1Question

Get 1Q Pro with access to all premium features FREE. Find out more!

Wave Orbitals micro-lesson

Do you struggle with balancing your kids’ screen time with their education? Say hello to 1Question, the app that solves this problem with a fun twist! Our app lets your child earn screen time minutes in their favourite apps by watching educational videos and correctly answering quiz questions. And the best part? You get to decide which apps to lock behind learning using 1Question. 

Learning time​

Kids learn by watching short, engaging video lessons.

This lesson is about the physics of wave orbitals. When I talk about surf waves, I'm actually talking about breaking waves which is the point where the wave gets this little whitewashed and breaks in one direction. Here's where the power allows the surfer to ride it. But what creates this little whitecap? There's something in physics called wave orbitals and this is how the momentum of the wave creates the breaking wave. Think of waves traveling towards the shore. Gravity and wind act together to push the waves forward without losing energy. Wind pushes the waves forward, but gravity also keeps them from getting too high or too low, and that is part of why they have the shape of a wavelength. As the wavelengths get to shallower ocean floors, they interact with the shallow ocean bottom, and this is what creates the waves we like to surf. The reef or sandy bottom disrupts the orbital shape and causes the wave to break or form a whitecap like this. This is what causes the wave to break into a fun surf wave.

Examples of 1Question Maths Questions

Answer time

Kids earn more screen time by answering fun educational questions.

Here are some example of questions about this video that kids may be asked in the 1Question app to earn screen time.

  • How does the orbital change shapes as it hits the ocean floor?

    1) It turns into an oval and then into a wave shape
    2) It doesn't change shape
    3) It gets shorter
    4) It gets wider
  • The reef or sandy bottom disrupts the orbital shape and causes the wave to... ?

    1) Break
    2) Keep its shape
    3) Travel towards the shore
    4) Lose energy
  • As the wavelengths get to shallower ocean floors, they interact with the shallower ocean bottom and this creates... ?

    1) Breaking waves/surf waves
    2) The whitecap
    3) The wave orbital
    4) Refraction
  • What is the wave called when it forms a little white cap at the top?

    1) Breaking wave
    2) Wavelength
    3) Wave orbital
    4) Surf wave
  • Which is the wave called that surfers like to surf because it has the most power?

    1) Breaking wave
    2) Wavelength
    3) Wave orbital
    4) Surf wave
  • What keeps waves from going too high up and down?

    1) Gravity
    2) Wind
    3) Shallow ocean bottom
    4) Wave orbitals

Recreational screen time

Kids can use the screen time minutes they earned to unlock the apps selected by their parent e.g. games, social media, streaming, etc.

Out of time

When screen time minutes run out, kids are locked out and need to complete more learning in 1Question to earn more time.

Meet your educator

Our micro-courses are developed and delivered by qualified educators from around the world.

Sarah Sanchez Medrano

Sarah Sanchez Medrano

More lessons from the Surf Science -The Really Nerdy Stuff micro-course

This lesson is about tides and how they change. This affects surf waves because surfers…

So, what makes good waves to surf? The easy answer is storms. Do all storms…

This lesson is about onshore and offshore wind. Wind is very important in surfing. Wind…

This lesson is about the bathymetry of giant waves. Some surf waves can be huge…

This is a lesson about wind and sunrise and sunset. Sometimes surfers get up at…

So, what turns open ocean waves into surf waves? Surf waves actually start their journey…

What is bathymetry? It’s the measure of the depth of water in ocean, seas, or…

This lesson is about wave refraction. Wave refraction is the bending of waves as it…

This lesson is about how waves change the tidal changes focusing on mid tide waves….

This lesson is about angles of the reef and how they create surf waves. Waves…

What makes good waves to surf? This is about the physics of how waves travel….