Unit 4: Waves and Technology

HS-PS4-1: Use mathematical representations to support a claim regarding relationships among the frequency, wavelength, and speed of waves traveling in various media. . [Clarification Statement: Examples of data could include electromagnetic radiation traveling in a vacuum and glass, sound waves traveling through air and water, and seismic waves traveling through the Earth.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment is limited to algebraic relationships and describing those relationships qualitatively.]

HS-PS4-2: Evaluate questions about the advantages of using a digital transmission and storage of information. [Clarification Statement: Examples of advantages could include that digital information is stable because it can be stored reliably in computer memory, transferred easily, and copied and shared rapidly. Disadvantages could include issues of easy deletion, security, and theft.]

HS-PS4-4: Evaluate the validity and reliability of claims in published materials of the effects that different frequencies of electromagnetic radiation have when absorbed by matter.[Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on the idea that photons associated with different frequencies of light have different energies, and the damage to living tissue from electromagnetic radiation depends on the energy of the radiation. Examples of published materials could include trade books, magazines, web resources, videos, and other passages that may reflect bias.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment is limited to qualitative descriptions.]

HS-PS4-5: Communicate technical information about how some technological devices use the principles of wave behavior and wave interactions with matter to transmit and capture information and energy. * [Clarification Statement: Examples could include solar cells capturing light and converting it to electricity; medical imaging; and communications technology.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessments are limited to qualitative information. Assessments do not include band theory.]

Appendix E

This unit focuses on these Disciplinary Core Ideas

This unit focuses on these Disciplinary Core Ideas

• PS3.D: Energy in Chemical Processes

  • Solar cells are human-made devices that likewise capture the sun’s energy and produce electrical energy. (secondary)

• PS4.A: Wave Properties

  • The wavelength and frequency of a wave are related to one another by the speed of travel of the wave, which depends on the type of wave and the medium through which it is passing.

  • Information can be digitized (e.g., a picture stored as the values of an array of pixels); in this form, it can be stored reliably in computer memory and sent over long distances as a series of wave pulses.

• PS4.B: Electromagnetic Radiation

  • When light or longer wavelength electromagnetic radiation is absorbed in matter, it is generally converted into thermal energy (heat). Shorter wavelength electromagnetic radiation (ultraviolet, X-rays, gamma rays) can ionize atoms and cause damage to living cells.

  • Photoelectric materials emit electrons when they absorb light of a high-enough frequency

• PS4.C: Information Technologies and Instrumentation

  • Multiple technologies based on the understanding of waves and their interactions with matter are part of everyday experiences in the modern world (e.g., medical imaging, communications, scanners) and in scientific research. They are essential tools for producing, transmitting, and capturing signals and for storing and interpreting the information contained in them.

Appendix F

This unit focuses on these Science and Engineering Practices

• Asking Questions and Defining Problems Asking questions and defining problems in grades 9–12 builds from grades K–8 experiences and progresses to formulating, refining, and evaluating empirically testable questions and design problems using models and simulations.

  • Evaluate questions that challenge the premise(s) of an argument, the interpretation of a data set or the suitability of a design.

• Using Mathematics and Computational Thinking Mathematical and computational thinking at the 9-12 level builds on K-8 and progresses to using algebraic thinking and analysis; a range of linear and nonlinear functions including trigonometric functions, exponentials and logarithms; and computational tools for statistical analysis to analyze, represent and model data. Simple computational simulations are created and used based on mathematical models of basic assumptions.

  • Use mathematical representations of phenomena or design solutions to describe and/or support claims and/or explanations.

• Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information in 9–12 builds on K–8 and progresses to evaluating the validity and reliability of the claims, methods, and designs.

  • Evaluate the validity and reliability of multiple claims that appear in scientific and technical texts or media reports, verifying the data when possible.

  • Communicate technical information or ideas (e.g., about phenomena and/or the process of development and the design and performance of a proposed process or system) in multiple formats (including orally, graphically, textually, and mathematically).

Appendix G

This unit focuses on these Crosscutting Concepts

This unit focuses on these Crosscutting Concepts

• Cause and Effect

  • Empirical evidence is required to differentiate between cause and correlation and make claims about specific causes and effects.

  • Cause and effect relationships can be suggested and predicted for complex natural and human-designed systems by examining what is known about smaller scale mechanisms within the system.

  • Systems can be designed to cause a desired effect.

• Stability and Change

  • Systems can be designed for greater or lesser stability.

Appendix H

This unit focuses on these aspects of the Nature of Science (NOS)

• Influence of Engineering, Technology, and Science on Society and the Natural World

  • Modern civilization depends on major technological systems.

  • Engineers continuously modify these technological systems by applying scientific knowledge and engineering design practices to increase benefits while decreasing costs and risks.

• Interdependence of Science, Engineering, and Technology

  • Science and engineering complement each other in the cycle known as research and development (R&D)