🔬 4th Grade Science · Unit 3

Waves and Information

11 short narrated lessons in 2 chapters, each with pictures, a quiz with a hint and a second try, and an explanation for every answer.

Standards: 4-PS4-1 4-PS4-3 3-5-ETS1-2 3-5-ETS1-3

4th Grade Science · 7 units

What your child will learn

Making WavesDescribe a wave as a repeating up-and-down or back-and-forth pattern of motion.
How Tall Is a Wave? AmplitudeExplain that amplitude is the height of a wave and that bigger amplitude means more energy.
From Peak to Peak: WavelengthDescribe wavelength as the distance from one wave peak to the next.
The Bobbing Cork: Waves Carry EnergyUse a model to show that a wave moves energy while objects like a floating cork only bob in place.
Riding the Waves: A Review ReviewReview the parts of a wave and how waves carry energy without carrying objects along.

Secret Messages in PatternsExplain that patterns like drum beats, flashes or dots and dashes can carry information.
Dots and Dashes: Morse CodeDescribe how Morse code uses long and short signals to send letters over long distances.
Ones and Zeros: Digital InformationExplain that computers and phones send information as patterns of ones and zeros.
Which Message Works Best?Compare solutions for sending a coded message and test which one works best.
Codes and Signals: A Review ReviewReview how patterns and codes are used to send information and how to compare solutions.
Unit 3 Test: Waves and InformationShow what you learned in the whole unit (Waves, Sending information with patterns) by answering mixed questions.

From the lesson “Making Waves”

What is a wave?

Show the answer

A disturbance that travels in a repeating pattern. A wave is a disturbance that moves in a repeating pattern, like ripples spreading in a pond.

Hint kids see after a wrong try: “Think about the rings that spread across the pond.”

Narrated lessons, pictures and quizzes for every grade from K to 8. Works offline.