9th grade Physics and Earth Science Final Project

Designing your own Wave Experiment Brainstorm

Now that we have covered the basics of waves, you must choose a topic of interest to delve into
deeper.
The main objective for this project is to demonstrate that you can employ the scientific method
from start to finish.
1. Check yourself!
What are the steps to the Scientific Method?
The scientific method has five steps.First you create a hypothesis. Second you do an
experiment. Third analyze your data. Fourth come up with a conclusion. Lastly communicate
your results.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Observations/ Background knowledge

Develop a TESTABLE question
Formulate HYPOTHESIS
Plan procedure
Collect data
Analyze & graph
Draw conclusions

What does it mean for a question to be testable?

It is a question that can be answered by doing an experiment .
It has to be able to be changed so the different effects can be observed.
1. Answerable
2. Specific
3. Has independent and dependent VARIABLE
Example:
Why is grass green?
-Does fertilizer1 make grass greener2?
-Does Nitrogen3 content affect its growth rate4?
1 Independent variable
2 Dependent variable
3 second Independent variable
4 second Dependent variable

Step one select a topic that interests you the most

Acoustics/How sound travels
Designing an Instrument/How sound is created
How different light forms of light are produced
Natural Phenomena involving light waves (rainbows and stuff)
Electromagnetism
The effect of electromagnetic waves on living things
Communication using electromagnetic waves
How colors are made by combining different pigments
Earthquakes
Resonance
Optics; Glasses, Microscopes, Telescopes
Fiber Optics Total Internal Reflection
Music Theory
Other ______________

Chapters in the Physics book you MUST use for reference

p374 Chapter 14 Vibrations and Waves
p402 Chapter 15 Sound
p430 Chapter 16 Fundamentals of Light
p456 Chapter 17 Reflection and Mirrors
p484 Chapter 18 Refraction and Lenses
p514 Chapter 19 Diffraction and Interference
p670 Chapter 25 Electromagnetic Induction
p696 Chapter 26 Electromagnetism

2. After doing some reading (or if you are already familiar with the topic) List three questions
demonstrating your curiosity and imagination.
does the shape of the glass affect the direction of the laser?

What is refraction and how can we better understand it?

How does light affect the view of objects through lenses?

3. Now work to refine one of your questions to be testable, answerable, and scientific.
How does the density of a liquid affect the way light bends around an pencil?

4. Lastly, plan with Brian's assistance what you materials you will need in order to answer your
question and the proper procedure for doing so. This may involve lab work that is already well
developed, you don't need to reinvent the wheel, but you should tailor it to your specific
question.
multiple unsharpened pencils.
beakers
water
rubbing alcohol
baby oil
dawn dish soap
corn syrup

Procedure:
1. Fill one

1st Test:
Liquid

Angle

Hits liquid
(cm)

Hits table
(cm)

Change X
(mm)

Depth
(mm)

Water

27

2.5

22

Baby oil

27

2.5

3.6

22

Isopropyl
Alcohol

27

4.1

11

22

Dawn dish
soap

27

2.9

4.1

12

22

Corn Syrup

27

3.3

4.3

10

22

Index of
Refraction

5. You will also need to make your own schedule and adhere to it as we move into PARCC
Testing week.