Wave Motion Science Games

9 games

In this series of games, your students will learn that waves, which are regular patterns of motion, can be made in water by disturbing the surface. Wave Motion learning objective — based on NGSS and state standards — delivers improved student engagement and academic performance in your classroom, as demonstrated by research.

Scroll down for a preview of this learning objective’s games and the concepts.

Concepts Covered

Waves are regular patterns of motion. Waves can be produced by a disturbance in a medium. When waves transmit energy, they can cause matter to vibrate. Waves transmit energy from one location to another, but they do not transmit matter. There are different types of wave energy, including water waves, seismic waves, sound waves, and light waves.

Energy can be moved from place to place by sound. Sound is a form of energy that is produced and transmitted by vibrations in matter. Earthquakes cause seismic waves, which are waves of motion in Earth’s crust. Sound waves and seismic waves are compression (longitudinal) waves. When compression waves move through matter, the molecules move back and forth in the direction in which the wave moves.

Sound travels more quickly through solids because the molecules are closer together. Sound travels the slowest through gases because the molecules are farthest apart.

Musical instruments vibrate to produce sound. Some animals make and hear ranges of sound vibrations different from those that humans can
make and hear. Sound waves, water waves, and seismic waves are forms of mechanical energy. All mechanical waves require a medium through which to transmit energy. Mechanical waves cannot travel through a vacuum like outer space. Circular waves transmit outwards in all directions from their source. Plane waves travel as parallel lines moving in the same direction.

In total, there are nine games in this learning objective, including:

Sound Victory
Let’s Do the Wave
Wavebot
Waves Intro – Sound
Waves Intro – Water
Wave Interference – Slits
Wave Interference – Waves
Waves Intro – Light
Wave Interference – Interference

A further preview of each game is below.

You can access all of the games on Legends of Learning for free, forever, with a teacher account. A free teacher account also allows you to create playlists of games and assignments for students and track class progress. Sign up for free today!

Wave Interference - Waves Estimated Duration: 10 minutes Make waves with a dripping faucet, speaker, or laser. Adjust the frequency and amplitude, and observe the changes in the wave. Design experiments to measure wavelength and wave speed. Note: Students will automatically move through this simulation after 10 minutes of playtime.

Wave Interference - Interference Estimated Duration: 10 minutes Explore how a pair of wave sources create an interference pattern. Adjust the source frequency and separation, and determine how to change the interference pattern. Identify points of constructive and destructive interference by eye, and by using the detectors. Note: Students will automatically move through this simulation after 10 minutes of playtime.

Wave Interference - Slits Estimated Duration: 10 minutes Put up a barrier to see how the waves move through one or two slits, and discover the resulting interference pattern. Determine how to change the pattern by adjusting the slit width and separation. Predict the location of the interference maxima and minima, and verify your predictions. Note: Students will automatically move through this simulation after 10 minutes of playtime.

Wavebot Estimated Duration: 16 minutes Join Dr. Camila and Wavebot as they discover the effects of waves on their environment. Play through all 8 levels of this puzzle and compete for the high score!

Newton Pool Estimated Duration: 15 minutes The game consists of hand-crafted levels where the player controls a white ball. The goal of each level is to get the white ball to the end of the level in as few moves as possible, while racking up points by bumping golden balls into obstacles on the way! The game does not have any instructional math content, it simply has math review questions spread throughout.

Galaxy Escape Estimated Duration: 20 minutes 10 Bright Monsters have been captured in space and they need your help to cross the galaxy jumping between platforms, finding them, and releasing them by correctly answering each question. Each monster that you release and unlock will be available to play with in the next level, in the search for the next monster. In your journey, you’ll be able to find power-ups, like ‘Double points’ and ‘Slow down’, which can be activated by finding gems, and their duration can be extended by correctly answering a question. Unlock and release the 10 different monsters and a spaceship along 10 different levels, while you make the most possible points.

Waves Intro - Water Estimated Duration: 10 minutes Make waves with a dripping faucet, and observe the top-view or side-view of the wave. Adjust the frequency and amplitude, and observe the changes in the wave. Design experiments to measure wavelength and wave speed. Note: Students will automatically move through this simulation after 10 minutes of playtime.

Waves Intro - Sound Estimated Duration: 10 minutes Make sound waves with a speaker, and hear the tone it produces. Adjust the frequency and amplitude, and observe the changes in the wave. Design experiments to measure wavelength and wave speed. Note: Students will automatically move through this simulation after 10 minutes of playtime.

Waves Intro - Light Estimated Duration: 10 minutes Make light waves with a laser, and discover what determines the color of light. Adjust the frequency and amplitude, and observe the changes in the wave. Design experiments to measure wavelength and wave speed. Note: Students will automatically move through this simulation after 10 minutes of playtime.

Earthquake! Estimated Duration: 20 minutes How good are you at predictions? Can you figure out when—and how powerfully—an earthquake will hit Square City? Triangulation is the key!

Wave Motion Estimated Duration: 3 minutes Want to know a cool fact? I used to play the vibraphone in high school and college! Funny name right? It’s called a vibraphone because when you play it the keys vibrate! Why do they vibrate you may ask? Well let’s talk about that!

Wave Motion Science Games

Concepts Covered

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