12 exam-style questions (50 marks) in three tiers. Try each one on paper first, then check the model answer and mark scheme.
Chapter 1 notes12 questions · 50 marks
Showing 12 of 12 questions
Recall and simple application
Define frequency and state its unit.
A wave has frequency 40 Hz. Calculate its period.
State one difference between transverse and longitudinal waves.
Explain why an astronaut on the Moon cannot shout a message to a nearby astronaut.
Structured, exam-style
Ripples in a tank have wavelength 0.40 m and frequency 2.5 Hz. Calculate (a) their speed and (b) their period.
A student shakes one end of a long rope tied to a wall, producing continuous transverse waves. Describe what a point on the rope does, what travels towards the wall, and what does not.
Describe how a vibrating tuning fork produces a longitudinal sound wave in the air around it.
12 complete waves pass a post in 6.0 s, and the wavelength is 2.0 cm. Calculate (a) the frequency and (b) the speed of the waves in cm/s.
Data, evaluation and explanation
A ship sends a sound pulse straight down; the echo from the seabed returns after 3.0 s. Sound travels at 1500 m/s in seawater. Calculate the depth of the seabed, explaining the factor used.
A displacement–time graph of a wave at a point shows crests of height 2.0 cm above the zero line, with successive crests 0.20 s apart. The wave’s wavelength is 0.34 m. Determine (a) the amplitude, (b) the frequency, (c) the speed.
A student measures the speed of sound by clapping near a large wall and timing the echo. Describe the method, state the equation used, and calculate the distance to a wall giving an echo after 1.2 s (speed of sound = 340 m/s). State one reason the timing must use an echo rather than the direct sound.
Two sound waves travel through the same air at 340 m/s. Wave A has frequency 200 Hz; wave B has frequency 400 Hz. Calculate the wavelength of each, and state which is heard at higher pitch and why. State one other change that would make either wave sound louder.
Next step
A 30-mark paper set out like a school paper, with a separate mark scheme. Give yourself 40 min.
Question paper
30 marks · 40 min · 4 pages
5 multiple-choice questions and structured questions with answer lines. Chapter 1 (wave motion and wavefronts; speed, frequency, wavelength, period, amplitude; v = fλ; transverse vs longitudinal; sound needs a medium, compressions and rarefactions; loudness, pitch, echoes).
Mark scheme
Answers · Marking points · 2 pages
Model answers with a mark for each creditworthy point — for marking at home or in class.