• 6-8: 4F/M4. Vibrations in materials set up wavelike disturbances that spread away from the source. Sound and earthquake waves are examples. These and other waves move at different speeds in different materials.
• 6-8: 4F/M7. Wave behavior can be described in terms of how fast the disturbance spreads, and in terms of the distance between successive peaks of the disturbance (the wavelength).
• 9-12: 4F/H6ab. Waves can superpose on one another, bend around corners, reflect off surfaces, be absorbed by materials they enter, and change direction when entering a new material. All these effects vary with wavelength.

• 6-8: 11B/M1. Models are often used to think about processes that happen too slowly, too quickly, or on too small a scale to observe directly. They are also used for processes that are too vast, too complex, or too dangerous to study.
• 9-12: 11B/H5. The behavior of a physical model cannot ever be expected to represent the full-scale phenomenon with complete accuracy, not even in the limited set of characteristics being studied. The inappropriateness of a model may be related to differences between the model and what is being modeled.

Ripple tanks provide a powerful way to help students visualize wave behavior in general.  This set of 8 introductory labs allows students to become comfortable with ripple tanks by doing some simple experiments with pulses.  Appropriate for grades 6-12, with supervision.

• Physical Sciences K-8 How Waves Move and Interact: Reflection, Refraction, Interference Unit
• Physics First How Waves Move and Interact: Reflection, Refraction, Interference Unit
• Conceptual Physics How Waves Move and Interact: Reflection, Refraction, Interference Unit
• Algebra-Based Physics How Waves Move and Interact: Reflection, Refraction, Interference Unit
• AP/Calculus-Based Physics How Waves Move and Interact: Reflection, Refraction, Interference Unit