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Course: American System Physics
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American System Physics

A Physics Toolkit

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Representing Motion

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Accelerated Motion

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Forces in One Dimension

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Displacement and Force in Two Dimensions

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Motion in Two Dimensions

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Gravitation

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Rotational Motion

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Momentum and Its Conservation

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Energy and Its Conservation

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Thermal Energy

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States of Matter

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Vibrations and Waves

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Sound

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Fundamentals of Light

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Reflection and Refraction

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Interference and Diffraction

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Electrostatics

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Electric Current and Circuits

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Magnetic Fields

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Electromagnetic Induction and Electromagnetism

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Quantum Theory and the Atom

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Solid-State Electronics

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Nuclear and Particle Physics

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Quiz

13.2 Wave Properties – Quiz

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Wave Properties American Physics quiz: free practice for American System Physics. Work through this Wave Properties American Physics quiz and get instant feedback on every answer. If you get stuck, review the 13.2 Wave Properties — Notes lesson. More practice: American System Physics — all units. Syllabus: OpenStax free science textbooks.

  • Questions count: 50
  • Passing grade: A-
  • Time limit:
Start Quiz
1.
The graph is a snapshot of a transverse wave on a rope. What are its wavelength and amplitude?
Dr Dabour Hub Academy - figure 1
λ = 0.80 m, amplitude = 3.0 cm
λ = 0.40 m, amplitude = 3.0 cm
λ = 0.80 m, amplitude = 6.0 cm
λ = 2.0 m, amplitude = 1.5 cm
2.
The graph is a snapshot of ripples on a pond (distance in metres). The ripples are produced at 12 Hz. What is their speed?
Dr Dabour Hub Academy - figure 2
0.24 m/s
0.48 m/s
300 m/s
6.0 m/s
3.
The graph shows how the displacement of one floating cork changes with time as water waves pass. What is the frequency of the waves?
Dr Dabour Hub Academy - figure 3
0.25 Hz
2.0 Hz
4.0 Hz
8.0 Hz
4.
The displacement–time graph shown is for one point on a water wave travelling at 1.5 m/s. What is the wavelength of the wave?
Dr Dabour Hub Academy - figure 4
3.0 m
0.50 m
0.38 m
0.75 m
5.
The diagram shows the coils of a slinky carrying a longitudinal wave. What is the wavelength?
Dr Dabour Hub Academy - figure 5
8 cm
4 cm
16 cm
2 cm
6.
The diagram shows a longitudinal wave on a slinky, produced by pushing the end back and forth 5 times per second. What is the wave speed?
Dr Dabour Hub Academy - figure 6
0.25 m/s
0.50 m/s
50 m/s
1.0 m/s
7.
In the ripple tank shown, the dipper vibrates at 8.0 Hz. What is the speed of the waves in the shallow region?
Dr Dabour Hub Academy - figure 7
12 cm/s
0.12 cm/s
8.0 cm/s
16 cm/s
8.
A student reads the snapshot graph shown and states that the amplitude is 10 cm. What is the correct amplitude and the student's likely error?
Dr Dabour Hub Academy - figure 8
10 cm; the student is correct
5.0 cm; the student measured from crest to trough
2.5 cm; the student doubled a quarter wavelength
5.0 cm; the student read the wavelength instead
9.
A ripple tank at constant depth gives the results in the table. Which conclusion about the row for 8.0 Hz is correct?
It shows speed increases with frequency
Its frequency must have been 5.0 Hz, so the row is fine
Its wavelength is anomalous; it should be about 1.5 cm
It proves speed depends on the source
10.
A wave travels from deep to shallow water (table). What is its wavelength in the shallow water?
0.60 m
1.8 m
0.80 m
0.45 m
11.
A student measures the distance across 10 wavefronts on a ripple-tank photo three times (table). What is the wavelength?
1.50 cm
15.0 cm
1.36 cm
1.67 cm
12.
A student classifies four waves in the table. Which row contains an error?
Row A
Row C
Row B
Row D
13.
The table shows the speed of waves on a stretched string at different tensions. What does it show?
Wave speed is set by the frequency of the source
Wave speed is independent of tension
Wave speed increases with tension, so speed depends on the medium's properties
Wave speed is proportional to tension
14.
Waves passing a marker in a ripple tank are counted for 10 s in three trials (table). What is the frequency?
50 Hz
0.20 Hz
10 Hz
5.0 Hz
15.
The table shows the speed of water waves at different depths. Which statement is supported by the data?
Waves slow down as the water gets shallower
Waves speed up as the water gets shallower
The speed does not depend on depth
Speed is directly proportional to depth
16.
A wave generator sends waves along the same rope at different frequencies (table). What is the wavelength at 500 Hz?
4.2 m
0.68 m
0.42 m
1.5 m
17.
Complete the table: what sets the wavelength of a wave?
The source only
The medium only
Both the source and the medium (λ = v/f)
The amplitude
18.
In a ripple-tank experiment, why is a stroboscope (or a photo with a ruler in view) used?
To increase the frequency of the dipper
To make the water shallower
To measure the amplitude of the waves directly
To freeze the moving wave pattern so the wavelength can be measured
19.
A student wants to show that wave speed in a ripple tank does not depend on frequency. Which variable must be kept constant?
The depth of the water
The frequency of the dipper
The wavelength
The number of wavefronts counted
20.
The shadows of the ripples on the screen below a ripple tank are slightly magnified by the lamp. How does this affect the measured wave speed if the frequency is correct?
The speed will be too small
The speed is unaffected because frequency is correct
The measured wavelength, and so the calculated speed, will be too large
The frequency will appear to increase
21.
Which method would best measure the speed of a single pulse along a long stretched rope?
Measure the amplitude of the pulse with a metre rule
Count how many pulses pass per second
Measure the wavelength of the pulse with a stroboscope
Time the pulse over a measured distance several times and use v = d/t with the mean time
22.
A wave on a string has frequency 25 Hz and wavelength 0.60 m. What is its speed?
42 m/s
15 m/s
0.024 m/s
26 m/s
23.
A radio station broadcasts at 1.20 MHz. Radio waves travel at 3.00 × 10⁸ m/s. What is the wavelength?
250000000 m
360 m
250 m
4.00 m
24.
Ocean swell with crests 1.2 m apart passes a buoy, one crest every 0.40 s. How fast do the crests move?
0.48 m/s
0.33 m/s
1.5 m/s
3.0 m/s
25.
A wave in deep water has speed 2.4 m/s and wavelength 1.6 m. It moves into shallow water where its speed is 1.8 m/s. What is its new wavelength?
1.6 m
1.2 m
2.1 m
2.7 m
26.
A wave generator's frequency is tripled while the wave stays on the same rope. What happens to the wavelength?
It triples
It stays the same
It becomes one third as long
It becomes nine times shorter
27.
An earthquake produces P-waves and S-waves. Detectors on the far side of the Earth receive P-waves but no S-waves. What does this suggest?
The Earth's core is made entirely of solid rock
P-waves are transverse and travel through anything
S-waves travel faster and have already passed
Part of the Earth's interior (the outer core) is liquid, which S-waves cannot cross
28.
A cork floats on a pond as ripples pass. How does the cork move?
It bobs up and down about the same position
It moves along with the ripples to the edge
It moves back and forth along the direction of the ripples only
It stays completely still
29.
Which wave can travel through a vacuum?
Sound
Light
A wave on a rope
A water ripple
30.
Two points on a wave are 1.5 wavelengths apart. How are they moving relative to each other?
In phase (moving together)
A quarter of a cycle apart
In antiphase (moving in opposite directions)
One is always stationary
31.
Wave A has twice the amplitude of wave B in the same medium. Which statement is correct?
Wave A travels twice as fast
Wave A has twice the frequency
Wave A carries half as much energy
Wave A carries about four times as much energy
32.
Crests, troughs, compressions and rarefactions belong to particular kinds of wave. Which pairing is correct?
Crests and troughs – longitudinal wave
Compressions and rarefactions – longitudinal wave
Compressions and rarefactions – transverse wave
S-waves – longitudinal wave
33.
A wave crest travels 18 m along a lake in 6.0 s. The wave speed is _____.
3.0 m/s
108 m/s
0.33 m/s
12 m/s
34.
The region of a longitudinal wave where particles are closer together than normal is a _____.
rarefaction
compression
crest
node
35.
The frequency of a wave is set by the _____, while its speed is set by the medium.
medium
amplitude
source
wavelength
36.
Points on a wave that are half a wavelength apart are said to be in _____.
phase
resonance
compression
antiphase
37.
A wave has frequency 50 Hz. Its period is _____.
0.020 s
50 s
0.20 s
0.0020 s
38.
The ripple-tank picture shows that the frequency of the waves is higher in the shallow region, because the wavefronts are closer together there. True or false?
Dr Dabour Hub Academy - figure 9
True
True, because more wavefronts fit into each centimetre
True only when the dipper is speeded up
False
39.
On this graph the horizontal distance between neighbouring peaks is the wavelength of the wave. True or false?
Dr Dabour Hub Academy - figure 10
False
True
True, because peak-to-peak spacing always gives the wavelength
True only when the wave is transverse
40.
Measuring across 10 wavefronts and dividing by 10 gives a more precise wavelength than measuring a single wavelength. True or false?
False
True
False, because the ruler has the same uncertainty either way
True only when the waves are longitudinal
41.
In a ripple tank, uneven water depth across the tank would make the wavefront spacing vary from place to place. True or false?
True
False
False, because wavelength depends only on the dipper
True only when the dipper frequency is changed
42.
In a longitudinal wave, the particles of the medium vibrate parallel to the direction in which energy is transferred. True or false?
True
False
False, because longitudinal particles move at right angles to the wave
True only when the wave travels in a solid
43.
When a wave enters a new medium, its frequency changes but its wavelength stays the same. True or false?
True
False
True, because the source frequency adapts to the medium
True only when the wave meets the boundary head-on
44.
A rarefaction is a region of a longitudinal wave where the particles are further apart and the pressure is lower than normal. True or false?
False
False, because particles are pushed together in a rarefaction
True
True only when the wave is transverse
45.
For waves in the same medium, increasing the frequency increases the wave speed. True or false?
True
True, because v = fλ shows v rises with f
True only when the amplitude is also increased
False
46.
Wavefronts are lines joining points that are in phase, and neighbouring wavefronts are one wavelength apart. True or false?
True
False
False, because wavefronts are half a wavelength apart
True only when the wavefronts are circular
47.
A sound wave in air transfers air particles from the loudspeaker to the listener's ear. True or false?
True
False
True, because wind is created by the loudspeaker
True only when the sound is very loud
48.
A ray drawn to show the direction of travel of a wave is always at right angles to the wavefronts. True or false?
False
False, because rays run parallel to wavefronts
True
True only when the wavefronts are straight
49.
A single disturbance sent along a slinky, rather than a continuous wave train, is called a pulse. True or false?
False
False, because a pulse must repeat regularly
True only when the disturbance is longitudinal
True
50.
Mechanical transverse waves, such as waves on a string, can travel through a vacuum. True or false?
False
True
True, because all transverse waves travel in a vacuum
True only when the string is very tight
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Part of Vibrations and Waves — see every lesson and quiz in this unit.
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