Education Technology


Physical Science: Sound Waves

by Texas Instruments - Simulation Lesson

Objectives

  • Students will explore an animation of a sound wave in air.
  • Students will vary the frequency and intensity, or amplitude, of the wave and determine the relationship between the two.
  • Students will determine the amplitude and frequency of a sound wave from a graph.
  • Students will explore the relationship between the wavelength and frequency of sound wave as it relates to the wave's period.
  • Students will describe the relationship between the sound pressure (intensity) and the simulation of a compression wave.
  • Students will discover the relationship between intensity, pressure and amplitude.

Vocabulary

  • frequency
  • period
  • hertz
  • compression waves
  • wavelength
  • amplitude
  • decibels
  • pressure
  • longitudinal waves

About the Lesson

In this lesson, students will address the relationship between the points of high or low pressure in a sound wave as shown by the graphs and the points' repetition patterns as related to frequency.

As a result, students will:

  • Explore the simulation of a sound wave.
  • Discover the connection between frequency and pressure.
  • Calculate the period of a wave and determine the corresponding frequency and wavelength.
  • Explore the peaks and troughs of a wave and relate them to the amplitude of a wave.