Quiz AS Level Physics Topic 14 Waves

A mass attached to the lower end of a spring bounces up and down. At which points in the path of the mass do the gravitational potential energy of the mass (GPE), the elastic potential energy in the spring (EPE) and the kinetic energy of the mass (KE) have their highest values?

When sound travels through air, the air particles vibrate. A graph of displacement against time for a single air particle is shown. Which graph best shows how the kinetic energy of the air particle varies with time?

Which statement about electromagnetic radiation is correct?

A stationary sound wave is produced in a tube. Which statement describes the wave speed?

Two identical loudspeakers are connected in series to an a.c. supply, as shown. Which graph best shows the variation of the intensity of the sound with distance along the line XY?

Which statement about waves is correct?

The variation with distance x of the intensity I along a stationary sound wave in air is shown by the graph. The speed of sound in air is 340 m s^–1. What is the frequency of the sound wave?

Plane wavefronts in a ripple tank pass through a gap as shown. Which property of the wave will be different at Q compared with P?

An organ pipe of length l is open at both ends. Notes are produced by the pipe when stationary waves are set up. The speed of sound in the air column is v. What is the lowest (fundamental) frequency of the note produced by the pipe?

The diagram shows a sketch of a wave pattern, over a short period of time. Which description of this wave is correct?

Which statement about a light wave and a sound wave is correct? .

The sound from a loudspeaker placed above a tube causes resonance of the air in the tube. A stationary wave is formed with two nodes and two antinodes as shown. The speed of sound in air is 330 m s^–1. What is the frequency of the sound?

A student connects two loudspeakers to a signal generator. As the student walks from P to Q, he notices that the loudness of the sound rises and falls repeatedly. What causes the loudness of the sound to vary?

Electromagnetic waves from an unknown source in space were found to be significantly diffracted when passing through gaps of the order of 10^–5 m. Which type of wave are they most likely to be?

The graph shows how the height of the water surface at a point in a harbour varies with time t as waves pass the point. What are p and q ?

The three waves shown in each diagram have the same amplitude and frequency but differ in phase. They are added together to give a resultant wave. In which case is the resultant wave zero?

A stationary sound wave has a series of nodes. The distance between the first and the sixth node is 30.0 cm. What is the wavelength of the sound wave?

What is meant by diffraction? .

A student sets up apparatus to observe the double-slit interference of monochromatic light, as shown. Interference fringes are formed on the screen. Which change would increase the distance between adjacent fringes?

Which statement about longitudinal waves is correct?

The order of magnitude of the frequency of the longest-wavelength ultraviolet waves can be expressed as 10^x Hz. What is the value of x?

The speed v of waves in deep water is given by the equation v^2 = gλ/2π where λ is the wavelength of the waves and g is the acceleration of free fall. A student measures the wavelength λ and the frequency f of a number of these waves. Which graph should he plot to give a straight line through the origin?

A stationary wave on a stretched string is set up between two points P and T. Which statement about the wave is correct?

The basic principle of note production in a horn is to set up a stationary wave in an air column. For any note produced by the horn, a node is formed at the mouthpiece and an antinode is formed at the bell. The frequency of the lowest note is 75 Hz. What are the frequencies of the next two higher notes for this air column?

A student attempts to show the interference of light using two identical green LEDs. Which statement explains why the experiment will not succeed?

A stationary wave is set up on a stretched string, as shown. Which statement about the points on the string is correct?

In which situation do sound waves not travel?

A wave in a ripple tank passes from a deeper to a shallower region and refracts. Which wave properties decrease as the wave enters the shallow region?

A ray of light is incident on the surface of a glass block, as shown in the diagram. The refractive index of the glass is 1.5. The light ray changes direction when entering the glass. What is the angle x through which the ray moves?

A ray of light travels from X to Y along an optical fibre. The angle of incidence at Y is greater than the critical angle. In which direction does the ray of light travel after reaching point Y?

A ball floating in a ripple tank begins to move vertically up and down as a wave passes beneath it. The ball does not move horizontally. Which statement is correct?

A ray of light in glass is incident on the surface at an angle c. The angle c is the critical angle. Which diagram shows what happens to the light?

A ray of light is incident on the surface of a glass block, as shown in the diagram. The refractive index of the glass is 1.5. The light ray changes direction when entering the glass. What is the angle x through which the ray moves?

Two sound waves X and Y are compared. - X has the greater frequency, Y has the greater amplitude. How do the loudness and pitch of sound wave Y compare to those of X?

A wave pulse moves along a stretched rope in the direction shown. Which diagram correctly shows the variation with time t of the displacement s of the particle P in the rope?

The table contains statements about stationary and progressive waves. Which row is correct?

Wave generators at points X and Y produce water waves of the same wavelength. At point Z, the waves from X have the same amplitude as the waves from Y. Distances XZ and YZ are as shown. When the wave generators operate in phase, the amplitude of oscillation at Z is zero. What could be the wavelength of the waves?

Two light waves of the same frequency are represented by the diagram. What could be the phase difference between the two waves?

A sound wave has a speed of 330 m s^–1 and a frequency of 50 Hz. What is a possible distance between two points on the wave that have a phase difference of 60°?

What is not an essential condition for an observable interference pattern to occur between the waves from two sources?