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How Transmitters Work — Reading Comprehension

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NGSS 4-PS4-3

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This 350-word informational science passage explores how transmitters are devices that create and send wave signals carrying information through air, wires, or other materials. Aligned with NGSS standard 4-PS4-3, students learn how radio stations, TV towers, and cell phones all use transmitters to send information as wave signals. The passage connects to real-world examples like radio station towers transmitting signals that travel through the air to radios in homes and cars everywhere. Audio-integrated features help students engage with the content through multiple modalities. Key vocabulary includes transmitters, wave signals, broadcasting, antenna, receiver, and electromagnetic waves. Students explore how transmitters work, the different types of transmitters, and their importance in modern communication. The passage includes concrete analogies to help students understand abstract concepts, making complex scientific ideas accessible for elementary learners. Activities include comprehension questions, writing prompts, and graphic organizers to reinforce understanding of signal transmission and communication technology.

CONTENT PREVIEW

A transmitter is a device that creates and sends wave signals carrying information through the air, wires, or other materials. Transmitters are important because they allow us to communicate over long distances without using direct connections like strings or tubes.

Transmitters work by changing information like sounds or pictures into wave signals that can travel through space. Think of it like throwing a stone into a pond—the stone creates ripples that spread out in all directions. A transmitter creates invisible waves that spread out carrying messages, music, or other information. These waves move through the air at very fast speeds, reaching receivers far away.

Radio towers are tall structures with powerful transmitters that send signals over large areas. When a radio station wants to play music, the transmitter at the tower changes the music into wave signals. These signals travel through the air until they reach the radio in your home or car. The radio then changes the wave signals back into sounds you can hear.

Cell phones also use transmitters, but much smaller ones. When you talk on a cell phone, your voice is changed into wave signals by the phone's transmitter. These signals travel through the air to nearby cell phone towers. The towers then send the signals to the person you are calling. This process happens so quickly that conversations feel instant.

Television towers work similarly to radio towers. TV transmitters send both picture and sound information as wave signals. The process of sending out these signals to many people at once is called broadcasting. Broadcasting allows one transmitter to reach thousands or even millions of receivers at the same time.

Transmitters have changed how people communicate and share information. From radio towers sending music across cities to cell phones connecting people around the world, transmitters make it possible to send messages through invisible waves. Understanding how transmitters work helps us appreciate the technology that keeps us connected every day.

What does a transmitter create and send?

Wave signals carrying informationElectricity through wires onlyLight beams to receiversSound waves people can hear

What are radio towers?

Small devices inside cell phonesTall structures with powerful transmittersReceivers that pick up signalsWires that connect radios

What is broadcasting?

Talking on a cell phoneListening to the radioSending signals to many people at onceBuilding tall radio towers

How do transmitters change information for sending?

They make sounds louderThey change it into wave signalsThey put it into wiresThey store it in towers

Why can one radio tower reach many people?

It uses very long wiresIt makes very loud soundsWave signals spread out in all directionsIt connects to every house

What happens after wave signals reach a radio?

They disappear completelyThey get stronger and travel fartherThey are changed back into soundsThey return to the tower

Transmitters allow communication without direct connections like strings.

TrueFalse

Which word means invisible waves carrying information?

BroadcastingRadio towersWave signalsCell phones

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How Transmitters Work — Reading Comprehension

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