Waves Test Review
1
(P.7A) As a transverse wave travels through a medium, the individual particles of
the medium move________________
Perpendicular to the direction of wave. Remember the first letter “T” of
transverse. It looks like two lines meet Perpendicular to each other.
2
(P.7A, P.3F) The diagram below represents a transverse wave traveling to the right
through a medium. Point A represents a particle of the medium. In which direction
will particle A move in the next instant of time?_____________
Be sure that the medium particle does not move along with waves, but it
oscillates up and down only. In the next instance, a trough of the wave comes
to the point A of the medium. Then the medium of point A moves down.
3. (P.7A, P.2J) The diagram below represents a vibrating string with a periodic wave
originating at A and moving to G, a distance of 6.0 meters. As the wave moves toward
G, point E on the string will move __________________
Be sure that the medium particle does not move along with waves, but it
oscillates up and down only. In the next instance, a trough of the wave comes
to the point E of the medium. Then the medium of point E moves down.
4. (P.7A) The diagram below shows a transverse water wave moving in the direction
shown by the velocity vector v. At the instant shown, a cork at point P on the water's
surface is moving toward
___________
Be sure that the medium particle does not move along with waves, but it
oscillates up and down only. In the next instance, a crest of the wave comes to
the point P of the medium. Then the medium of point P moves up.
5. (P.7A) As shown in the diagram below, a transverse wave is moving along a rope. In
which direction will segment X move as the wave passes through it? ____________
Be sure that the medium particle does not move along with waves, but it
oscillates up and down only. In the next instance, a crest of the wave comes to
the point X of the medium and followed by a trough. Then the medium of point
X moves up and then down.
6. (P.7A) A wave is generated in a rope which is represented by the solid line in the
diagram below. As the wave moves to the right, point P on the rope is moving toward
which position? __________________
Be sure that the medium particle does not move along with waves, but it
oscillates up and down only. In the next instance, a trough of the wave comes
to the point P of the medium. Then the medium of point P moves down to C.
11 P.7B) A longitudinal wave moves to the right through a uniform medium, as shown
below. Points A, B, C, D, and E represent the positions of particles of the medium.
Indicate the wavelength of the given wave in the diagram.
In the longitudinal wave, a compression corresponds to a crest of a sine curve and a
rarefaction to a trough of a sine curve. Wavelength is the distance from crest to crest or
trough to trough or of two identical points of waves. Then AC represents exactly two
identical points of two waves.
12 (P.7B, P.2J) The distance between which two points on the diagram below identifies
the amplitude of the wave? __________
Amplitude is the maximum displacement
from the equilibrium position. Answer is DA
or AE.
13 (P.7B) If the amplitude of a wave traveling in a rope is doubled, the speed of the
wave in the rope will _____________
Remember that speed is the product of wavelength and frequency. Speed is not affected
by change in amplitude. So it remains constant.
14 (P.7B) Increasing the amplitude of a sound wave produces a sound with_______
Amplitude represents the loudness of sound. As the amplitude
increases, so the sound gets louder.
15 (P.7B) A periodic wave is produced by a vibrating tuning fork. The amplitude of the
wave would be greater if the tuning fork were _______________
You can make a bigger sound of a tuning fork by striking it harder.
16 (P.7B) The wavelength of the wave in the diagram below is equal to the distance
between points ______________
What is the definition of a wavelength?
17 (P.7B, P.3F) What is the wavelength of a periodic wave having a frequency of 5.0 Hz
and a speed of 10. m/s? ___________
Speed equals product of wavelength and frequency. Then wavelength is 2.0 m.
18 (P.7B) If the amplitude of a wave is increased, the frequency of the wave will
_________________________
Amplitude affects only loudness or intensity of a wave.
19 (P.7B, P.3F) The sound wave produced by a trumpet has a frequency of 440 hertz.
What is the distance between successive compressions in this sound wave as it
travels through air at Standard Temperature and Pressure? (Air temperature at STP is
330 m/s). ___________________
The distance between successive compressions is another description of wavelength.
Wavelength is 330/440 m which is .75 m.
20
(P.7B, P.2J) What is the speed of the wave in the diagram below if its frequency is
8.0 hertz? ____________
Wavelength is the distance between two consecutive crests or troughs. But it is also the
distance between two identical points of two consecutive waves. In this question, you
had better use the latter definition. According to the definition, there are three waves in
the 6 m length. Then the length of a wave is 2 m. That is the wavelength of the wave.
Then speed is what?
21
(P.7B, P.3F) The diagram below represents a periodic wave traveling through a
uniform medium. If the frequency of the wave is 2.0 hertz, what is the speed of the
wave? _________________
This question is a little bit tricky because the 6.0 m long distance does not indicate any
exact number of waves. The length includes the distance from a crest to a following
crest and the distance from the crest to a trough. It covers one full wave and half wave
which is one and a half waves. The length of 1 ½ waves is 6.0 m. The length of a wave
is 6.0/1.5 which is 4. So speed is 4 x 2 m/s.
22 (P.7B, P.3F) At an outdoor physics demonstration, a delay of 0.50 second was
observed between the time sound waves left a loudspeaker and the time these
sound waves reached a student through the air. If the air is at Standard
Temperature and Pressure, how far was the student from the speaker? (Air
temperature at STP is 330 m/s). ____________________
Do not use the formula of speed which is the product of wavelength and frequency.
Instead, use the formula of speed which is the quotient of distance and time. V=d/t.
Then distance is 330 x 0.5 which is 165 m. Note that the time 0.5 s is the time taken to
get to student from the speaker. So do not divide that time by 2, as you did in
amphitheater questions where sound came from you and the reflected sound came back
to you.
23
(P.7B, P.2H) While playing, two children create a standing wave in a rope, as
shown in the diagram below. A third child participates by jumping the rope. What is
the wavelength of this standing wave? _______________
Any standing wave shows you two similar waves which are incident wave and reflected
wave. When you deal with the wavelength of a standing wave, choose one wave of the
two waves. Then you will see it has only one trough or crest which means a half wave. If
the length of a half wave is 4.30 m, the length of a whole wave is what?
(P.7B) As the energy imparted to a mechanical wave increases, the maximum
displacement of the particles in the medium _____________
Remember that mechanical waves are waves that require medium to travel in. Any
energy input increases amplitude of waves only.
24
25
(P.7B, P.2J) A student generates a series of transverse waves of varying frequency
by shaking one end of a loose spring. All the waves move along the spring at a
speed of 6.0 meters per second. Which data table correctly identifies the
frequencies and wavelengths for the waves created by the student? Since speed
remains constant, the product of any combination of frequency and wavelength
must remain the same.
A
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26
0
(P.7B, P.2J)The graph below represents the relationship between wavelength and
frequency of waves created by two students shaking the ends of a loose spring.
Calculate the speed of the waves generated in the spring. ___________________
Choose any point on the line and
read its x and y values. The product
of x and y values is its speed. The x
value of the top dot is 1 and its y
value is 5. Then speed is 1 x 5
which is 5.
27
(P.7B, P.2J) The diagram below represents a segment of a periodic wave traveling
to the right in a steel spring. What is the amplitude of the wave? ________
Remember the definition of
amplitude.
28
(P.7B, P.2J) The diagram below represents a segment of a periodic wave traveling
to the right in a steel spring. If a wave crest passes line XY every 0.40 second, the
frequency of the wave is _____________
Make sure that you work with the
definition of frequency. Frequency is
how often or how many per second.
If one wave is per 0.4 second, how
many waves per 1 second? It is
1/0.4 which is 2.5 waves per
second. Answer is 2.5 Hz.
29
(P.7B, P.2J) The diagram below represents a segment of a periodic wave traveling
to the right in a steel spring. What is the wavelength of the wave? __________
I told you that this kind of question
is a little bit tricky because the
given distance does not indicate any
exact number of waves. In this
case, the length includes the
distance from a crest to a following
crest and the distance from the
crest to a middle line. It covers one
full wave and only one fourth wave
which is 1 1/4 waves. The length of
1 ¼ waves is 2.5 m. The length of
a wave is 2.5/1.25 which is 2. So its
wavelength is 2 m.
30
(P.7B, P.2H) A stationary research ship uses sonar to send a 1.18 x 103 Hz sound
wave down through the ocean water. The reflected sound wave from the flat ocean
bottom 324 meters below the ship is detected 0.425 second after it was sent from
the ship. What is the speed of sound in the ocean water? __________
Do not confuse v=d/t with v=wavelength x frequency. When distance is given or how far
is asked in questions, you have to consider the formula v=d/t. In addition, the time
0.425 is the time required to have the reflected sound. So the time must be divided by 2
to find out the time required for one way only. V = 324 / .2125 which is 1524 m/s.
31
(P.7B, P.2L) The diagram below shows a parked police car with a siren on top. The
siren is producing a sound with a frequency of 680 Hz, which travels first through
point A and then through point B, as shown. If the sound waves are in phase at
points A and B, the distance between the points could be ___________
The speed of the sound is 340 m/s.
32
In phase means “in step.” So
a crest of a wave exactly
overlaps a crest of another
wave and a trough of a wave
exactly overlaps a trough of
another wave. So The
distance between A and B is a
multiple of its wavelength.
Find the answer which is an
exact multiple of the
wavelength. By the way, its
wavelength is
speed/frequency which is .5
m. The answer could be .5,
1.0, 1.5, 2.0 etc.
(P.7D, P.3F) The diagram below shows a parked police car with a siren on top. The
siren is producing a sound with a frequency of 680 Hz, which travels first through
point A and then through point B, as shown. What is the wavelength of the sound
produced by the car's siren? _________
its wavelength is
speed/frequency which is .5
The speed of the sound is 340 m/s.
(P.7B, P.3F) In the diagram below, a water wave having a speed of 0.25 m/s causes
a cork to move up and down 4.0 times in 8.0 seconds. If the frequency of the wave
doubles, the wavelength of the wave __________
One up and down represents one wave. Four waves in 8.0 seconds indicate a half wave
in one second which is its frequency. The wavelength is 0.25/.5 which is .5 m.
33
35 (P.7D) The diagram below represents a pulse traveling from left to right in a
stretched heavy rope. The heavy rope is attached to light rope which is attached to a
wall. When the pulse reaches the light rope, its speed will ___________
I think the speed will increase because the
molecule of light rope is lighter than that of
heavy rope and kinetic energy is conserved in
both types of ropes. KE = ½ mv2.
36 (P.7D) As the phase difference between two interfering waves changes from 0˚ to
180˚, the amplitude of the resultant wave 180 degree difference is exactly out of
phase. So a crest of a wave meets a trough of another wave and a trough of a wave
meets another trough of another wave. The amplitude of the resultant wave is zero.
37 (P.7D, P.3F) The diagram below shows a police car accelerating toward points A and
B. The siren is producing a sound with a frequency of 680 Hz, which travels first
through point A and then through point B, as shown. As the car accelerates toward
point A, the frequency of the sound heard by an observer at point A would
The speed of the sound is 340 m/s.
___
___
___
___
__
38 (P.7D, P.2J) The wave shown below is moving in the direction indicated. What might
be happening to cause the wave to look like this?
A
The wave is traveling into a new medium,
causing the frequency to increase.
B
The source of the vibration is slowing
down as the wave travels through a
uniform medium.
C
The wave loses energy as it travels
through a uniform medium
D
The wave is traveling into a new medium,
causing the frequency to decrease.
39 (P.7D, P.2J) Two waves, A and B, travel in the same direction in the same medium at
the same time. The resultant wave
A
demonstrates constructive
interference and has an
amplitude of 0.3m
B
demonstrates destructive
interference and has an
amplitude of 0.1m
C
demonstrates constructive
interference, and travels at
twice the frequency of the
original two waves
D
demonstrates destructive
interference with no change in
frequency.
40
(P.7D) The driver of a car sounds the horn while traveling toward a stationary
person. Compared to the sound of the horn heard by the driver, the sound heard by
the stationary person has higher pitch and shorter wavelength.
41
(P.7D, P.3F) A car's horn is blowing as the car moves at constant speed toward an
observer. Compared to the frequency of the sound wave emitted by the horn, the
observed frequency is ______________
42 (P.7D) The driver of a car hears a siren of an ambulance which is moving away from
her. If the actual frequency of the siren is 2,000 Hz, the frequency heard by the
driver may be lower. Choose the answer which shows lower frequency than 2,000 Hz.
43
(P.7D, P.2L) The diagram below represents a rope along which two pulses of equal
amplitude, A, approach point P. When the two pulses meet at P, the vertical
displacement of the rope at point P will be
Constructive
interference
45. (P.7D) The vibrating tuning fork shown in the diagram below produces a constant
frequency. The tuning fork is moving to the right at a constant speed, and observers are
located at points A, B, C, and D. Which observer hears the lowest frequency? _____
46
(P.7D) The diagram below represents the wave pattern produced by a vibrating
source moving linearly in a shallow tank of water. The pattern is viewed from above
and the lines represent wave crests. The velocity of the source is increased. The
wavelength of the waves observed at point D will _____________
47
(P.7D, P.2J) A barrier is placed in a ripple tank as shown in the diagram. When the
wave encounters the barrier,
A
it reflects off the barrier
at a 90˚ angle to the
barrier.
B
it reflects off the barrier
at a 60˚ angle to the
barrier.
C
it reflects off the barrier
at a 30˚ angle to the
barrier.
D
48
it reflects off the barrier
at a 0˚ angle to the
barrier.
(P.7D, P.2K) In the diagram below, two speakers are connected to a sound
generator. The speakers produce a sound pattern of constant frequency such that a
listener will hear the sound very well at A and C, but not as well at point B. Why
does this phenomenon occur?
A
There is an object blocking the sound at point B
B
The wave fronts destructively interfere at points A and C, but
constructively interfere at point B.
C
The wave fronts constructively interfere at points A and C, but
destructively interfere at point B.
D
This phenomenon does not actually occur with sound waves.
49
(P.7D, P.2J) Two wave sources operating in phase in the same medium produce the
circular wave patterns shown in the diagram below. The solid lines represent wave
crests and the dashed lines represent wave troughs. Point A represents
50
51
A
The point of maximum constructive
interference
B
The point of minimum constructive
interference
C
The point of maximum destructive
interference
D
The point of minimum destructive
interference
(P.7D, P.2J) Two wave sources operating in phase in the same medium produce the
circular wave patterns shown in the diagram below. The solid lines represent wave
crests and the dashed lines represent wave troughs. Point D represents
A
The point of maximum constructive
interference
B
The point of minimum constructive
interference
C
The point of maximum destructive
interference
D
The point of minimum destructive
interference
(P.7D, P.2J) The diagram below shows two pulses, each of length λ, traveling
toward each other at equal speed in a rope. Which diagram best represents the
shape of the rope when both pulses are in region AB?
A
B
C
D
52
(P.7D, P.2J) Which diagram best illustrates wave refraction?
A
B
C
D
53
(P.7D, P.2J) Which diagram best illustrates the diffraction of waves?
A
B
C
D
54
(P.7D, P.2J) The diagram below shows a wave phenomenon. The pattern of waves
shown behind the barrier is the result of
A
diffraction
B
interference
C
refraction
D
reflection
55
(P.7D, P.2J) The diagram below represents straight wave fronts approaching an
opening in a barrier. Which diagram best represents the shape of the waves after
passing through the opening?
A
B
C
D
56
(P.7D) Which situation does not demonstrate resonance?
A
An opera singer who sings at the natural frequency of crystal can shatter the
crystal with her voice.
B
A dampened finger tip rubbed around the edge of a crystal goblet causes the
crystal to vibrate and produce a musical note.
C
A car travelling at 75 mph accelerates to 90 mph to pass another car. When the
speed increases, the glove compartment door begins to vibrate. As soon as the
car slows back down to 75 mph, the glove compartment vibrations stop.
D
A guitarist holds his finger on a string on the neck of the guitar. The string is
strummed and the pitch changes as guitarist’s finger slides along the neck of the
guitar.
57
A
(P.7D) A guitar player plucks the E string on his guitar. The E string on a
piano nearby begins to vibrate. Which wave behavior below describes why
the piano string began to vibrate?
Diffraction
B
Reflection
C
Resonance
D
Refraction
58
(P.7D) The diagram to the right shows waves
approaching a barrier. Which pattern will be formed
as the waves pass through the opening in the barrier?
A
B
C
D
59
(P.7D, P.2J) In which diagram below do the mediums have the same index of
refraction?
A
B
C
D
60
(P.7D) A buzzer is hanging from a string and emitting a loud tone. The student pulls
the buzzer back and starts it swinging back and forth like a pendulum as shown in
the diagram below. What is the student hearing as the buzzer moves toward him
compared to what it sounded like before he moved it?
A
A lower pitched tone because the sound waves are coming less
frequently
B
A higher pitched tone because the sound waves are coming more
frequently
C
A higher pitched tone because the sound waves are moving slower
D
A lower pitched tone because the sound waves are moving faster
61 (P.7C, P.2K) Diagram A and Diagram B show two different waves. Diagram A shows
a piston being moved back and forth to generate a wave. The piston produces a
compression, C, every 0.50 second. Diagram B shows the displacement of an
electromagnetic wave over time. What wave characteristics do these two waves have
in common?
Diagram A
A
Amplitude
B
Wave speed
C
Wavelength
D
Frequency
Diagram B
62 (P.7C) Compare the propagation of a transverse wave to the propagation of a
longitudinal wave.
A
Both waves displace the media through which they travel, but the displacement of
the media is different by 90˚.
B
The transverse wave displaces the medium but the longitudinal wave does not.
C
The longitudinal wave displaces the medium but the transverse wave does not.
63 (P.7C) Two waves, one transverse and one longitudinal, travel from one medium into
another. Compare the behavior of the transverse wave to the behavior of the longitudinal
wave as they encounter the change in medium.
A
The transverse wave is reflected and refracted, while all of the energy of the
longitudinal wave is reflected.
B
Both waves are reflected and refracted
C
The longitudinal wave is reflected and refracted, while all of the energy of the
transverse wave is reflected.
D
The transverse wave is refracted while the longitudinal wave is reflected.
64 (P.7C) Which phenomenon can be observed for transverse waves only?
A
reflection
B
diffraction
C
polarization
D
refraction
65 (P.7C) Which phenomenon cannot be exhibited by longitudinal waves?
A
reflection
B
diffraction
C
polarization
D
refraction
66 (P.7C) As a periodic wave travels from one medium to another, which pair of the wave’s
characteristics cannot change?
A
Period and amplitude
B
Amplitude and wavelength
C
Frequency and velocity
D
Period and frequency