HS - PS4.A (B) - Digital Transmission and Storage - ASSIGNED (RC)

Module: Digital Transmission and Storage

DCI: PS4.A (B) Information can be digitized (e.g., a picture stored as the values of an array of pixels); in this form, it can be stored reliably in computer memory and sent over long distances as a series of wave pulses.

PE: HS-PS4-2 Evaluate questions about the advantages of using a digital transmission and storage of information.

PE: HS-PS4-5 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 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.]

The ideas are: 

- information can be digitized

- in its digitized form, information can be stored reliably in computer memory

- digital information can also be sent over long distances as a series of wave pulses

We can ask students to explain why storing information digitally is advantageous to traditional means.

We can also capitalize on the idea that wave properties allow the use of digital transmission and storage.