Year 9 Science · Unit 4 · Lesson 1

What Are Waves?

Foundation Worksheet

Name

Date

Class

Learning Goals

Define a wave as a disturbance that transfers energy without transferring matter.
Distinguish between mechanical waves and electromagnetic waves.
Give at least two examples of each type of wave from everyday life.

Warm Up

Sort it!

Write each wave example from the pool into the correct category box below.

Sound Light Radio waves Seismic P-waves X-rays Water waves Microwaves Earthquake S-waves Visible light Sound in water

Mechanical waves

Electromagnetic waves

Your Turn

Fill the gap

Choose the correct word from the word bank to complete each sentence.

wave energy mechanical electromagnetic medium vacuum matter speed frequency

A is a disturbance that transfers from one place to another without transferring . Sound is a wave because it needs a , such as air or water, to travel through. Light is an wave and does not need any medium — it can travel through a .

Show What You Know

1. A student drops a pebble into a still pond. The ripples spread outward, but a floating leaf does not travel across the pond. What does this tell us about what waves transfer?

Recall 2 marks

2. Astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) can see Earth below them but cannot hear any sounds from the surface. Use the idea of mechanical vs electromagnetic waves to explain why.

Recall 2 marks

Wrap Up

In one sentence, what was the main idea of this lesson?