Where are the Concepts Applied or Assessed?
Let's continue with the example of theme C Waves. There are too many applications, rather than too few, so teachers will need to consider what is a vital application and what is not within the suggested teaching time.
In relation to both lab work and motivating applications relevant to the lives of adolescent youth, sound waves fit the bill! Experimental work with resonant sound waves, from vibrating strings and excited pipes, can lead to interesting individual science projects (IA work) and makes connections with their world of music! The ubiquity of the smartphone with its microphone and software for analysis makes this a very rich area for practical investigation.
Similarly for electromagnetic waves, there are many accessible experiments with readily available laser pens (especially diffraction and interference) and/or ray boxes (especially refraction). There are endless avenues of application. A neat single area is a modern astronomy with its use of the entire electromagnetic spectrum from radio to gamma!
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