KS3 & KS4 science curriculum

This unit builds on pupils’ prior learning from Making images, where they explored how light interacts with materials through reflection, refraction, and the use of lenses to form images. It deepens their understanding by examining the broader properties of waves, including sound and light, and their behaviours. This prepares pupils for the next unit, Measuring waves, where they will apply their knowledge to quantify wave properties such as amplitude, wavelength, and frequency, enhancing their understanding of wave dynamics in various contexts.

1. Water waves
2. Sound waves
3. Speed of sound
4. Hearing sound
5. Ultrasound

• Hard surfaces reflect sound because air particles bounce off them.
• Soft surfaces absorb a lot of sound because sound waves transfer energy by making the particles in them vibrate.
• A light source can emit light in every direction.
• Light moves in straight lines.
• A light ray is just a line that shows the direction light travels in.
• The angle of incidence is the angle at which light hits a mirror.
• The angle of reflection is the angle at which light is reflected off a mirror.
• For mirrors, the angle of reflection is the same size as the angle of incidence.