NOAA
Waves
Is it possible to outrun a tsunami? After watching a presentation that explains how waves and tsunamis occur, class members investigate the speed of tsunamis triggered by an earthquake.
Acoustical Society of America
Anatomy of a Wave
Pair physical science learners up, and have one describe a transverse wave while the other blindly attempts to draw it. Then reveal an actual diagram and explain the different parts of the wave: crest, trough, wavelength. Though most of...
Curated OER
2007 U.S. National Chemistry Olympiad Local Section Exam
Sixty multiple choice questions cover the entire gamut of chemistry concepts. This is the local section of the U.S. National Chemistry Olympiad, where your chemistry candidates take a shot at entering the national competition. They...
Science Matters
Finding the Epicenter
The epicenter is the point on the ground above the initial point of rupture. The 10th lesson in a series of 20 encourages scholars to learn to triangulate the epicenter of an earthquake based on the arrival times of p waves and s waves....
Curated OER
Earthquakes: Sixth Grade Lesson Plans and Activities
Young seismologists learn more about plate tectonics with a set of pre-lab, lab, and post-lab lessons plans on earthquakes. After exploring how waves travel through various materials, sixth graders record their observations and draw...
NASA
Gravitational Waves
Young scientists participate in a hands-on experiment to explore Einstein's theory of relativity in a creative manner. They investigate various waves and compare their characteristics as they discuss how each wave is created. Next,...
Teach Engineering
Earthquakes Living Lab: Finding Epicenters and Measuring Magnitudes
Pairs use an online simulation to determine the epicenter and magnitude of an earthquake. Using real data about the earthquake's maximum S wave amplitudes, they then determine the magnitude. The resource provides a great career...
Curated OER
Keep on Standing!!
Students construct an earthquake simulator and create building models to test. For this earthquake lesson, students use the Internet and a slinky to demonstrate P and S waves. They construct an earthquake simulator as a class and use it...
Curated OER
Earthquakes: Fourth Grade Lesson Plans and Activities
Examine earthquake intensities and ways to measure an earthquake through the comparison of the Mercalli and Richter scales. After completing the pre-lab worksheet, fourth graders compare high and low intensity quakes by testing the...
K5 Learning
Why Does the Ocean have Waves?
Six short answer questions challenge scholars to show what they know after reading an informational text that examines waves—what they are, what causes them, and how different Earth factors affect their size and strength.
Cornell University
Light Waves: Grades 9-12
Explore the behavior of light waves with a lab activity. Scholars build new vocabulary through experimentation and observation. Using different mediums, they model reflection, refraction, transmission, diffusion, and scattering of light.
Curated OER
Sound Waves
Using a karaoke machine, a guitar, and other devices, learners explore the way sound waves travel. Using this hands on approach, learners can get a better understanding of wavelength, frequency, and more.
Curated OER
Plumbing the Deep-Using Sound Waves to See
Students explore and learn about the concept of echolocation. In this echolocation lesson, students explore how animals and engineers use echolocation (seeing under water) and sound waves to look and hear things under the deep water.
Curated OER
Stressed Out!
Have your class engage in lessons on earthquakes. Learners explore the science behind earthquakes using interactive websites and video clips. Then, they review the layers and parts of the Earth before delving into the causes of...
Curated OER
The Oceans, Waves, Tides & Currents
Your introductory lesson to oceanography can be outlined with this apropos presentation. It touches on the physical features of the ocean floor, waves, tides, and currents. One small issue is that some of the graphics are not of the...
NASA
Catch a Gravitational Wave, Dude!
It is cowabunga time! Pupils read an article about the NASA LISA mission on gravitational waves and conduct additional research on them. The class participates in a science bowl type competition about gravitational waves. Panels of four...
K12 Reader
Waves & Currents
Challenge your young readers with a passage about physical science. After reading about sound waves and electric currents, kids answer five reading comprehension questions about what they have read.
The Science Spot
The Wave Exercise
During a lesson plan on wave motion, physical science participants basically act out the waves as a group. Through their movements, the amplitude, speed, frequency, and wavelength are all identified. Ideas for modeling the reflection and...
Curated OER
Earthquake Waves
In this earthquake waves worksheet, students are given the three types of waves and they match the type with their definition.
Curated OER
Seismic Waves
Learners identify the four types of seismic waves, their characteristics and effects. Then they predict the level of damage each wave might cause in a residential area and test their predictions against several computer animations. ...
Curated OER
Let's Do the Wave!
Students distinguish waves from matter, differentiate between transverse and longitudinal waves, use sine curves as representations of transverse waves, label characteristic properties of waves, diagram transverse waves having specific...
Curated OER
Finding Epicenters
In this earthquake worksheet, students use the seismographs from different locations to determine the epicenter for the earthquake. Students plot the epicenter on a map. This worksheet has 1 graphic organizer.
Curated OER
How Do You Light Up Your World?
A fabulous presentation on light is here for you. In it, learners view slides which cover many important concepts of light. They understand exactly what light is, what the main sources of light are, what opaque, transparent, and...
Exploratorium
Diffraction
Kindle knowledge of how light travels by using this activity in your physical science curriculum. By setting up a candle flame or flashlight bulb and viewing it through a slit, observers of light see evidence of its wave characteristic....