Parts of a Wave

Parts of a Wave Worksheet (Grade 6 Science, TEKS 6.8C)

Give students the few wave words they need and the practice to use them. This one-page reading and activity sheet defines crest, trough, compression, rarefaction, wavelength, and direction of energy transfer, then asks students to label a transverse wave and a longitudinal wave.

What's Inside

• A Big Question box: "What are the parts of a wave?"
• Six short definitions in plain words
• Activity 1: Students label a transverse wave: crest, trough, wavelength, and direction of energy transfer
• Activity 2: Students label a longitudinal wave: compression, rarefaction, wavelength, and direction of energy transfer
• A visual answer key with the labeled diagrams in red

How Teachers Use It

Use it as practice for TEKS 6.8C. The sheet takes about 10 minutes, needs no prior knowledge, and prints clearly in black and white.

This worksheet is part of the Reading in Science series for grade 6. It supports TEKS 6.8C: explain how energy is transferred through transverse and longitudinal waves. It is one of five connected TEKS 6.8C sheets: what a wave is, transverse and longitudinal waves, parts of a wave, sorting waves, and a claim, evidence, and reasoning task.

Why It Works

Each sheet opens with a Big Question, teaches the key terms in plain words with simple black-and-white doodles and clear wave diagrams, and then asks students to use only what the page taught. The vocabulary stays tight to what the standard needs, and the visual answer key lets teachers check work fast.