Use these targets, vocabulary, rubrics, examples, and score sheet with the instructor's approved lesson and procedure. This is an assessment companion, not a complete lesson or safety authorization.
Student lessons, data, and public practice answers (not assessment keys): Unit 07 learning pathway.
The student demonstrates the following:
Five science criteria plus separately reported integration (Page 3).
Make waves in a spring; measure wavelength and frequency, plus sound and light demos.
The student explains what a wave’s numbers mean (Page 4).
Measurements, the sound-and-light link, and the conclusion kept distinct.
You are making a decision, not adding up points. For each criterion, decide whether the work is Developing, Proficient, or Mastery — the column language tells you which. A criterion counts as mastered only when the student can both make and measure the wave and explain what its numbers mean. Each student has three tokens per term; each token retries one rubric criterion. Approved accommodations, equipment failures, and approved absences are handled separately and do not consume these tokens.
Accept listed synonyms; use the distinction column to resolve near-matches.
| Term | Accepted explanation | Distinction |
|---|---|---|
| Frequency | Cycles per second | Related to pitch in the specified sound context. |
| Wavelength | Spatial repeat distance | Changes with frequency at fixed nondispersive speed. |
| Amplitude | Magnitude of the specified disturbance | Energy comparisons must retain the other relevant conditions. |
| Mechanical wave | Disturbance in a material medium | Local particle motion differs from travel of the wave. |
| Electromagnetic wave | A propagating electromagnetic disturbance | Does not need a material medium. |
| Reflection / transmission | Redirected / passed-through wave energy | Not the same as absorption. |
| Absorption | Energy transferred into the receiving system | Do not infer it from a missing measurement without a full account. |
| Signal | A physical variation used to carry information | Its interpretation requires an agreed encoding. |
| Digital symbol | A choice among defined discrete states | Noise can still cross a decision boundary. |
| Error control | Detection or correction under a stated scheme | Redundancy has costs and does not guarantee every message. |
| Criterion | Developing | Proficient | Mastery |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wave parts: wavelength, frequency & amplitude | Cannot label the parts of a wave. | Names the parts but measures them wrong. | Measures wavelength, frequency, and amplitude and says what each one controls. |
| Waves carry energy | Thinks a wave carries matter along with it. | Says waves carry energy but cannot show it. | Explains energy propagation while a mechanical medium moves locally; distinguishes electromagnetic waves that need no material medium. |
| Sound, light & information | Treats sound and light as unrelated. | Calls both waves but cannot compare them. | Relates pitch to frequency and intensity to stated wave conditions; explains signal encoding, noise and the limits of digital error control. |
| Wave interactions & electromagnetic spectrum | Cannot place visible light among the other waves. | Names parts of the spectrum but not their order. | Orders common electromagnetic regions and distinguishes reflection, transmission and absorption with a stated energy account. |
| Lab technique (waves in a spring) | Cannot make a steady wave in the spring. | Makes waves but cannot measure them consistently. | Produces steady waves in a spring, measures wavelength and frequency, and shows how they change together. |
| Integration (cross-domain) | Makes no supported connection between the source and the science. | Uses the source but needs help connecting evidence, writing, or limitations to the science. | Independently connects History, Reading, and Writing using a cited source, appropriate evidence, a limitation, and a scientific explanation. |
The split between Proficient and Mastery is frequency is not amplitude: shaking the spring faster changes frequency; a bigger shake changes amplitude. Compare loudness only with frequency and listening conditions matched. Ask “which number did you change — how fast, or how big — and what did you hear or see?”
Read these before you grade. They show what Mastery and Developing actually sound like, plus the edge cases where you should coach rather than decide on the spot.
Evidence for the score sheet: Level: ______ Case/data: ______ Criterion: ______ Source/date: ______ First attempt and work: ______ Assumptions/uncertainty: ______ Fresh variation: ______. Practical observation is recorded separately.
Student: ______________________________________ Date: _______________ Guide: _________________________
| # | Criterion | Decision | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wave parts: wavelength, frequency & amplitude | Dev / Prof / Mast | |
| 2 | Waves carry energy | Dev / Prof / Mast | |
| 3 | Sound, light & information | Dev / Prof / Mast | |
| 4 | Wave interactions & electromagnetic spectrum | Dev / Prof / Mast | |
| 5 | Lab technique (waves in a spring) | Dev / Prof / Mast | |
| 6 | Integration (cross-domain) | Dev / Prof / Mast |
☐ No ☐ Yes — for criterion: __________
Tokens left this term after this session (choose one): ☐ 3 ☐ 2 ☐ 1 ☐ None left
Dev = Developing · Prof = Proficient · Mast = Mastery · Unsure between two levels? Circle the lower one and note what a re-do would need.