Wave Behaviour Vocabulary
Use technical vocabulary for wave behaviour — refraction, absorption, reflection, scattering, amplitude, frequency, wavelength, echo, spectrum, angle of incidence, angle of reflection — and apply these when explaining how light and sound travel and interact with different materials
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“Can your child explain why a straw looks bent in a glass of water using a proper science word — or tell you what's actually happening when you hear an echo?”
Full guide and materials
- Activity. Use technical vocabulary for wave behaviour — refraction, absorption, reflection, scattering, amplitude, frequency, wavelength, echo, spectrum, angle of incidence, angle of reflection — and apply these when explaining how light and sound travel and interact with different materials
What to notice. Use 'refraction' correctly to explain why a straw appears bent in a glass of water • Distinguish 'reflection' from 'refraction' using the correct definitions • Explain what an echo is using the vocabulary of sound reflection correctly
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Can your child explain why a straw looks bent in a glass of water using a proper science word — or tell you what's actually happening when you hear an echo?
Use technical vocabulary for wave behaviour — refraction, absorption, reflection, scattering, amplitude, frequency, wavelength, echo, spectrum, angle of incidence, angle of reflection — and apply these when explaining how light and sound travel and interact with different materials
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Check understanding
- Use 'refraction' correctly to explain why a straw appears bent in a glass of water
- Distinguish 'reflection' from 'refraction' using the correct definitions
- Explain what an echo is using the vocabulary of sound reflection correctly
“Can your child explain why a straw looks bent in a glass of water using a proper science word — or tell you what's actually happening when you hear an echo?”
Curriculum record
- Type
- Language
- Subject
- Science
- Domain
- Waves, Light & Sound
- Age range
- Ages 9–11