This lesson introduces the concepts of wavelength and amplitude in transverse waves. In the associated activity, students will use ropes and their bodies to investigate different wavelengths and amplitudes.

This unit explores issues related to size and scale, specifically the effect of the size of nanopowders on the interactions of energy and matter (e.g., the absorption of light, addressing the electromagnetic spectrum and associated wavelengths). For example, old sunscreens use "large" zinc oxide particles, which block ultraviolet light but scatter visible light, giving the cream a white color. If nanopowders of zinc oxide are used instead, the cream is transparent, because the diameter of each nanoparticle is smaller than the wavelength of visible light. Upon completing this unit, students will understand: How the energies of different wavelengths of light interact differently with different kinds of matter; Why particle size can affect the optical properties of a material; That there may be health issues for nanosized particles that are undetermined at this time; That it is possible to engineer useful materials with an incomplete understanding of their properties; There are often multiple valid theoretical explanations for experimental data; to find out which one works best, additional experiments are required; How to apply their scientific knowledge to be an informed consumer of chemical products. Length: 5 lessons, up to 11 50-minute classroom periods if all lessons are used. Not all lessons are required. Use the lessons most appropriate for your students.

This site features Flash animations and a QuickTime movie that illustrate how waves and water molecules behave along the shore and in deep water settings. Animations depict the orbital motion of water molecules and show cross sections of waves at varying depths. These resources are suitable for use in lectures, labs, or other teaching activities.

Students find and calculate the angle that light is transmitted through a holographic diffraction grating using trigonometry. After finding this angle, student teams design and build their own spectrographs, researching and designing a ground- or space-based mission using their creation. At project end, teams present their findings to the class, as if they were making an engineering conference presentation. Student must have completed the associated Building a Fancy Spectrograph activity before attempting this activity. This activity is best completed over four 60-minutes sessions.

Students will perform the double-slit experiment in order to learn about the concept of wave - particle duality, the cornerstone principle of quantum mechanics. The demonstration of the experiment is based on advanced viasualization techniques. Students have the opportunity to learn about the wave-particle duality and understand the nature of elementary particles by carrying out the famous double slit experiment. Students get to explain phenomena that occur in everyday life by learning about the nature of light.

In this introduction to light energy, students learn about reflection and refraction as they learn that light travels in wave form. Through hands-on activities, they see how prisms, magnifying glasses and polarized lenses work. They also gain an understanding of the colors of the rainbow as the visible spectrum, each color corresponding to a different wavelength.

In a hands-on way, students explore light's properties of absorption, reflection, transmission and refraction through various experimental stations within the classroom. To understand absorption, reflection and transmission, they shine flashlights on a number of preselected objects. To understand refraction, students create indoor rainbows. An understanding of the fundamental properties of light is essential to designing an invisible laser security system.

Join Tarissa and Sabrina as they measure and compare the volume of different sounds across New York City in this video from DragonflyTV.

Learn how to make waves of all different shapes by adding up sines or cosines. Make waves in space and time and measure their wavelengths and periods. See how changing the amplitudes of different harmonics changes the waves. Compare different mathematical expressions for your waves.

In this interactive activity adapted from the University of Utah's ASPIRE Lab, investigate frequency in terms of trampoline jumps, pendulum swings, and electromagnetic waves.

For middle school to adult, an explanation of the relationships between frequency, wavelength, and pitch.

Through an introduction to the design of lighting systems and the electromagnetic spectrum, students learn about the concept of daylighting as well as two types of light bulbs (lamps) often used in energy-efficient lighting design.

See how light knocks electrons off a metal target, and recreate the experiment that spawned the field of quantum mechanics.

This 14-minute video lesson looks at amplitude, period, frequency and wavelength of periodic waves. [Physics playlist: Lesson 142 of 164].

Broadcast radio waves from KPhET. Wiggle the transmitter electron manually or have it oscillate automatically. Display the field as a curve or vectors. The strip chart shows the electron positions at the transmitter and at the receiver.

In this activity, students play the game Simon Says to make the amplitudes and wavelengths defined by the teacher. First they play alone, and then they play with a partner using a piece of rope.

This simulation lets you see sound waves. Adjust the frequency or volume and you can see and hear how the wave changes. Move the listener around and hear what she hears.

For middle school and up, a short course that explains acoustics (the physics of sound waves) as it relates to music and musical instruments. Suggestions for presenting some of the concepts to younger students are included.

The Sound and Light unit provides students with an understanding of sound and light waves through the theme of the "Sunken Treasure," a continuous story line throughout the lessons. In Lessons 1-5, students learn about sound, and in Lessons 6-10, they explore the concepts of light. The first lesson introduces the concepts of longitudinal and transverse waves. Students then move on to the concepts of wavelength and amplitude in transverse waves. In the third lesson, students learn about sound through the introduction of frequency and how it applies to musical sounds. Next, girls and boys learn all about echolocation what it is and how engineers use it to "see" things in the dark, or deep underwater. The last of the five sound lessons introduces acoustics, in which students learn how different materials reflect and absorb sound.