4-PS4-3: Sending Information with Patterns
Also called NGSS 4-PS4-3 · Topic: Waves · Physical Science
The Official Wording
Generate and compare multiple solutions that use patterns to transfer information.
Clarification statement: Examples of solutions could include drums sending coded information through sound waves, using a grid of 1’s and 0’s representing black and white to send information about a picture, and using Morse code to send text.
NGSS Lead States, 2013 · Read it on nextgenscience.org · checked October 15, 2026
What 4-PS4-3 Means in Plain English
Fourth graders invent and compare different ways to send a message using a pattern. They might tap a drum code, flash a light, or turn a picture into a grid of ones and zeros, then judge which method is fastest and makes the fewest mistakes.
This is an engineering standard, so students set criteria and test their codes rather than learning how phones or computers work inside. It uses wave ideas from 4-PS4-1 and leads to middle school work on digital signals (MS-PS4-3).
4-PS4-3 I Can Statements
- I can invent a code that uses a pattern to send a message.
- I can compare two codes for speed and accuracy.
- I can explain why a code needs rules both sides know.
4-PS4-3 Worked Example
A design challenge a class can run across the room: send a simple picture to a partner who cannot see it.
Which code sends a 5 by 5 picture across the room fastest with the fewest errors?
Set It Up: Two 5 by 5 grids per pair, a pencil, a timer, red and white cards, and a small picture made by filling in squares.
- Agree on the rules: filled square is 1, empty is 0, read left to right, top row first.Code key written down
- Code A: the sender claps for 1 and stays silent for one beat for 0.25 beats, partner fills squares
- Code B: the sender raises a red card for 1 and a white card for 0.25 card flips
- Time each code and count wrong squares when the two grids are compared.Claps: 75 seconds, 4 wrong. Cards: 50 seconds, 0 wrong
- Improve the weaker code by giving 0 its own sound, a stomp, and test again.Claps and stomps: 1 wrong
The card code was faster and more accurate, and the clap code improved once every square got its own signal.
Why it works: Any repeating pattern can carry information if sender and receiver share the rules, and a clear signal for every part cuts down errors.
Common Mistakes with 4-PS4-3
Forgetting to share the rules
The receiver fills the grid starting from the bottom row
Try this: Write the code key before sending: what each signal means and where to start reading. Both partners need the same rules.
Judging only by speed
“Ours won because it was fastest!”
Try this: Compare codes on every criterion you set. A fast code that garbles the picture fails, so count errors as well as seconds.
Using silence as a signal
Long pauses that the receiver miscounts
Try this: Give every symbol its own signal, like one clap for 1 and one stomp for 0, so no square gets skipped.
Where 4-PS4-3 Fits
Practice 4-PS4-3
Quick Check
- What do sender and receiver both need before sending a coded message?
- In a picture code, a filled square is 1. What does 0 mean?
- Why might a light code work better than a sound code in a noisy room?