MS-PS4.A-2

Sound Wave Surfer

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Game Info for Teachers

COMBINED RATING

3.5 Stars

TEACHERS (2)

3.5

STUDENTS (0)

0.0

LENGTH

25 Minutes

GRADES

CAPABILITIES

Text-to-Speech Support

Saves Progress

Description

Sound Wave Surfer is a 2D educational puzzle/arcade game that targets NGSS standard MS-PS4-2: "A sound wave needs a medium through which it is transmitted." Students play the role of a trainee sound engineer, guiding sound pulses through various materials (air, water, steel, foam, and vacuum) while adjusting the wave frequency and amplitude.

Vocabulary Words

amplitude

frequency

sound wave

volume

pitch

peak

waveform diagram

medium

vacuum

mechanical wave

density

material efficiency

path continuity

structural routing

amplifiers

speaker

Instructions

Play through this interactive game to learn about Sound Waves. Suitable for Grade 6, Grade 7, Grade 8.

Main Concepts

Mechanical waves require a medium through which to travel.

Waves can be generated when energy is transferred from one medium to another.

Sound travels faster through denser materials.

Waves transmit energy, but never transmit matter.

Sound waves can refract when they transmit from one medium to another, causing them to change speed and direction.

Sound waves can interfere with each other constructively or destructively.

Sound waves can be absorbed when they transmit from one medium to another.

Sound waves travel out in all directions from their source.

When sound waves strike a barrier between two media, they reflect back and are perceived as an echo.

Sound intensity decreases with distance from source.

A wave is a disturbance that transfers energy from one place to another.

In a sound wave, higher frequency corresponds with higher pitch.

In a sound wave, greater amplitude corresponds to louder volume.

Sound waves can diffract and bend around a barrier between two media.

A sound wave is an example of a mechanical wave.

Kinetic energy exists in the form of sound energy when vibrations are transmitted as waves through materials.

Sound travels faster through materials with higher elasticity.

Discussion Questions

Before the Game

How is amplitude related to volume? How is frequency related to pitch? Which of these do you think is the most efficient medium through which sound can travel: air, water, steel, or foam? Why is a sound wave classified as a mechanical wave, and why can sound travel through a physical medium of varying density but cannot travel through a vacuum?

After the Game

What are two requirements for sound to move from one place to another? How does moving through a medium like foam affect the sound wave as it travels? How does the density of matter affect sound waves? After playing the game, rank each of these media from the most efficient to the least efficient for a sound signal to travel. If you were tasked with designing an audio system for a large concert hall using the principles learned in the game, how would you account for sound traveling through different structures to ensure clear sound reaches the audience?

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