Eleventh graders look closely at how sound moves as a wave, and how its wavelength, frequency, and amplitude decide the pitch and loudness of what we hear.
Students will be able to…
A whisper and a scream, a tuba and a flute, all reach your ears as waves in the air. What is a sound wave, and how do its properties decide what you hear?
Project this and open each card to explore the properties of a sound wave, from wavelength and frequency to the medium it needs to travel.
Tap any phase to open the teacher moves and student actions.
Movies show loud explosions in space, but space is silent. Why?
Students explore each property of a sound wave.
Students predict how changes affect the sound.
Students sketch a wave for a given sound.
Students connect wave properties to hearing.
Aligned to the Next Generation Science Standards (Grade 11 / High School Science).
Use mathematical representations to support a claim regarding relationships among the frequency, wavelength, and speed of waves.
Communicate technical information about how some technologies use waves and their interactions with matter.
Use mathematical representations to describe a simple model for waves (amplitude, wavelength, frequency).
Use units as a way to understand problems and to guide the solution of multi-step wave problems.
Preview the three formative checks. Tap “Sample answer” to see what mastery looks like — hide them before you print for students.
Have students pick a high, loud sound, sketch the wave that would produce it, and label the frequency and amplitude to show why it sounds that way. A printable sound-waves worksheet is in the Science library.
Tap a card to flip it, then rate whether you knew it. Built from this lesson’s vocabulary.
A quick self-check with instant feedback, drawn from this lesson’s key terms.
A print-and-go review sheet with a built-in answer key. Tap “Show answer key” to reveal answers, or print the clean version for students.