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Middle School

Waves and Their Applications in Technologies for Information Transfer

 

Students who demonstrate understanding can:

Performance Expectations
 

 

Develop and use a model to describe that waves are reflected, absorbed, or transmitted through various materials. MS-PS4-2

Clarification Statement and Assessment Boundary

Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on both light and mechanical waves. Examples of models could include drawings, simulations, and written descriptions.

Assessment Boundary: Assessment is limited to qualitative applications pertaining to light and mechanical waves.

Science and Engineering Practices

Developing and Using Models

Modeling in 6–8 builds on K–5 experiences and progresses to developing, using, and revising models to describe, test, and predict more abstract phenomena and design systems.

Develop a model to describe phenomena. (MS-PS4-2)

Disciplinary Core Ideas

PS4.A:  Wave Properties

A sound wave needs a medium through which it is transmitted. (MS-PS4-2)

PS4.B:  Electromagnetic Radiation

When light shines on an object, it is reflected, absorbed, or transmitted through the object, depending on the object’s material and the frequency (color) of the light. (MS-PS4-2)

The path that light travels can be traced as straight lines, except at surfaces between different transparent materials (e.g., air and water, air and glass) where the light path bends. (MS-PS4-2)

A wave model of light is useful for explaining brightness, color, and the frequency-dependent bending of light at a surface between media. (MS-PS4-2)

However, because light can travel through space, it cannot be a matter wave, like sound or water waves. (MS-PS4-2)

Crosscutting Concepts

Structure and Function

Structures can be designed to serve particular functions by taking into account properties of different materials, and how materials can be shaped and used. (MS-PS4-2)

Common Core State Standards Connections

ELA/Literacy
  • SL.8.5 - Integrate multimedia and visual displays into presentations to clarify information, strengthen claims and evidence, and add interest. (MS-PS4-2)