Water waves
I can explain how water waves consist of oscillations of water and describe how water waves can superpose and reflect.
Water waves
I can explain how water waves consist of oscillations of water and describe how water waves can superpose and reflect.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- As a water wave moves forward, each bit of water is moving up and down (oscillating), not forward.
- Water waves are transverse waves: the direction of oscillation is 90° to the direction of energy transfer.
- The amplitude of a water wave is the greatest distance water moves above and below the rest position.
- Waves that pass through each other can ‘add up’ or ‘cancel out’; this is called wave superposition.
- Water waves reflect from hard barriers, obeying the laws of reflection.
Common misconception
Water moves forwards with a water wave.
Show pupils animations depicting how transverse waves are created in water (and on ropes) by patterns of oscillation. Explicitly draw their attention to how the wave shape / wave pattern travels forwards without any material travelling forwards.
Keywords
Oscillation - back–and–forth movement
Transverse - describes a wave where the direction of oscillation is 90° to the direction of energy transfer
Amplitude - the greatest distance a material moves from the rest position when a wave passes through that material
Wave superposition - the process of waves ‘adding up’ or ‘cancelling out’ as they pass through each other
Wavefront - lines drawn to represent the positions of the peaks of a wave
Equipment
Teachers could consider using a ripple tank to demonstrate the reflection of water waves, to further enrich this lesson.
Licence
This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).
Video
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Starter quiz
6 Questions
line showing where two different types of material meet
arrow showing the direction of a wave after reflection
arrow showing the direction of the wave as it approaches a mirror
imaginary line at right angles to a mirror at the point a ray meets it
Exit quiz
6 Questions
rest position
peak
amplitude
trough
