WAVES TAKS QUESTIONS
JULY 2004 – 11:
7 Which wave has the greatest velocity? Answer: B
JULY 2004 – 11:
14 When trying to spear a fish in water, a person needs to take into account the way light bends as
it moves from water into air. The bending of light as it passes from one medium into another is
known as —
F reflection
G* refraction
H diffraction
J polarization
SPRING 2003 – 10:
(38) At 0°C sound travels through air at a speed of 330 m/s. If a sound wave is produced
with a wavelength of 0.10 m, what is the wave’s frequency?
F 0.0033 Hz
G 33 Hz
H 330 Hz
J* 3300 Hz
SPRING 2003 – 11:
(32) One tuning fork is struck and placed next to an identical fork. The two forks do not
touch. The second tuning fork starts to vibrate because of —
F interference
G the Doppler effect
H* resonance
J standing waves
APRIL 2004 – 10:
(37) Which illustration best demonstrates compression waves? Answer: B
APRIL 2004 – 11:
(55) The pitch of a sound made by plucking a guitar string is determined by the —
A* frequency of the vibration produced
B strength of the plucking force
C distance between the strings
D shape of the guitar body
OCTOBER 2005 – 11, JULY 2006 – 11:
3 The diagram shows waves approaching a barrier. Which pattern will be formed after
the waves pass through the opening in the barrier? (ans B)
OCTOBER 2005 – 11:
26 The speed of sound in human tissue is about 1600 m/s. If an ultrasound pulse takes
1.5 10 – 5 s to travel through a tissue, what is the thickness of the tissue?
F 2.4 km
G 2.4 m
H 24 cm
J* 24 mm
OCTOBER 2005 – 11:
32 A tuning fork with a frequency of 256 Hz vibrates when struck. Because of these
vibrations, a nearby tuning fork begins to vibrate without being struck. Which of the
following best accounts for the vibration of the second tuning fork?
F* Resonance
G Polarization
H Diffraction
J Refraction
FALL 2005 – 11, JULY 2006 - 11:
13 A guitar player is seated next to a piano. The piano player strikes an E
key on the piano. The guitarist reports that this causes the E string on
his guitar to vibrate. What is the name of this phenomenon?
A Polarization
B* Resonance
C Reflection
D Diffraction
FALL 2005 – 11:
42 A surface wave generated by an earthquake was recorded at Seismic
Station 1. Forty seconds later the same wave was recorded at Seismic
Station 2. What accounts for the time difference?
F* The origin of the wave is closer to Seismic Station 1.
G The speed of the wave decreases with distance.
H The wavelength is longer at Seismic Station 2.
J The wave frequency increases when the wave passes through soil.
FEBRUARY 2006 – 11:
24 Diverging lenses are useful to people who suffer from nearsightedness because the
lenses can cause images of distant objects to be focused on the retina. Lenses allow
images to be focused on the retina because of —
F diffusion
G reflection
H diffraction
J* refraction
APRIL 2006 – 11:
6 When a DVD is read, laser light touches the DVD surface and is then measured at
location A. What allows light to return to location A after striking the DVD surface?
F Conduction
G Refraction
H Magnification
J* Reflection
APRIL 2006 – 11:
17 An empty cup was tightly covered with plastic wrap, and a few grains of salt were
sprinkled on top of the plastic. When a tuning fork was struck and placed slightly above
the plastic wrap, the salt began to move. Which characteristic of waves does the
movement of the salt best demonstrate?
A Echo formation
B Diffraction
C* Resonance
D Specular reflection
APRIL 2006 – 10:
10 Which label on the model represents a wavelength?
F* Q
GR
HS
JT