Cambridge International A Level · Physics (9702)

Waves: Practice Questions

5 multiple-choice questions marked as you go, and 5 written questions with worked solutions. All on Waves.

10 questions24 marksFree, no account

Question 1

1 mark

All electromagnetic waves in free space share which common characteristic?

Question 2

1 mark

A sound wave has a wavelength of \(0.85 \text{ m}\) and travels at a speed of \(340 \text{ m/s}\) in air. What is its frequency?

Question 3

1 mark

A point source of sound emits waves equally in all directions. At a distance \(d\) from the source, the amplitude of the oscillations is \(A\) and the intensity is \(I\).
If the power emitted by the source is increased by \(44\%\) and the distance from the source is increased to \(2d\), what is the new amplitude of the sound wave at this distance?

Question 4

1 mark

Which of the following describes a longitudinal wave?

Question 5

1 mark

A sound wave with a frequency of \(440 \text{ Hz}\) passes from air into a material where the speed of sound is \(1500 \text{ m s}^{-1}\). What is the wavelength of this sound wave inside the material?

Question 6

2 marks

Identify which physical property of a wave remains unchanged when it undergoes diffraction as it passes through a narrow gap.

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Question 7

3 marks

A point source of light emits energy uniformly in all directions. At a distance of \( 4.0 \text{ m} \) from the source, the intensity of the light is \( I \). Calculate the intensity, in terms of \( I \), at a distance of \( 12.0 \text{ m} \) from the source, assuming no energy is absorbed by the medium.

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Question 8

6 marks

The graph shows the variation with distance \( x \) of the displacement \( s \) of the particles in a longitudinal wave at a particular time. Identify the positions on the \( x \)-axis where the pressure of the medium is at a maximum and explain your reasoning in terms of the gradient of the graph.

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Question 9

4 marks

(a) Define the wavelength of a progressive wave.

(b) State one difference between a transverse wave and a longitudinal wave in terms of the direction of oscillations and the direction of energy transfer.

(c) A radio wave travels through a vacuum at a speed of \(3.00 \times 10^8 \text{ m s}^{-1}\). The frequency of the wave is \(98.0 \text{ MHz}\). Calculate the wavelength of this radio wave.

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Question 10

4 marks

A point source of sound emits energy equally in all directions. At a distance \( r = 2.5 \text{ m} \) from the source, the intensity of the sound is \( I \) and the amplitude of the oscillations is \( A \).
(a) The observer moves to a new distance of \( 7.5 \text{ m} \) from the source. Calculate the new intensity in terms of \( I \).
(b) Determine the new amplitude of the sound waves at this new distance in terms of \( A \).
(c) State the relationship between intensity and amplitude that you used in your calculation.

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