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Science lesson plan · 8th grade (Year 9 in England) · 60 minutes

Transverse and longitudinal waves

Light, sound and waves

CCSS NGSS.MS-PS4-1CCSS NGSS.HS-PS4-1England: KS3 Physics: WavesEngland: GCSE Combined Science: Waves

Objective and success criteria

Students will: Transverse and longitudinal waves.

  • I can answer questions on today's skill on my own, without help.
  • I can explain each step and say why it works.
  • I can check my answer and spot a mistake.

Before and after

Needs first: Parts of a wave; How sound travels through solids, liquids and gases

Leads to: Seismic waves as evidence for Earth's layers

Materials: Slinky or rope, Mirrors and torches, Mini whiteboards, A diagram or short video clip of the idea, Printed student sheet (below).

Warm-up · 6 min

  • Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Parts of a wave; How sound travels through solids, liquids and gases). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
  • Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.
  1. An alarm clock rings inside a jar. As the air is pumped out, the ringing gets quieter. Why? (The clock stops ringing / Sound needs particles to travel through, and there are fewer left / Glass absorbs all sound / Air makes sound quieter) → Sound needs particles to travel through, and there are fewer leftPrompt: Can sound travel through a vacuum?
  2. 8 waves pass a point in 2 seconds. What is the frequency, in hertz (Hz)? → 4 HzPrompt: Frequency is the number of waves per second.
  3. Why does sound travel faster in steel than in air? (Particles in solids are close together and strongly linked, so vibrations pass on quickly / Sound is magnetic / Steel is shiny / Air has no particles) → Particles in solids are close together and strongly linked, so vibrations pass on quicklyPrompt: Think about how close particles are.

Hook · 6 min

  • Ask the class to make a wave with a rope or slinky and describe what moves and what doesn't.
  • Share the objective: Transverse and longitudinal waves. Read the success criteria together.

I do: model it · 12 min

  • Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
  • Example: Is this a transverse or a longitudinal wave: seismic P waves?
  • Step 1: In longitudinal waves, vibrations are parallel to the direction the wave travels.
  • Step 2: So the answer is: longitudinal
  • Answer: longitudinal
  • Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.

We do: guided practice · 12 min

  • Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
  • Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.
  1. Is this a transverse or a longitudinal wave: a slinky pushed and pulled along its length? (transverse / longitudinal) → longitudinalPrompt: Compare the direction of vibration with the direction the wave travels.
  2. On a wave diagram, what is the wavelength? (the number of waves per second / the time for one wave / the distance from one point to the same point on the next wave, such as crest to crest / the height of a crest) → the distance from one point to the same point on the next wave, such as crest to crestPrompt: It is a length, measured in metres.

You do: independent practice · 17 min

  • Students work on the student sheet. Circulate and check the first two answers of every student early.
  • Students who finish: write a question of their own for a partner, with the answer.

The 8 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.

Exit ticket · 7 min

  • Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.
  1. Types of wave: which statement is NOT true? (Water particles travel across the ocean with the waves. / Sound waves are longitudinal. / All electromagnetic waves are transverse. / Seismic P waves are longitudinal and S waves are transverse.) → Water particles travel across the ocean with the waves.Prompt: Which kind of wave is light?
  2. Is this a transverse or a longitudinal wave: seismic S waves? (transverse / longitudinal) → transversePrompt: Compare the direction of vibration with the direction the wave travels.

Watch out for

  • Everyday meanings of words getting in the way of the science meaning: define key words explicitly.
  • Remembering facts without the reason: ask "why?" and "what is the evidence?"

Support and stretch

Support

  • Review first: Parts of a wave.
  • Use concrete materials: slinky or rope.
  • Give the first step of each question, or a partly worked example to finish.
  • Pair with a confident partner for the guided practice.

Stretch

  • Move on to: Seismic waves as evidence for Earth's layers.
  • Explain a common mistake in writing and how to fix it.
  • Write a word problem that uses today's skill, then solve a partner's.

Homework and more practice

Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/science/grade-8.

Free lesson plan from eurekami.com/lesson-plan-builder

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Transverse and longitudinal waves

Name

Date

Score/ 8

  1. Question 1

    A cork floats on a pond as ripples pass. What does the cork do?

    • A. moves along with the wave to the edge
    • B. spins in a circle quickly
    • C. bobs up and down but does not travel with the wave
    • D. sinks

  2. Question 2

    Types of wave: which statement is NOT true?

    • A. Sound waves are longitudinal.
    • B. Waves transfer energy without transferring matter.
    • C. All electromagnetic waves are transverse.
    • D. Light is a longitudinal wave.

  3. Question 3

    Is this a transverse or a longitudinal wave: seismic P waves?

    • A. transverse
    • B. longitudinal

  4. Question 4

    Is this a transverse or a longitudinal wave: sound?

    • A. transverse
    • B. longitudinal

  5. Question 5

    Is this a transverse or a longitudinal wave: seismic S waves?

    • A. transverse
    • B. longitudinal

  6. Question 6

    What are compressions and rarefactions?

    • A. two kinds of light
    • B. regions where particles are squashed together and spread apart in a longitudinal wave
    • C. the start and end of a wave
    • D. the peaks and troughs of a transverse wave

  7. Question 7

    Which kind of wave can travel through a vacuum?

    • A. seismic waves
    • B. electromagnetic waves such as light
    • C. sound waves
    • D. water waves

  8. Question 8

    On a wave diagram, what is the wavelength?

    • A. the distance from one point to the same point on the next wave, such as crest to crest
    • B. the height of a crest
    • C. the time for one wave
    • D. the number of waves per second

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Answer key: Transverse and longitudinal waves

  1. 1. C. bobs up and down but does not travel with the wave

  2. 2. D. Light is a longitudinal wave.

  3. 3. B. longitudinal

  4. 4. B. longitudinal

  5. 5. A. transverse

  6. 6. B. regions where particles are squashed together and spread apart in a longitudinal wave

  7. 7. B. electromagnetic waves such as light

  8. 8. A. the distance from one point to the same point on the next wave, such as crest to crest