)

Speed (velocity) also equals wavelength times ﬁequency
v = 3. f
(In/S) (m) (HZ)

86

APPENDIX F-IV

NOTES: Range of perception

Speed of sound-
In air sound travels at 330 m/s or 760 mph or Mach 1
In water sound travels approximately 1500 m/s
In solids the speed of sound varies with the solid

Speed is equal to the distance the wave travels in the amount of time needed to cover that
distance.

v = d/t

Speed is measured in meters per second (m/s).

Distance is measured in meters (m).

Time is measured in seconds (8).

Range of perception
-Humans can only hear a limited range of frequencies (20-20 000 Hz)- audible
range
-Inﬁasounds are below (lower) then range for human hearing
-Ultrasounds are above (higher) the range of human hearing

These preﬁxes inﬁa- and ultra- have the same meaning when used with
light.
Visible light is the range of ﬁequencies that humans can see.
Infrared light is just below the range that humans can see and
ultraviolet is just above.

87

APPENDIX F -V

NOTES: Rainbows and color

Rainbows-

-Formed by light being reﬁacted as it passes through a more dense medium. As
visible light travels through a more dense medium it slows down, as it slows down the
wave bends. Each color in the visible spectrum has its own ﬁ'equency and wavelength.
The wavelength of the wave determines the angle at which the light bends, reﬁacts. As a
result, the colors (red, orange, yellow, green, biue, indigo, and violet = Roy G. Biv) all
bend at diﬂ‘erent angles and separate to form the visible spectrum. . . a rainbow.

Red light has the longest wavelength of the visible spectrum followed by orange,
yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet has the shortest wavelength. Therefore, red bends
the least and violet bends the most and you get a rainbow.

e White light is all colors.
9 Black light is the absence ofcolor.

I A red shirt appears red because it reﬂects red light and absorbs
everything else. You stay cooler wearing white clothing in the
summer because white reﬂects all colors of light and therefore
reﬂects the energy of those colors. Black clothing absorbs all
colors of light therefore absorbing more energy and you get
warmer because that energy is converted to heat.

\ Red
e
Yellow
Green
Blue
Indigo

Violet

 

White

 

88

APPENDIX F-VI

NOTES: Electromagnetic spectrum

Electromagnetic Spectrum

9 A speciﬁc range of ﬁ'equencies produced by moving electric charges that
induce magnetic ﬁelds. These waves are all classiﬁed as electromagnetic
waves.

0 EX: radio waves, microwaves, inﬁared light, visible light, ultraviolet light, x-
rays, and gamma rays

I -The term LIGHT is often used to mean all electromagnetic waves

and not just visible light
0 “Light” or electromagnetic waves all travel at the same
speed.
0 THE SPEED OF LIGHT = 3 x 108 m/s or 186,000
miles/sec

Visible light is in the 400 — 700 nm range
6 Microwaves, radio waves, and infrared light have wavelengths greater than
visible light.

I (REMEMBER-as wavelength increases ﬁequency decreases. That
means that microwaves, radio waves and inﬁ'ared light have
frequencies below or less than visible light)

0 Ultraviolet, x-rays, and gamma rays have wavelengths that are shorter than
visible light, and as a result have higher ﬁequencies than visible light.

89

APPENDIX F -VII

NOTES: Doppler Effect

Doppler Effect ,
-An apparent change in ﬁequency due to movement of the source or the observer.

-With sound this apparent change in frequency is heard as a change in
pitch

-W"1th light this apparent change in ﬁ'equency is seen as a change in color
or the classiﬁcation of light

As a source of sound approaches you the waves reach you closer and closer together
which you interpret as a shorter wavelength and a higher ﬁ'equency. The same thing
happens if you are approaching a stationary source of sound.

As the source moves away from you the waves reach you ﬁrther and farther apart which
you interpret as a longer wavelength and a lower frequency.

90

APPENDIX F-VIII

NOTES: Depth distance versus Real distance

The image seen inside a plane mirror is the same distance behind the mirror that the
object is in front a plane mirror.
REAL DISTANCE (do) = DEPTH DISTANCE (d:)
-The Real Distance ((1,) is the distance from the object to the
reﬂective surface of the mirror.
-The Depth Distance (di) is the distance the image is from the reﬂective surﬁce of the
mnror.

"This law also applies for curved mirrors however you must
remember that the real distance for an object changes as the curve
of the mirror changes. The depth distance changes as a result of
the real distance changing so the Depth Distance will continue to
be equal to the Real Distance.

 

 

 

 

[H0HH...B

O The solid arrow represents the object.

O The shaded arrow represents the image.
9 Solid lines represent paths of light.

0 Dotted lines represent lines of sight.

91

APPENDIX F-IX

NOTES: Law of Reflection

Reﬂection
o Occurs when energy hits a barrier or more dense medium and bounces off.

0 This energy always bounces 03 the barrier at an angle equal to the angle of
contact.
I The LAW OF REFLECTION: angle of incidence is equal to the
angle of reﬂection

o The angle of incidence (0i) is measured between the
incident ray and the normal

0 The angle of reﬂection (0,) is measured between the
reﬂected ray and the normal.

0 The normalisanimaginarylineat90°tothesurﬁceatthe
point where the energy hits the barrier. It is drawn as a
dotted line.

 

 

mirror

 

 

 

92

 

APPENDIX F-X

NOTES: Curved Mirrors

Concave Mirrors-
-Cause light rays to converge
-Objects outside the focal point appear upside down

Solid lines represent paths of light
Dotted lines represent lines of sight
Images appear where reﬂected rays cross
Solid arrows represent objects

Shaded arrows represent images

’f’ represents the focal point

 

 

Convex Mirrors-
-Cause light rays to diverge
-Objects appear smaller and right side up

 

 

 

93

APPENDIX F -XI

NOTES: Refraction

Refraction-
The bending of a wave due to a change in wave speed caused by the wave
traveling into a substance of different density
0 Sound will travel ﬁster when it travels into a substance of greater density.
0 Light will travel slower when it travels into a substance of greater density.

 

 

9:

 

 

 

The diagram above shows a light ray traveling ﬁ'om air into glass (or any medium more
dense than air). The light ray bends, or changes direction as it slows down when it
travels into the more dense glass. The angle of incidence is therefore greater than the
angle of refraction. If the wave had increased its speed, like when the light goes from the
glass back into air, the angle of refraction would be greater than the angle of incidence.

O The‘normal’isanimaginarylinedrawnat90°tothesurﬁcewherethelight
ray hits as adotted line.

9 The angle of incidence (0i) is measured between incident ray and the normal.

I The angle of reﬁaction (0,) is manned between the reﬁacted ray
and the normal.

94

APPENDIX F-XII

NOTES: Lenses

Convex Lenses-
-Cause light rays to converge
-Objects outside the focal point appear upside down

Solid lines represent paths of light

0 Dotted lines represent lines of

f sight
I 0 Images appear where reﬂected

f rays cross
Solid arrows represent the object
Shaded arrows represent images
’f’ represents the focal point

 

 

 

 

-Objects inside the focal point appear right side up and larger

 

 

 

 

 

 

Concave Lenses-
-Cause light rays to diverge
-Objects appear smaller and right side up

 

 

 

95

APPENDIX G-I

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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99

APPENDIX G-III

 

Totals for Pre-Survey ResLonse - Semester 1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

l I

Survey Question I I

#1 [#2 #3 I#4 #5 #6 #7 #8 #9 l#10 #11 #12 #13 #14 #15
MEAN= 2.1 1.6 2 0.9 1.1 1.4 1.1 1.1 0.9 0.6 1.1 1.6 0.8 0.7 0.6
MODE= 222101100001000
MEDIAN=222111111011110
[tinfO's= 2 8 4 28 26 12 23 30 34 47 29 17 35 36 40
[#orl's= 13 24 15 30 25 31 25 19 23 18 23 21 22 28 26
[#of2's= 38 32 35 13 17 21 20 18 13 7 17 19 15 10 10
[#oi3's= 1910185 712785 4414410
[#or4's= 414010010034010

Totals for Pre-Survey Response - Semester 2

Survley Question

ﬂﬂﬂﬂﬁﬂéﬁlﬂﬁﬂﬂﬂﬂﬁﬂﬂéﬂﬁ
MEAN= 1.7 1.5 1.9 0.7 1.0 1.3 0.9 1.2 08 0.5 1.1 1.5 0.7 0.6 0.5
MODE= 212001110011000
MEDIAN=212111111011100
#of0's= 10 14 5 33 27 12 25 17 31 44 22 11 36 39 44
I#ofl's= 16 25 18 30 26 36 33 33 29 24 29 30 25 26 23
Eof2'3= 38 19 33 9 17 20 13 20 10 5 20 22 11 6 6
[gor3's= 71415225233128110
[#of4’s= 323010111012011

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

100

 

 

APPENDIX G-IV

 

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102

APPENDIX G-V

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APPENDIX G-VI

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Totals for Post-survey ResLopses - Semester 1

Survey Question

ﬂﬂﬂﬁﬁﬁﬂﬂﬂﬂﬂﬂlmﬂﬂé
MEAN= 2.8 2.6 3.0 2.9 2.6 3.2 2.8 2.8 3.3 3.3 2.9 3.1 2.6 2.7 2.5
MODE= 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
MEDIAN= 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
#of0's= 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
|# of l's= 5 3 2 1 5 0 1 4 0 2 5 3 4 7 6
I#of2's= 13 31 17 22 24 11 23 19 10 8 16 10 26 17 29
[#ors's= 41 37 38 36 39 41 40 39 34 34 39 36 40 39 34
[#of4's= 14 5 19 17 6 24 12 14 32 32 16 27 6 12 5

Totals for Post-survey Responses - Semester 2

Survey Questilon

ﬂﬂﬁﬂﬁﬂﬂﬂﬁﬂﬁﬂﬂlﬁﬂﬂﬂé
MEAN = 2.5 2.5 2.7 3 2.3 2.7 2.5 2.9 3.1 3.1 2.5 2.7 2.5 2.7 2.1
MODE= 3 3 3. 3 2 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 2
MEDIAN= 3 3 3 3 2 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 2
#of0's= 5 5 2 1 3 l 2 1 1 1 1 l 1 2 3
#ofl's= 2 5 0 3 7 4 3 3 0 3 5 4 8 3 9
[# of 2's = 23 21 25 11 33 22 26 12 13 10 30 25 24 26 37
I# of 3's = 36 37 39 36 24 34 38 40 37 33 32 29 37 27 24
#of4's= 7 6 8 22 7 13 4 17 21 27 6 14 4 16 1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

105

 

APPENDIX G-VII

and Posttest Com - Semester 1
*76 Students in semester 1

Number of Percen of

Students With Students With
on the. Response on the.

COl'l'CCt

COCO

/disturbance/vibration

u—it—a
MN

2
2
0

N—INOCCU‘H

 

106

see
ater
waves/cell

tv

107

or
O

0
l
0
7
1
1
0
l

Nooomoqoo~c3§

W
45o

59.2%
0.0%
1.3%
0.0%
0.0%
9.2%
0.0%
2.6%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
2.6%
39.5%
5.3%

67.1%
14.5%
18.4%
3.9%
28.9%
2.6%
1.3%
3.9%
2.6%

39.5%
32.9%
31.6%
1.3%
5.3%
40.8%
17.1%
21.1%
5.3%
1.3%
3.9%
9.2%
61.8%
2.6%

 

APPENDIX G-VIII

and Posttest Com rison - Semester 2
*76 Students in semester 2

Number of Percen of
Students With Students With

on the. Response on the.

COITCCt
tro

/disturbance/vibration

3.9% 51.3%
7.9% 51.3%
10.5% 51.3%
14.5% 3.9%
6.6% 23.7%
1.3% 1.3%
2.6% 0.0%
3.9% 1.3%

 

108

see

waves/cell
ler
tv

sonar/ultrasound

I—I OI-i
Norse-AU,

och-IN

owooooqocooﬁ,’

H3

109

27.6%
61.8%
67.1%
5.3%
5.3%
31.6%
11.8%
21.1%
11.8%
1.3%
2.6%
3.9%
64.5%
21.1%

 

APPENDIX G-IX

 

Posttest Comparison - Semester 1 and Semester 2

I

I

 

(*76 Students in each group)

 

l

l

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

.P_re_ [11991 QUESTION Semester 1 Semester 2
#3 #34 Ident' the ans ofﬁa wave
all parts correct 49 64.5% 53 69.7%
crest/ trough 21 27.6% 22 28.9%
#1 #35 What is agave?
mechanical/electromagnetic 1 8 23 .7% 25 32.9%
matter/space 7 9.2% 27 35.5%
longitudinal/transverse 10 13.2% 13 17.1%
parallel/perpendicular 1 1 .3% 6 7.9%
energy/disturbance/vibration 43 56.6% 66 86.8%
moving/travels/transports 10 13.2% 53 69.7%
rays/signal 0 0.0% 0 0.0%
water 0 0.0% 0 0.0%
polarizers 2 2.6% 0 0.0%
#4 #36 What affects the speed of a wave?
density 44 57.9% 39 51.3%
matter/medium 23 30.3% 39 51.3%
temperature 8 10.5% 39 51.3%
force, energy, volume 7 9.2% 3 3.9%
ﬁ'equency, amplitude, wavelength 30 39.5% 18 23.7%
distance 3 3.9% l 1.3%
source 1 1.3% 0 0.0%
type 2 2.6% 1 1.3%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

110

see

waves/cell nes
ler
tv

 

111

PRETEST

#3: What are the parts ofa
wave?

Student A:
Crest, trough

Student B:
Dunno

Student C:
I have no idea.

Student D:
Don’t know

Student E:
?

Student F:
I dunno!

 

APPENDIX H-I

POSTTEST

#34: Identify the parts of the wave.

Student A:
All parts correct.

mm:
A, B, and C correct.

Student C:
B and C correct

Student D:
All parts correct

Student E:
A, B, and C correct.

Student F:
A and C correct.

/\\\/l\\7-

C
A = crest
B = amplitude
C = trough
D = equihhrium

112

PRETEST

#1: What is a
wave?

Student A:

W

Student B:
Not sure

Student C:
I have no idea.

Student D:
Don’t know.

Student E:
?

Student F:
A wave carries
a stream of

something.

 

APPENDIX H-II

POSTTEST

#35: What is a wave? (What determines how and where a wave can
travel?)

Student A:
A wave carries energy from one place to another. The kind and amount
of energy it transfers constitutes how and where it travels.

Student B:
A wave is particles of a medium vibrating.

Slum

A wave is a Vihration ﬁom an object. The frequency, the amplitude and
the wavelength determines how and where a wave can travel. All of
those that I have mentioned make up how loud how ﬁst and how long
you hear the sound.

Student D:

A wave transfers energy through a medium. The 2 ways of how waves
travel are longitudinal and transverse. A longitudinal wave travels
parallel to the motion of the wave. Transverse waves travel
perpendicular to the motion of the wave. The two ways we categorize
where a wave can travel is electromagnetic and mechanical waves.
Mechanical waves can only travel through matter, but electromagnetic
can travel through matter and space.

Student E:
A wave is energy going ﬁ'om one place to another. The things that
determine where the wave goes depends on weather and density.

Student F:

A wave can be many things. It can be sound, or light, transverse or
mechanical Some waves we can see such as a water wave and some we
can’t like a sound wave.

113

PRETEST

#4: What affects the
speed of a wave?

Student A:
Wind

Student B:
Don’t know

Student C:
Solid objects

Student D:
Don’t know

Student E:
The air around the wave,
and speed

Student F:
I dunno!

 

APPENDIX H-III

POSTTEST

#36: What affects the speed of a wave?

Student A:

The speed of the wave is aﬂ‘ected by the ﬁ'equency.
Frequency is how many times a wave travels past a certain
point each second, so if the ﬁequency is higher, the wave is
going ﬁster.

Student B:
The density affects the speed of a wave. The medium in
which the wave is traveling also affect the speed of a wave.

Student C:

The speed of a wave is affected by the substance a wave is in,
for example in water a wave can move ﬁster because it is
more dense and the denser it is its easier for a wave to move
in.

Student D:

According to the Kinetic Theory, temperature is one way that
eﬁ‘ects the speed of a wave, because when it is hotter the
particles are more spread and vice versa. Density is another
thing that affects the speed of a wave. With light waves, the
more dense a medium is the slower it goes. With sound
waves, the more dense a medium is the ﬁster the wave is.

W
Things that affects speed of a wave are weather. If its warm
it will go the ﬁstest. If its cold it won’t go as ﬁst.

Studept F:
How close or ﬁr apart the waves per second are and how
many vibrations.

114

PRETEST

#5: How do waves
apply to life?

Student A:
Helps you see, hear

Student B:
unknown

Student C:
I have no idea

Student D:

Radio waves are the
things we use that
bounce oﬁ‘ satellites in
space and bring us
television and radio.
Light waves give a
source of energy and heat
to use. Air waves can
affect the ﬂight of a
plane in the sky.

Student E:
talking

Student F:

It helps carry sounds,
colors

So we can live.

 

APPENDIX H-IV

POSTTEST

#37: How do waves apply to life? (What are some
applications of waves in everyday life? — Be speciﬁc and
explain.)

EMMA

To see and hear we need waves. What we see relys on light
waves reﬂecting oﬂ‘ something and coming back to your eye.
To hear, your ear picks up sound waves ﬁom around you.

Shim

Waves are around us and are used all the time. Every time
we speak we produce sound waves. When you break a bone
you get x-rays taken.

SLUACJIt—C:

Waves apply to life everyday by hearing any kind of sound.
For example the radio when you are on your way to work.
There are also light waves that you see every day like in a
classroom or at your ofﬁce even when you go outside in the
middle of the day when it’s sunny out.

Student D:

We use waves in many normal day things. For example, we
use waves in sonar to ﬁnd things under water. Sonar is when
sound waves are shot down into the ocean and when it hits an
object it bounces back up. We use light waves to do an x-ray
on someone. We use radiowaves to get our ﬁvorite radio
station. We use microwaves to beat our food. In order to
break up a kidney stone, we use waves.

Student E:

For example a radio. We use tlmt everyday. It receives
waves and puts out sound waves so we can hear the music or
news.

Marni

Without waves in everyday life we would not see any color.
All of the color we see is through waves. Waves makeup
practically everything. Its how we hear and see what we do.

115

APPENDIX H-V

Venn Diagram on Light and Sound

 

 

 

Students with Students with
response on the response on the
RESPONSE PRETEST (#9) POSTTEST (#3 8)
See and hear A C D E
Transverse and longitudinal D
Electromagnetic and mechanical A D
Perpendicular and parallel
Polarized D
Fastest in space and ﬁstest in solids E C D E
Amplitude: brightness and volume D
Frequency: color and pitch .
Reﬂect A D
Refract A D
Difﬁact A D
Doppler Eﬁ‘ect
Waves A A C D E
Energy D

 

 

116

BIBLIOGRAPHY

117

BIBLIOGRAPHY

General References
Arbor Scientiﬁc, Supply Company.

Dobson, K., Holman, R., and Roberts, M. Science Smctrum: A Physical Approach. New
York, NY: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 2001.

Hewitt, Suchocki, and Hewitt. Conceptual Physical Science. 2'“1 ed. Menlo Park, CA:
Addison Wesley Longman, Inc., 1999.

Michigan State Board of Education. Michigan Essential Goals and Objectives for
Science Education (K-12 ). 1991.

Simon & Schuster. Prentice Hall — Exploring Physical Science. 3rd ed. Upper Saddle
River, NJ: Prentice Hall, Inc., 1999.

Glencoe Physical Science. New York, NY: Glencoe
/McGraw-Hill 1999.

118

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Literature Cited

Aldridge, Bill. 1996. Scope, SeguenceLand Coord'mtion: A Framework for High School
Science Education: NSTA.

Bentley, D., and Mike Watts. 1992. Communicatig in School Science: The Falmer
Press.

Bransford, J., Brown, A., and Cooking, R. 1999. How People Leg: National Research
Council.

Brookhart, Susan. 1999, The Art and Science of Classroom Assessment: The Missing
Part of Ped_a,gogy, ERIC Clearinghouse.

Gallagher, James. 1999. Improving Science Teaching and Student Achievement Through
Embedded Assessment. MSTA Journal 44:3, 2-4.

Hartley, K, Fowler, D., and Mann, R. 1999. Probing Student Minds. The Science
Teacher 66:Oct., 36-38.

Hegarty-Hazel, Elizabeth. 1990. The Student Laboratog and the Science Curriculum:
London.

Lang, Mozell. 1999. Performance Assessment Tools. MSTA Journal 44:3, 65.

National Science Education Standards 1996. National Academy Press.

 

Peters, Tim. 1995. A Thematic Approach: Theory and Practice at the Aleknagik School.
Phi Delta Kappan 76:8, 633-636.

Postlethwaite, Keith. 1993. Differentiated Science Teachr_ng' : Open University Press.

Rosen, Leila. 1998. Through Aesthetic Realism Interest Wins, Cynicism Loses. The
English Record 49:1, 1-5.

Tapscott, D. 1998. Six truisms and corresponding ﬁlse conclusions. Growing up
Digital.Educom Review 33:1, 38-43.

Texley, Juliana and Ann Wild. 1998. NSTA Pathways: To the Science Standards:
NSTA.

 

White, Richard. 1988. Learning Science: Basil Blackwell Ltd.

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