What is Amplitude modulation (AM)?

Amplitude modulation (AM) is when one wave changes another wave’s size to send a message.

Imagine you're on a playground swing. You pump your legs harder and softer, that makes the swing go higher and lower. Now imagine you’re sending a secret message by how high or low the swing goes. That's like amplitude modulation!

Think of radio waves as invisible swings in the air. When you talk into a radio, your voice is like the person pumping the swing, it changes how big the wave gets. The bigger the wave, the louder the sound; the smaller the wave, the quieter the sound.

So when the radio picks up that signal, it turns those size changes back into sounds, and poof! You hear your favorite song or news show.

AM is like a message in a bottle, it lets people send sound through the air without wires. It's used by radios all over the world, especially for things like talk shows and music stations.

Just like how a swing moves up and down to carry your message, AM uses waves that go big and small to carry sound messages all around!