Ever wonder why a siren sounds different when it's coming toward you than when it's going away from you? It all depends on the motion of the sound waves! The interactive activity demonstrates how the Doppler effect impacts the motion of waves. As learners manipulate objects, the shape of the graph of the wave changes. Classes see the connection of motion to the wavelength and frequency of the wave.

Concepts

the doppler effect, electromagnetic waves, properties of waves, transverse waves, wave crests, wavelength

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Additional Tags

science

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Instructional Ideas

• Create a guided activity document for individuals to complete as they work through the activity
• Use as a guided class demonstration

Classroom Considerations

• Requires laptops with flash player capabilities

• This content requires Adobe Flash to view

Pros

• Provides questions for pupils to consider as they manipulate the interactive elements
• Includes background information explaining the Doppler effect

Cons

• None