NY Science Standards (HS - Waves and Electromagnetic Radiation)

Use mathematical representations to support a claim regarding relationships among the period, frequency, wavelength, and speed of waves traveling and transferring energy (amplitude, frequency) in various media.[Clarification Statement: Examples of data could include descriptions of waves classified as transverse, longitudinal, mechanical, or standing, electromagnetic radiation traveling in a vacuum and glass, sound waves traveling through air and water, seismic waves traveling through Earth, and direction of waves due to reflection and refraction.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment is limited to algebraic relationships and describing those relationships qualitatively.]

Evaluate questions about the advantages of using a digital transmission and storage of information. [Clarification Statement: Examples of advantages could include that digital information is stable because it can be stored reliably in computer memory, transferred easily, and copied and shared rapidly. Disadvantages could include issues of easy deletion, security, and theft.]

Evaluate the claims, evidence, and reasoning behind the idea that electromagnetic radiation can be described either by a wave model or a particle model (quantum theory), and that for some situations one model is more useful than the other. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on how the experimental evidence supports the claim and how a theory is generally modified in light of new evidence. Examples of a phenomenon could include resonance, interference, diffraction, and photoelectric effect.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment of the photoelectric effect is limited to qualitative descriptions.]

Evaluate the validity and reliability of claims in published materials of the effects that different frequencies of electromagnetic radiation have when absorbed by matter. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on the idea that photons associated with different frequencies of light have different energies, and the damage to living tissue from electromagnetic radiation depends on the energy of the radiation. Examples of published materials could include scientific journals, trade books, magazines, web resources, videos, and other passages that may reflect bias.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment is limited to qualitative descriptions.]

Communicate technical information about how some technological devices use the principles of wave behavior and wave interactions with matter to transmit and capture information and energy.* [Clarification Statement: Examples could include Doppler effect, solar cells capturing light and converting it to electricity; medical imaging; and communications technology.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessments are limited to qualitative information. Assessments do not include band theory.]

Use mathematical models to determine relationships among the size and location of images, size and location of objects, and focal lengths of lenses and mirrors. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis should be on analyzing ray diagrams to determine image size and location.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment is limited to analysis of plane, convex, and concave mirrors, and biconvex and biconcave lenses.]