Question 1
Question
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?
Question 2
Question
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?
Question 3
Question
Which statement about electromagnetic radiation is correct?
Answer
-
A Waves of wavelength 5 × 10^–9 m are high-energy gamma rays.
-
B Waves of wavelength 3 × 10^–8 m are ultra-violet waves.
-
C Waves of wavelength 5 × 10^–7 m are infra-red waves.
-
D Waves of wavelength 9 × 10^–7 m are light waves.
Question 4
Question
A stationary sound wave is produced in a tube.
Which statement describes the wave speed?
Answer
-
A It is the distance between two adjacent nodes divided by the period of the wave.
-
B It is the speed at which energy is transferred from one antinode to an adjacent antinode.
-
C It is the speed of a particle at an antinode.
-
D It is the speed of one of the progressive waves that are producing the stationary wave.
Question 5
Question
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?
Question 6
Question
Which statement about waves is correct?
Answer
-
A All electromagnetic waves travel at the same speed in a vacuum.
-
B Longitudinal waves can be polarised.
-
C The amplitude of a wave is directly proportional to the energy transferred by the wave.
-
D The frequency of infra-red light is greater than the frequency of ultra-violet light.
Question 7
Question
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?
Answer
-
A 1700 Hz
-
B 2270 Hz
-
C 3400 Hz
-
D 6800 Hz
Question 8
Question
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?
Answer
-
A velocity
-
B frequency
-
C amplitude
-
D wavelength
Question 9
Question
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?
Answer
-
A 2v/l
-
B v/l
-
C v/2l
-
D v/4l
Question 10
Question
The diagram shows a sketch of a wave pattern, over a short period of time.
Which description of this wave is correct?
Answer
-
A The wave is longitudinal, has a wavelength of 20 cm and is stationary.
-
B The wave is transverse, has a wavelength of 20 cm and is stationary.
-
C The wave is transverse, has a wavelength of 40 cm and is progressive.
-
D The wave is transverse, has a wavelength of 40 cm and is stationary.
Question 11
Question
Which statement about a light wave and a sound wave is correct?
.
Answer
-
A Both can be polarised
-
B Both can travel through free space.
-
C Both have a frequency inversely proportional to their wavelength.
-
D Both have an intensity proportional to their amplitude.
Question 12
Question
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?
Answer
-
A 413 Hz
-
B 550 Hz
-
C 830 Hz
-
D 1650 Hz
Question 13
Question
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?
Answer
-
A diffraction of the sound waves
-
B interference of the sound waves
-
C polarisation of the sound waves
-
D reflection of the sound waves
Question 14
Question
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?
Answer
-
A radio waves
-
B microwaves
-
C infra-red waves
-
D ultraviolet waves
Question 15
Question
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 ?
Answer
-
A p = displacement; q = period
-
A p = displacement; q = wavelength
-
A p = amplitude; q = period
-
A p = amplitude; q = wavelength
Question 16
Question
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?
Question 17
Question
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?
Answer
-
A 5.0 cm
-
B 6.0 cm
-
C 10.0 cm
-
D 12.0 cm
Question 18
Question
What is meant by diffraction?
.
Answer
-
A Addition of two coherent waves to produce a stationary wave pattern
-
B Bending of waves round an obstacle.
-
C Change of direction when waves cross the boundary between one medium and another.
-
D Splitting of white light into colours.
Question 19
Question
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?
Answer
-
A Decrease the distance between the two slits.
-
B Decrease the width of each slit.
-
C Move the screen closer to the double-slit.
-
D Use light of a higher frequency.
Question 20
Question
Which statement about longitudinal waves is correct?
Answer
-
A Longitudinal waves include radio waves travelling through air.
-
B Particles in a longitudinal wave vibrate at right-angles to the direction of transfer of wave energy.
-
C Some types of longitudinal wave can be polarised.
-
D Stationary waves can be produced by the superposition of longitudinal waves.
Question 21
Question
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?
Question 22
Question
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?
Answer
-
A f ^2 against λ
-
B f against λ^2
-
C f against 1/λ
-
D f ^2 against 1/λ
Question 23
Question
A stationary wave on a stretched string is set up between two points P and T.
Which statement about the wave is correct?
Answer
-
A Point R is at a node.
-
B Points Q and S vibrate in phase.
-
C The distance between P and T is three wavelengths.
-
D The wave shown has the lowest possible frequency.
Question 24
Question
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?
Answer
-
A first higher note = 113 Hz; second higher note = 150 Hz
-
B first higher note = 150 Hz; second higher note = 225 Hz
-
C first higher note = 150 Hz; second higher note = 300 Hz
-
D first higher note = 225 Hz; second higher note = 375 Hz
Question 25
Question
A student attempts to show the interference of light using two identical green LEDs.
Which statement explains why the experiment will not succeed?
Answer
-
A The light waves from the sources are not coherent.
-
B The light waves from the sources do not have the same amplitude.
-
C The light waves from the sources have a range of wavelengths.
-
D The light waves from the sources are not monochromatic.
Question 26
Question
A stationary wave is set up on a stretched string, as shown.
Which statement about the points on the string is correct?
Answer
-
A Point Q vibrates with the largest amplitude.
-
B Points P and R vibrate in phase.
-
C Point S is an antinode.
-
D The horizontal distance between R and S is half the wavelength.
Question 27
Question
In which situation do sound waves not travel?
Answer
-
A from a satellite in space to Earth
-
B from a ship to a submarine
-
C from an explosion underground to the surface
-
D through a balloon filled with helium gas
Question 28
Question
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?
Question 29
Question
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?
Question 30
Question
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?
Question 31
Question
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?
Answer
-
A Both energy and water are transferred in the wave direction.
-
B Energy is not transferred in the wave direction but water is.
-
C Energy is transferred in the wave direction but water is not.
-
D Neither energy nor water is transferred in the wave direction.
Question 32
Question
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?
Question 33
Question
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?
Question 34
Question
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?
Answer
-
A Y is louder and higher pitch.
-
B Y is louder and lower pitch.
-
C Y is quieter and higher pitch.
-
D Y is quieter and lower pitch.
Question 35
Question
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?
Question 36
Question
The table contains statements about stationary and progressive waves. Which row is correct?
Question 37
Question
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?
Answer
-
A 2 cm
-
B 3 cm
-
C 4 cm
-
D 6 cm
Question 38
Question
Two light waves of the same frequency are represented by the diagram.
What could be the phase difference between the two waves?
Answer
-
A 150°
-
B 220°
-
C 260°
-
D 330°
Question 39
Question
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°?
Answer
-
A 0.03 m
-
B 1.1 m
-
C 2.2 m
-
D 6.6 m
Question 40
Question
What is not an essential condition for an observable interference pattern to occur between the waves from two sources?
Answer
-
A The frequencies of the two sources must be equal.
-
B The sources must be coherent.
-
C The sources must emit waves of equal amplitude.
-
D The waves from the two sources must overlap.