SCIENCE

Investigating Patterns and communication

Waves
Reader

Visible light Vision

Water waves
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Investigating
Waves
Reader
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 Investigating
Waves
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 Describing Water Waves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Chapter 2 Sound, Energy, and Change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Chapter 3 Light Waves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Chapter 4 Invisible Energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Chapter 5 Codes and Signals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Chapter 6 Using Signals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Describing Water Chapter

Waves
Look at the surface of the puddle of water.
1
In the picture on the left, it is as smooth
as glass. There is no motion in the water. Big Question
No visible changes are happening on its How does the energy
of water waves cause
surface. In the picture on the right, moving a change?
feet introduce energy of motion.

The boots contact the water, and energy

Vocabulary
is transferred from the boots to the water
and causes a change. What change does it wave, n. a
disturbance that
cause? It causes a disturbance in the water transfers energy
that we can see. A wave forms that moves through matter or
through space
out through the water in all directions.
Water waves move away from the place Word to Know
they start and transfer energy from one
A disturbance is
place to another in predictable patterns. an interruption of
stillness.
1
Energy from Wind Produces Waves in the Ocean

Imagine that you are in the middle of the ocean. What would you
expect to see? Water in the ocean is never still. The surface of the
water is always rippled with waves. Some of the waves are low and
gentle. Other waves become very tall and steep.

What causes ocean waves? The waves you can see on the ocean’s
surface are caused mostly by wind. Wind is moving air—it has
energy of motion. When the air moves across the surface of the
water, the wind pushes on the ocean, and energy transfers to
the water. As the air continues to move, more and more energy
is transferred to the water, sometimes creating giant waves! This
motion energy then moves through the water as waves.

As waves move through water, objects floating on the water’s

surface bob up and down. A surfer rises as the wave pushes the
board up. The surfer moves forward as the wave pushes the board
toward the shore.

Energy transfers through the water as the surfer floats on the surface. The movement of the
water causes the position of the surfer to change.
2
Waves Have Characteristics

A wave is not a random transfer of energy

Vocabulary
from place to place. Waves display regular
patterns. If you look carefully at a set crest, n. the
highest part of
of waves, you can see that they have a a wave
repeating structure. You can identify trough /trof/, n.
the lowest part of
different wave parts to describe a wave by a wave
its properties. Identifying and measuring wavelength, n. the
different characteristics of a wave is distance from one
crest to the next
especially helpful when scientists compare crest of a wave
different waves. wave height, n.
the vertical distance
Let’s look at a typical water wave from the from the top of the
side. Like most ocean waves, this wave was crest to the bottom
of the trough of a
started when wind pushed on the surface wave
of the ocean. The highest part of a wave is
called the crest. The lowest part of a wave is called the trough.
The length of a wave, from one crest to the next crest, is called a
wavelength. The distance from the top of the crest to the bottom
of the trough is called the wave height.

In this wave, energy is moving through the water from left to right, from in front
of the boat to behind it.
3
Waves Differ in Size and Speed

Different size waves have different properties. Crests can be high

or low. Troughs can be deep or shallow. Wavelengths can be long,
with a large distance from one crest to the next. Or wavelengths
can be short, with crests occurring more closely together.

Scientists and engineers use models of waves to help them

discuss different kinds of waves and the different kinds of change
that they can cause. Big water waves cause greater changes than
smaller waves. A wave with a high crest, a deep trough, and short
wavelength can toss a boat about for an unpleasant ride!

These two waves have the same wavelength These two waves have the same height
but different heights. but different wavelengths.

The speed of energy transfer through water varies as well. Several

crests may pass by a given location in a short time, meaning
the wave is moving quickly. Or fewer crests may pass by a given
location in the same amount of time, meaning the wave is moving
slowly. Look at the bottom wave pictured in each pair of images
on this page. In which of these waves do the crests occur more
frequently? How do you know?

4
Sound, Energy, Chapter

and Change
Place your fingertips gently against your
2
throat. Now say the word vibrate. You can
feel your vocal cords vibrate in your neck. Big Question
When something vibrates, it moves back What is the
relationship among
and forth quickly. Even if the vibrations vibration, sound,
cannot be seen, we can often hear evidence and energy?
that something is vibrating—sound!

When a vocal cord vibrates, it transfers Vocabulary

its motion energy to the surrounding air. vibrate, v. to move
back and forth
Then, the surrounding air vibrates, too. The
quickly
tiny, invisible particles that make up the air
vibration, n. the
bump into each other. They transfer motion motion of an object
or material that is
energy from air particle to air particle in
vibrating
a pattern. The energy of this vibrating
sound wave, n. a
pattern of motion moves through the air as transfer of energy
through a material
a sound wave. as it is disturbed by
vibrations

You cannot see air particles, but sound energy

makes them vibrate and bump into each other.
5
Sound Waves Must Move Through Matter

Air is not empty space. Air is a type of matter, a gas. Like all gases,
air is made up of tiny particles that are too small to be seen.
Because air is matter, a vibrating object can transfer its motion
energy through air as sound waves. Imagine a large bell ringing
far in the distance. A mallet or hammer may hit the bell, causing
it to vibrate. The matter in the air around the bell vibrates, and you
hear the bell!

Sound waves can

transfer energy
through liquid and
solid matter, as well
as through gas. In
fact, sound travels
very well through
water. For example,
whales make certain sounds in the ocean that other whales can
detect hundreds (maybe thousands) of miles away!

Sound also travels easily through solid matter. Tap a pencil gently
on your desk, and listen to the sound that reaches your ear through
the air. Then, place your ear
against the surface of the Word to Know
desk, and tap again. The Matter that sound energy passes
sound seems bigger and through is called a medium. Solids,
liquids, and gases are each a type
louder when you hear it
of medium.
through the solid desk.

6
Volume and Pitch Are Characteristics of Sound

Some sounds are very strong and loud.

Vocabulary
Other sounds are faint and quiet. Some
sounds, such as the song of a whale, volume, n. the way
humans perceive
travel far and can be heard over a very loudness from the
long distance. Other sounds, such as a intensity of a sound
wave
whisper, barely travel across a small room.
intensity, n.
The loudness of a sound is called volume. the measurable
Loudness is also called intensity and is strength or power
of a vibration
measured in decibels (dB).
pitch, n. the quality
The quality of whether a sound is high or of sound that is
described as high or
low is called pitch. We use words such as low and is related to
booming and deep to describe some pitches. a wave’s frequency

And we describe other pitches with words frequency, n. the

number of times a
such as squeaky and sharp. wave peaks over a
period of time
The sound quality of pitch is directly
related to the frequency of a sound wave.
Frequency is the number of times a sound wave crests over a
period of time. The greater the frequency, the higher the pitch.

Word to Know

Vary means to differ. When another. The loudness and pitch of

something varies, that means it your voice can vary depending on
is different from one example to how you vibrate your vocal cords.

7
Diagrams Model Characteristics of Waves

A diagram of a sound wave’s characteristics can suggest whether

a sound is loud or soft, or deep or sharp. Scientists call this type
of model a wave line, and it takes the form of a graph. Let’s look
at wave lines of two different sound waves, one that represents
a loud sound and another that shows a soft sound.

The wave with greater

height (the biggest
difference between the crest
and trough) models a louder
sound. The wave line with
the lower crest represents a
quieter sound. Of these two
wave lines, which represents
a louder sound?

Next, let’s look at a wave line of two other sound waves, one that
represents a high-pitched sound and one that represents a low-
pitched sound.

The wave line with less

frequency represents a
sound with a lower pitch.
The wave line with the
greater frequency is a sound
with a higher pitch.

8
Sound Waves Travel at Measurable Speeds

When someone speaks to you across a room, the sound seems

to reach your ears almost immediately as the words are spoken.
But it does take time for the vibrations to move through the air
from one place to another. Sound moves through air at a speed
of about 1,124 feet (343 meters) per second. That means a sound
wave can travel over three football fields in one second when
the conditions are right.

Air temperature affects the speed at which sound can travel

through air. The speed of sound is a little faster in hotter air and
a little slower in colder
air. Sound waves also
move more quickly
through liquid matter
than they do through
gas. And sound waves
move even more
quickly through solid
The Brooklyn Bridge is about a mile long from one end
matter than they do to the other. A car travelling thirty miles per hour could
cross that distance in two minutes. It takes a sound about
through liquids. five seconds to travel across the length of this bridge.

Think About Distance and Speed

Think about how fast you move Sound can travel one mile in five
in a car on a highway. If you drive seconds! In other words, sound
sixty miles per hour (mph), that is travels about twelve times faster
one mile per minute. A mile is than you do in a car on a highway.
equal to 5,280 feet.

9
Sound Energy Can Cause Changes

Remember that sound is a form of energy, and energy causes

change. Have you ever been in a room when an airplane passed
over, flying low enough to rattle the windows? Or during a storm,
you might have heard thunder that was such a loud BOOM that
you could feel it as well as hear it.

Sound at a particular pitch can shatter certain glasses. A sound

that can break a glass does not have to be extremely loud. The
sound’s pitch, when matched just right to the glass, causes the
glass to vibrate in a way that can make it break apart.

Sound and Medicine

People can develop a medical

condition known as kidney stones.
This is when your kidneys hold
calcium that turns into pebble-
sized deposits. It can be painful,
and it used to require surgery
to remove the stones. A way has
been developed that uses sound waves instead of surgery. The
sound waves go from the source into the body and break the
kidney stones into smaller pieces.

Word to Know

An object that vibrates and creates instruments all have parts that
a sound is called the source of the vibrate to be the source of sounds.
sound. Speakers, tuning forks, and

10
Animals Detect and Use Sound

Many living things detect sound energy. For what we call the
sense of hearing, in most cases, hairs inside or outside the animal
sense the sound vibration.

In humans, sound is
transferred from air to liquid
before we hear. The human
ear funnels sound to the
ear canal. The sound moves
the eardrum, which pushes
fluid inside the inner ear. This
makes the hairs inside the cochlea vibrate, and we hear sound.

A shark has two ways to hear. It has a hole just below

its eye that funnels sound to a structure inside its skull.
Inside there are hairs that sense vibration. A shark also
has small pores along the length of its body that have
hairs inside. These hairs also sense vibration.

A spider doesn’t have ears, but it can hear just fine.

Much like the pores on a shark’s body, a spider has hairs
on the outside of its body that vibrate to alert the spider
about prey and predators.
11
Sensitivity to Sound Varies

Dogs can hear sounds at pitches too high for people to hear.
Elephants can hear sounds at pitches way too low for people to
hear. Some animals detect sound in different ways, with very
different structures from eardrums. For example, many insects
have tiny hairlike structures on their antennae, legs, or wings that
enable them to feel vibrations in the air.

Animals that live in water can detect sound as well. Many aquatic
animals can detect sound over much longer distances than most
animals that live on land. Because sound waves travel at different
speeds through water and air, these animals have structures that
help them hear different pitches and intensities of sound that
humans may not be able to hear or understand.

The ability to detect sound is very important for many animals’

survival. The sense of sound may warn animals about the threat
of danger. Many kinds of animals that are nocturnal, or are most
active during the night, have highly sensitive senses of hearing.
Many animals produce sounds, too. Animals can make sounds to
warn others of a threat or to attract a mate.

The greater wax moth has

the greatest sound sensitivity
of any animal—better than
dogs or owls or bats that prey
on them. A dog’s hearing is
about four times better than a
human’s, but a moth’s sense of
hearing is about fifteen times
better.

12
Light Waves Chapter

What do you notice about the forest floor

3
in this picture? What is the difference
between the bright green areas and the Big Question
parts that appear to be darker green? The How does light
behave?
brighter parts are areas that are well lit by
sunlight. The darker parts provide evidence
that some of the light from the sun is Vocabulary
blocked by the trees. light, n. a form of
energy that can
transfer through
empty space and
can make things
visible

Light is a form of energy. Light provides evidence that energy is

transferred from one place to another. Like sound, light energy
moves in patterns that we call waves. However, unlike sound, light
does not have to transfer through a medium. Light can transfer
through empty space that contains no matter at all.
13
Light Waves Come from a Source

Stars, such as the sun, and objects such as

Vocabulary
light bulbs and glow sticks are examples
of things that emit their own light. Light light source, n. an
object that gives off
sources are objects that convert some other its own light
kind of energy to light energy. The sun
gives off light because of the reactions that occur within the star.
Light bulbs transform electrical energy to light using a filament
that glows brightly when electricity passes through it. Glow sticks
combine chemicals to give off light.

Fire is another light source. When a material burns, a chemical

reaction occurs that gives off light and heat. For many thousands
of years, people used only fire to shine light in dark spaces.
Eventually, engineers designed ways to convert electrical energy
to light, using reliable light bulbs.

Sunlight travels about 93 million miles (150 million kilometers) through

empty space as it transfers energy from the sun to Earth.
14
Light Travels Quickly

Light energy travels in patterns, called light

Vocabulary
waves. Light waves transfer outward in all
directions from a light source. Light waves light wave, n. an
energy disturbance
are also known as radiation. Light waves that transfers, or
radiates, light
radiate (travel in waves) at a speed of about
186,000 miles per second, or about 300,000
kilometers per second. That’s remarkably fast!

Think About the Speed of Light

Light could travel around Earth Earth’s average distance from the
at the equator 7.5 times in one sun is about 150 million kilometers.
second. (However, light waves travel
300,000 km = 150,000,000 km
in a straight line, so you would need
1 second ? seconds
a lot of mirrors to bounce that light
around Earth!) (The answer is 500 seconds.)

Think about the math. How much 60 seconds 500 seconds

=
time does it take for the sun’s light 1 minute 8 min 20 sec
to reach Earth?

How does the speed of light compare to the speed of sound?

Think back to the example about sound taking about five seconds
to travel across a one-mile-long bridge. In that same five seconds,
light could travel thirty-seven times the distance of Earth’s equator!

15
Light Interacts with Matter

Light sources emit their own light. Other objects may appear
bright to us, but they do not give off light themselves. These
objects reflect light from other sources. For example, the moon
does not emit its own light—it reflects light from the sun. Sunlight
bounces off the surface of the moon, making the moon appear
bright to us against a darker sky.

Light interacts with

matter in different
ways, depending on the
properties of the object.
Light energy can pass
through some objects,
but it reflects off others,
such as the moon.
The water and the vase are both transparent. The plant
Light passes through is opaque.

clear glass, but it cannot

pass through a wooden table. The wooden table casts a shadow
behind it, similar to the trees in the forest on page 13. Materials
such as glass that allow light to fully pass through them are called
transparent. Air is a transparent gas. You can
see right through it. Water is a transparent Vocabulary

liquid. Light passes right through clear reflect, v. to

bounce off of
water. And clear glass is a transparent solid.
transparency, n. a
Scientists and engineers use transparency property of matter
as a characteristic to describe how matter that allows light to
pass through it
interacts with light.

16
Some materials only allow some light to pass through them, but
not enough that we can see clearly what is on the other side. These
materials are called translucent. Translucent materials block some
light and produce slight shadows.

Stained-glass windows and the

tents are translucent. Neither the
tents nor the moon in this picture
are sources of light.

Still other materials allow no light to pass through them at all.

These materials are called opaque. Opaque materials, such as
wooden tables, block all light and cast sharper shadows than
translucent materials. Understanding the property of transparency
can help scientists develop solutions to problems such as keeping
sunlight out of a building while allowing people to see outside.
17
Properties of Light Waves Determine Color

What is the difference between a blue shirt and a yellow one?

Light waves occur with different frequencies. Different colors are
a result of the different frequencies of light. Materials can reflect
some frequencies of light but absorb other frequencies. The
frequencies of light that a material absorbs do not reflect.

The color of an object depends on the wavelength of the light

that is reflected and enters our eyes. So, what about your blue
shirt? It reflects blue light waves.

Vocabulary

absorb, v. to take something in each other through the sense of

and contain it sight (vision)
When light is absorbed, it is not
reflected.
For example, one of these squares
color, n. an aspect of light that is blue. The other square is yellow.
enables otherwise identical Color is the only way in which the
objects to be distinguished from two squares differ.
18
Properties of Light Waves Determine Brightness

Now, consider the brightness of different lights that you have

seen. The brightness of light is related to the amplitude (height) of
its waves. Light waves with greater amplitude have more energy
than light waves with less amplitude. Light with higher amplitude
is brighter, or more intense. Light with lower amplitude is dimmer,
or less intense. This is similar to sound waves. The sound waves
with greater amplitude are louder.

What can you conclude about these two light waves, which have the same wavelength but
different heights?

19
Light Can Be Changed and Cause Change
Light Can Be Changed

Matter can slow light waves down. Passing through different kinds of
matter, from one medium to another, slows light waves and causes
them to change direction. Light also bends at the corners of barriers.
If you know what to look for, you can see evidence of these properties.

Passing through the air and then water slows light Light passing through a
down very slightly. This changes where the lemon is prism at a certain angle
seen through the liquid. Predict what happens when separates the wavelengths
you move the glass. The lemon doesn’t change. The of light into its different
light reflecting off of it does! visible colors.

Light Can Cause Change

Remember that light is a form of energy and that energy causes

change. Like all forms of energy, light can cause changes in the
materials that it contacts. Sunlight on your bare skin can cause a
change—ouch!

Light also causes changes in solar panels and in living plants. The
changes convert the light waves to different forms of energy. Light
transforms to electrical energy in solar panels. It transforms to
chemical energy in plants.
20
Living Things Can Sense Light

Living things detect light waves in various ways. Light makes

the sense of vision possible. Eyes are organs that many kinds of
animals have that detect light.

How does the human eye work? Light waves enter the eye and
cause changes that help the brain sense light waves. Our eyes
have special structures that transform light energy to the electrical
energy of nerves. These nerves send signals to the brain. The brain
decodes those messages and translates them into the images we
perceive as sight.

Light waves enter the eye. A nerve in the eye translates the light to an electrical signal that
travels to the brain.

21
Almost all animals have eyes of some type, and many see better
than humans. Many insects can sense light waves at wavelengths
that humans cannot see. Many birds and mammals can see such
dim light with very low intensity that humans would perceive it as
total darkness.

This fly has compound eyes. Its eyes are Owls’ eyes, when compared to a human’s,
made of many more parts than a human’s are much larger in proportion to their
eyes, and it can see light at more wavelengths. heads. Owls can see much better than
people can in low light.

Plants also sense light. They need light to survive. Plants sense the
direction of the source of light. Plants can change the direction
that their leaves face so they can increase the amount of light they
are able to absorb.

All the sunflowers in this field

are facing the sun. As the sun
moves across the sky, the
flower heads will turn to keep
following the source of light.

22
Invisible Energy Chapter

You know that different colors have

4
different frequencies. The color of an object
is the reflection of the wavelength for that Big Question
color. All other colors in the wavelength are What are some
different kinds of
absorbed by the object. All the colors and light waves?
all the wavelengths of light that humans
can see are called visible light.

When you go outdoors on a sunny day,

you need to wear sunscreen to keep
your skin from burning. What kind of
invisible energy can burn your skin
from a distance? Ultraviolet energy
waves have a shorter wavelength than
visible violet light. What are the other
wavelengths that we don’t see? Keep
reading to learn more.

Ultraviolet light waves can

cause sunburn.
23
Infrared and Ultraviolet Light

Some light has wavelengths

that are longer than visible
red light. This light is called
infrared light. We can’t see
infrared light, but special
cameras can detect it.
Infrared cameras allow us
to see warmer and cooler
objects in pictures. Infrared
light is also used in most
What things in this picture look hottest? Which
television remote controls. look coldest?
A beam of infrared light goes
from the remote to the TV, and changes occur when the energy
hits the TV. Infrared light is the kind of light that heats matter.

Some waves of light have wavelengths that are shorter than visible
violet light. This light is called ultraviolet light. Ultraviolet light
from the sun is what causes sunburns. You can get a sunburn from
ultraviolet light waves even on cold or cloudy days.

All these wavelengths, including visible light, are examples of

light energy, also called electromagnetic energy. Keep in mind
that all these wavelengths are light energy. Remember that
energy causes changes. All of these forms of light are capable
of causing changes.

24
Invisible Energy

Radio waves have the longest wavelengths and the

lowest energy. Radio waves can carry signals over
long distances, so they are used for communication.

Microwaves have wavelengths longer than infrared

light. Microwaves are used in kitchen appliances
that quickly heat food.

X-rays have wavelengths longer than gamma rays

but shorter than ultraviolet light. X-rays can be used
to take medical images, such as these pictures of
leg bones.

Gamma rays have the shortest wavelength.

These rays have a lot of energy. They are used
in radiation therapy to help kill certain cells that
occur in some types of cancer.
25
Electromagnetic Radiation Can Be Helpful and Harmful

Many engineering designs use

electromagnetic energy to solve
problems. Here are a few more
handy devices that work using
energy waves.
A smartphone with GPS capability is in
Cell phones and wireless internet ongoing contact via electromagnetic
routers (Wi-Fi) use radio waves. waves with a network of satellites
orbiting Earth.
Bluetooth® uses radio waves to connect
electronic devices without wires. Two-way radio communications can
be very powerful. Radio devices can communicate to and from ships at
sea, airplanes in flight, and spacecraft.

Radio waves are also used in radar technology for tracking objects and
forecasting weather. Microwaves are used in the network of satellites
and devices that make up the Global Positioning System (GPS).

Though electromagnetic energy can be very useful, some forms

of radiation can also be harmful. You already know about sunburn.
Too much exposure to X-rays can cause some types of cancer.

Certain materials that are called radioactive give

off radiation. Some radiation may be in the form
of gamma rays. Because of their high energy,
gamma rays can be deadly to living things.
This radiation can damage living tissue.
Therefore, radioactive materials must be
contained and handled very carefully This hazard symbol is displayed
on materials that pose a risk of
if they are used for technology. exposure to harmful radiation.

26
Codes and Signals Chapter

People communicate with each other in

5
many ways. If you smile at a friend, the
friend knows that you are happy. Your smile Big Question
sends a message that tells how you feel. What is a code?
If you nod, your friend knows that you
mean “yes.” If you shake your head from
Word to Know
side to side, you communicate the message
“no.” If you wave your hand as you leave, A gesture is a
movement of a
your friend understands that it means
part of the body to
“goodbye.” communicate an
idea or emotion.
Smiling, nodding, headshaking, and waving Most gestures are
are gestures. These are ways that people made with your
communicate when they are together. hands or your head.

What is the role of light waves

in this kind of communication?

Look at the photo. What emotion or idea

is she trying to communicate? How can
you tell?
27
Symbols Are Ways of Communicating

People communicate with gestures. In what other ways do you

communicate when you are with others? One way is to speak.
You use your voice to make sounds that you and your listener
understand as words. The words combine to form messages. The
messages contain the ideas you want to share with others. What is
the role of sound waves in this kind of communication?

Gestures and speech are ways of communicating, but there are

others. You don’t even have to be close to communicate. Humans
have many ways to send information to others who are far away.
The most familiar way you might know to do this is to use written
words in a letter, an e-mail, or a text message.

The written word uses symbols. The alphabet

Vocabulary
is a set of letters we use for written languages.
Each letter in the alphabet is a symbol. A symbol, n. a visual
object or mark
symbol is a visible object or mark that stands that stands for
for something else. Symbols represent ideas. something else

Letters are symbols that form words. We can

combine letters and words in different ways to record an endless
number of ideas.

We can then send those symbols

to different places or publish them
in books or magazines. We can
draw them on cave walls or on
paper. Because of written symbols,
people can communicate over long Thousands of years ago, some people
used symbols carved into rock to
distances and even over time. communicate ideas.
28
Codes Are Ways to Communicate

People use other symbols besides written language to communicate.

Many of these are symbols you see frequently. You know what they
mean without having to think about them.

A code is a pattern of symbols. Codes can be patterns that you

see, such as letters or numbers, or something that you hear, such
as the clicking sounds of Morse code. Morse code uses patterns
of dots and dashes that stand for letters and numbers. The dots
and dashes are translated into a pattern of long or short clicking
sounds. The sounds can be sent through
Vocabulary
electrical wires. People used Morse code to
code, n. a pattern
communicate over long distances before
of symbols that
radio communication and telephones were can be used to
communicate a
invented. message
pattern, n. a
regular or repeated
way in which
something occurs

Morse code was invented by Samuel

Morse in the 1830s. The coded
message was transmitted using a
clicking device. A “dot” is one short
click. A “dash” is a click followed by a
pause the length of two more clicks.

29
Signals Transfer Information

The clicks that are used in Morse code are

Vocabulary
sent over long distances. They are one kind
of signal. A signal is the way that a word, signal, n. a symbol
sent over a distance
symbol, or code is sent over a distance.

Signals You Can See

A lighthouse projects a bright,
flashing light out to sea. The
lighthouse’s lamp is the source
of the light waves. Sailors detect
the light waves and observe
any patterns they see. They
recognize patterns as symbols
or codes. Every lighthouse uses
The light from a lighthouse is a signal, sent
a unique pattern of flashes. as light waves, that keeps boats safe as they
approach shore.
Sailors look at a chart to help
them decode each signal and
find out their exact location.

Light waves are employed

in communicating an idea. A
traffic light is another kind of
signal. It flashes red, green, or
yellow. These colors let drivers How does the traffic light signal that these
know whether they should cars should stop?

stop, go, or begin to slow down. Traffic lights help drivers move
safely in different directions. They also help keep traffic flowing.

30
Signals You Can Hear
You learned that each lighthouse has its own unique light pattern.
But what about during the day or on foggy nights when sailors
can’t see the light? Every lighthouse also has a foghorn. A foghorn
makes a loud sound that can be heard far from land. Each foghorn
makes its own unique pattern of sounds. Sailors can listen to the
signal and figure out their location. This is an example of sound
waves sent out in a pattern to communicate information.

The shape and size of a

foghorn helps its signal be
heard far from shore.

How can you use sound to send whole words and sentences?
Items such as telephones use electrical energy. When you speak
into the phone, your voice makes sounds. These sounds transform
to electrical energy that can travel through wires. When the
electrical energy reaches the phone on the other end, it changes
back to sound.

Think About a Telegraph

You learned about Morse code one place to another through

and how it is a pattern of sounds wires. Samuel Morse worked with
used to send messages. It is sent other inventors to develop the
by telegraph. A telegraph is a device telegraph in 1836.
that moves electrical signals from

31
No Wires? No Problem!

When you use a two-way radio, you use it like a telephone, but
there are no wires to carry the sound energy from one place to
another. So how does it work? When you speak, the two-way radio
changes the sound energy from your voice to radio waves. The
waves, which are a signal, travel to another two-way radio that is
nearby. That radio receives the waves, and the radio waves change
back to sound energy. Then your friend can hear your voice.

Many handheld two-way

radios usually only work
over short distances.
However, some can send
signals up to 50 miles.

Cell phones work in much the same way. They also change sound
energy to radio waves. But with a cell phone, you can talk to
someone on the other side of the world. That is because the radio
waves bounce from place to place until they reach the person you
are talking to.

Cell phones are only one of many ways to communicate. Gestures,

symbols, and codes all communicate messages across a distance.
The signal transfers a pattern. Often, this pattern is made up of
light waves or sound waves.
32
Using Signals Chapter

People listen to music on a radio when they

6
ride in a car. Or they watch TV when at
home. How do these devices work? Big Question
How are waves used
Both a car radio and a TV receive a signal to send signals?
that has been broadcast. To broadcast
means to transmit, or transfer, a signal in
some form of a wave. Broadcast stations Vocabulary

such as radio and television stations send transfer, v. to move

from one place to
signals in the form of waves to receivers
another
in TVs and radios. The signals transmit information, n.
information such as symbols, pictures, types of data such
as pictures, sounds,
and sounds, and often they do so in the and messages
form of waves.

Broadcasting devices
use technology to
change sounds or
pictures to signals in
the form of waves.
These wave signals
are broadcast in a
unique pattern. The
pattern is sent as a
wave signal from one device to another. That device transforms
the wave signal back to sounds or pictures.
33
What Is Analog Information?

There are two ways to send information in a wave signal. You can
use analog signals or digital signals.

Analog signals send information using a Vocabulary

continuous flow of electrical energy. Patterns analog, adj.
of electrical energy travel as a continuous describing signals
sent as continuous
wave whose pattern varies as it travels waves
through the atmosphere or through electrical
devices. An old-style phonograph record uses
an analog signal when
the needle moves up and
down on the record to
create a flow of electrical
energy. That energy powers
speakers, and we hear the
recording from the record.

TV broadcasts once used

analog signals to send
and receive information
in the form of radio waves
through the atmosphere.
Most radio broadcasts
still do. These are analog
signals because they
are a continuous flow of
wave energy.
Broadcast towers send the digital and
analog signals across large areas.
34
What Is Digital Information?

An analog signal is always a continuous

Vocabulary
flow of information. The other way that
signals can be sent is by using digital digital, adj.
describing signals
signals. Digit means number. Digital sent as separate bits
communication turns information into and not continuous

number patterns. Information sent by

digital signals is not continuous—it is broken down into digits, or
millions of individual bits of information.

Digital signals exist in discrete bits and often only include the
numbers 0 and 1. Information is thus broken into a pattern
and is a code. Think of a digital signal as a switch being turned
on and off. This code can be sent with or without wires. With
a digital signal, information can be sent anywhere. Tablets,
computers, and cell phones use digital signals to send and
receive information.

In common computers,
digital signals are coded
in patterns. For example,
01000001 represents the
letter A. It would take a
lot of 0s and 1s to write
your name on your paper
using this code! Digital Look closely at the diagrams for digital and analog
signals can be recorded signals. How are they similar and different?

onto CDs, DVDs, and

Blu-ray™ discs.
35
Cell Phones Use Wave Signals to Transfer Information

Imagine using a phone to send a text message. You type the

message and press send. Then your friend gets the message. But
what is really happening?

Cell phones use digital signals to send messages. A cell phone

turns your message into a digital pattern of 0s and 1s.

A cell phone uses digital signals to

change a message into a pattern of
0s and 1s. The pattern is sent in radio
waves to a cell phone tower.

36
The cell phone then sends this digital signal by radio waves to a
cell phone tower. The cell phone tower passes the message on
by sending the signal to another tower or directly to your friend’s
cell phone. Your friend’s phone receives the code and changes
the pattern of numbers back into a text message that your friend
can see.

The tower relays the signal to

another tower or directly to the
receiving cell phone.

The cell phone receiving

the signal changes
the pattern back to a
message.

37
GPS Uses Wave Signals to Transfer Information

GPS stands for Global Positioning System. You may have used a
GPS device or app when traveling or playing a game. GPS can help
people find their location or figure out where some other location
is. The system began as a tool for people in the military to know
exactly where they were when in remote places. It is now used by
people everywhere.

Suppose you
wanted to know
your exact location
on Earth. How can
the GPS app in
your cell phone
do that? A device
such as a cell
phone broadcasts
a signal of radio
waves to three
different satellites.

Each satellite is a different

distance from the phone. So
it takes radio waves different
amounts of time to travel
from the phone to each
satellite and back. That data
can be used to figure out
where the phone is located.
38
The satellites return the radio wave signals back to your cell phone.
Your cell phone measures how long it took the waves to travel
to and from the three satellites. It then performs calculations to
determine your location. Notice that the signal is a simple one,
a radio wave.

Do you want to
know how far
away the nearest
gas station is?
Do you want to
know how far it is
from school? Do
you want to know
where to find
a fishing spot?
You can find out
using GPS!

39
Fiber Optics Uses Wave Signals to Transfer Information

Fiber optics is a process of transferring information via light waves

using a special cable. Light travels in waves along bundles of thin,
flexible glass fibers. The fibers are bundled inside the cable. If you
have ever used cable TV, you have used fiber optics.

How are light waves used to send signals in a fiber optic cable?
First, a transmitter changes information—such as a recording of
a TV show—to digital code. The code is then transformed from
numbers to flashes of light. The light waves enter one end of
the cable. The cable is special. It allows the light to move freely
through it without disrupting the wave pattern.

The other end of the cable is attached to a receiver. The receiver

receives the light waves and translates them back to an electronic
digital signal. Finally, the electronic signal is translated back to
information the device can understand. You can then watch your
favorite TV show!

Fibers inside a cable carry light waves, which can then be transformed
to information your device can understand.
40
Glossary
A P
absorb, v. to take something in and contain pattern, n. a regular or repeated way in
it (18) which something occurs (29)
analog, adj. describing signals sent as pitch, n. the quality of sound that is
continuous waves (34) described as high or low and is related to a
wave’s frequency (7)
C
code, n. a pattern of symbols that
R
can be used to communicate a reflect, v. to bounce off of (16)
message (29)
color, n. an aspect of light that enables S
otherwise identical objects to be signal, n. a symbol sent over a distance (30)
distinguished from each other through
the sense of sight (vision) (18) sound wave, n. a transfer of energy through a
material as it is disturbed by vibrations (5)
crest, n. the highest part of a wave (3)
symbol, n. a visual object or mark that stands
for something else (28)
D
digital, adj. describing signals sent as T
separate bits and not continuous (35)
transfer, v. to move from one place to
another (33)
F
frequency, n. the number of times a wave transparency, n. a property of matter that
peaks over a period of time (7) allows light to pass through it (16)
trough /trof/, n. the lowest part of a wave (3)
I
information, n. types of data such as V
pictures, sounds, and messages (33) vibrate, v. to move back and forth quickly (5)
intensity, n. the measurable strength or vibration, n. the motion of an object or
power of a vibration (7) material that is vibrating (5)

L volume, n. the way humans perceive loudness

from the intensity of a sound wave (7)
light, n. a form of energy that can transfer
through empty space and can make
things visible (13) W
wave, n. a disturbance that transfers energy
light source, n. an object that gives off its through matter or through space (1)
own light (14)
wave height, n. the vertical distance from
light wave, n. an energy disturbance that the top of the crest to the bottom of the
transfers, or radiates, light (15) trough of a wave (3)
wavelength, n. the distance from one crest
to the next crest of a wave (3)

41
 CK Sci™
Core Knowledge SCIENCE™

Series Editor-in-Chief
E.D. Hirsch Jr.

Editorial Directors
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Subject Matter Expert
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Teacher of Physics and Computer Science
SAR High School
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 CK Sci™
Core Knowledge SCIENCE™
A comprehensive program in science, integrating
topics from Earth and Space, Life, and Physical Sciences with
concepts specified in the Core Knowledge Sequence
(content and skill guidelines for Grades K–8).

Core Knowledge SCIENCE™

units at this level include:

Energy Transfer and Transformation

Investigating Waves
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Processes That Shape Earth
Using Natural Resources for Energy

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Core Knowledge Curriculum Series™

Series Editor-in-Chief
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ISBN: 978-1-68380-521-2 850L