Wave Behavior and the Doppler Effect

A wave is a disturbance that moves through matter or space. Waves carry energy from one place to another. 

Remember from our wave machine demonstration, the wave was created by Ms. Z flicking or hitting the machine. 

BRAINSTORM: When you think of “wave behavior” what comes to mind? 

We’ll start with some scenarios of wave behavior here on Earth to help us make sense of wave behavior.

The first scenario is related to sound waves, which behave very similarly to light waves.

Listen to the sound of a siren from the video. 

What do you notice about the sound of the ambulance as it moves past you?

When we talk about waves and how they are interpreted, it is important to consider two things:

Source - the location in which light/sound waves are being emitted from.

Observer - The object receiving sound/light waves from the source

In the example of an ambulance driving by, the ambulance is the source of the sound waves. We are the observer.

Today, we are going to use a simulation to observe waves, their behavior, and the relationship between source and observer.