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Wave Forecasts at the Camp Rinse Bench

Compare wave height and spacing, model a new wave pattern, and use camping-trip test data to predict a floating cork's motion.

Grade 4ScienceInteractive · Printable

Aligned to4-PS4-1

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What’s included

Single worksheet
Auto-graded online
1 NGSS standard
Printable answer key
13 questions
Classroom-ready

Details

Format: Interactive · Printable
Grade: Grade 4
Subject: Science
Question types: Fill in the blank, Multiple choice, Circle the answer, Sorting, Short answer, Drawing

About this worksheet

What students practice

Students compare and draw wave models with different heights and crest spacing.
Students use observations to explain how waves can move a floating object.
Students predict a floating object's motion using wave models and test evidence.

How to use

Read the camp investigation together. Review the resting water level on the models, then have students make predictions and support them with test data.

Curriculum

NGSS standard covered

4-PS4-1

Model waves to describe patterns in their height and spacing and that waves can make objects move.

Preview

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Name Date

Wave Forecasts at the Camp Rinse Bench

Use wave models and test results to predict how a floating cork will move.

Read and Change a Wave Model

Read the investigation. Use the three side-view models to answer Questions 1–4.

A Camping-Trip Investigation

During a camping trip, Nia notices ripples in a rinse pan. The campers decide to investigate before washing their dishes. They set a clear pan on a level bench and add cool, clean water. An adult checks that the pan is steady. The campers use a small paddle to make waves at one end.

The team prepares three wave patterns: A, B, and C. The drawings below are simplified side views of those patterns. Straight lines stand for the curved water surface. The bottom numbers show distance across the pan, not time. The side numbers show height above the bottom of the pan. Each drawing covers the same distance and uses the same scale.

The resting water level is 3 centimeters in each model. A crest is a high point, and a trough is a low point. On this sheet, wave height means the distance from the resting level up to a crest. Crest spacing means the distance across the pan from one crest to the next crest. These two measurements describe different features of a wave.

For the float tests, the campers place a cork near the center of the pan. They change the wave pattern but keep the pan, water depth, cork, and starting position the same. They let the water settle before each test. A ruler beside the pan helps them measure the cork's greatest rise above its starting height. They also watch whether the cork travels across the pan. Their job is to predict what will happen, then check their ideas against observations.

Model A — Resting water level: 3 cm