Our wave unit is done, and as usual, I need to write a unit reflection.
I'm supposed to create bubbl.us mind map, which I'm not good at. I did my best, and I think that this one isn't as much of a failure as some of my previous attempts have been.
Our unit question was "How does the use and study of waves affect societal well-being?". Just like any other unit question, the question is very broad and difficult to answer in a short sentence. (I'm sure whoever thought of this question did that intentionally!) My answer is:
The use and study of waves affect societal well being in a variety of ways. The study of seismic waves can help scientists detect earthquakes before they happen and make sure that people who live in the area where the earthquake will hit evacuate before the earthquake. This affects societal well-being because it can prevent the death of millions of people. A similar use of the study of seismic waves is to detect tsunamis. The study of sound waves can also help engineers design and plan roads and buildings so that noise pollution is not a problem. For example, the engineers would need to know how sound bounces off surfaces so that they know what kind of sound barrier to put by a highway, and where to put it. The way that this affects societal well-being is that it can help prevent noise pollution, which is a problem in many large cities. An additional use for the study of waves is study of how gamma rays affect people's health. Scientists study that to learn whether the irradiation of food is safe or not. To conclude, the study of waves is very beneficial to society because it can eliminate problems and even save lives.
(Within my answer, I embedded some links to my related blog posts if you want more information about each topic.)
I had a couple more questions to answer:
What did you learn during the unit? (Looking at the picture you drew-how has your knowledge changed?)
For those of you who don't know, at the beginning of the unit our teacher, Mrs. M, put on music and told us to draw whatever we thought of related to waves. I scanned in my picture so you can see it. It's not very good, but then again, I'm not much of an artist.
What did you like?
I thought that devising my own lab involving waves was fun, because it allowed more creativity than a lab where I am told what to do and how to do it.
What would you change or add for next year's grade 7 students?
I think that it would have been fun to do a lab involving electromagnetic waves, but that might require special equipment to do. It could be something simple, like learning how WiFi works, and testing the range of the school's WiFi, and finding out what frequency it is on. (Hint: 2.4 gigahertz!)
I'm supposed to create bubbl.us mind map, which I'm not good at. I did my best, and I think that this one isn't as much of a failure as some of my previous attempts have been.
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| Click on the image to make it larger. |
The use and study of waves affect societal well being in a variety of ways. The study of seismic waves can help scientists detect earthquakes before they happen and make sure that people who live in the area where the earthquake will hit evacuate before the earthquake. This affects societal well-being because it can prevent the death of millions of people. A similar use of the study of seismic waves is to detect tsunamis. The study of sound waves can also help engineers design and plan roads and buildings so that noise pollution is not a problem. For example, the engineers would need to know how sound bounces off surfaces so that they know what kind of sound barrier to put by a highway, and where to put it. The way that this affects societal well-being is that it can help prevent noise pollution, which is a problem in many large cities. An additional use for the study of waves is study of how gamma rays affect people's health. Scientists study that to learn whether the irradiation of food is safe or not. To conclude, the study of waves is very beneficial to society because it can eliminate problems and even save lives.
(Within my answer, I embedded some links to my related blog posts if you want more information about each topic.)
I had a couple more questions to answer:
What did you learn during the unit? (Looking at the picture you drew-how has your knowledge changed?)
For those of you who don't know, at the beginning of the unit our teacher, Mrs. M, put on music and told us to draw whatever we thought of related to waves. I scanned in my picture so you can see it. It's not very good, but then again, I'm not much of an artist.
 |
| Again, click to make it larger. |
During this unit I learned many things. I learned about different types of waves, and which types require mediums. I learned how the Doppler effect works, and how X-Rays can see bones. One big thing that I learned is that studying waves actually helps the world and saves lives, and waves aren't just "some sort of science thing". In my drawing, I was thinking of waves only as a scientific part of our lives. I wasn't thinking of waves as earthquakes and food irradiation, both of which are things that can change lives for the better or the worse.
What did you like?
I thought that devising my own lab involving waves was fun, because it allowed more creativity than a lab where I am told what to do and how to do it.
What would you change or add for next year's grade 7 students?
I think that it would have been fun to do a lab involving electromagnetic waves, but that might require special equipment to do. It could be something simple, like learning how WiFi works, and testing the range of the school's WiFi, and finding out what frequency it is on. (Hint: 2.4 gigahertz!)
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