Oscillations & Waves

MCQ
Paper - 1
(Part-1)
1

A wave motion is described by the oscillation of particles.

What is the name given to the number of complete oscillations of a particle in one second?
A amplitude
B frequency
C wavelength
D wave speed

A displacement time graph for a transverse wave is shown in the diagram.

The phase difference between X and Y can be expressed as n.

What is the value of n?
A 1.5
3

B 2.5

C 3.0

D 6.0

Continuous water waves are diffracted through a gap in a barrier in a ripple tank
Which change will cause the diffraction of the waves to increase?
A increasing the frequency of the waves
B increasing the width of the gap
C reducing the wavelength of the waves
D reducing the width of the gap

The interference patterns from a diffraction grating and a double slit are compared.
Using the diffraction grating, yellow light of the first order is seen at 30 to the normal to the grating.
The same light produces interference fringes on a screen 1.0 m from the double slit. The slit separation is 500
times greater than the line spacing of the grating.
What is the fringe separation on the screen?
A 2.5 107m
B 1.0 105m
C 1.0 103m
D 1.0 101m

What may be used to produce stationary waves?

A blowing air over the top of an empty bottle
B making a loud sound near a mountain
C passing monochromatic light through a double slit
D passing water waves through a narrow slit

Jahangir Masud
Senior Physics Teacher
O-A Level Section

Which phenomenon is associated with transverse waves but not longitudinal waves?
A polarisation
B reflection
C refraction
D superposition

A displacement-time graph is shown for a particular wave.

A second wave of similar type has twice the intensity and half the frequency.
When drawn on the same axes, what would the second wave look like?

The frequency of a certain wave is 500 Hz and its speed is 340 ms 1.

What is the phase difference between the motions of two points on the wave 0.17 m apart?
A /4 rad
B /2 rad
C 3/4 rad
D rad

Where, in a standing wave, do the vibrations of the medium occur?

A only at the nodes
B only at the antinodes
C at all points between the nodes
D at all points between the antinodes

10

Monochromatic light is incident on a diffraction grating and a diffraction pattern is observed.

Which line of the table gives the effect of replacing the grating with one that has more lines per
metre?

11

A double-slit interference experiment is set up as shown.

Jahangir Masud
Senior Physics Teacher
O-A Level Section

not to scale

Fringes are formed on the screen. The distance between successive bright fringes is found to be
4 mm.Two changes are then made to the experimental arrangement. The double slit is replaced by
another double slit which has half the spacing. The screen is moved so that its distance from the
double slit is twice as great.
What is now the distance between successive bright fringes?
A 1 mm B 4 mm C 8 mm D 16 mm

12

Polarisation is a phenomenon associated with a certain type of wave.

Which condition must be fulfilled if a wave is to be polarised?
A It must be a light wave.
B It must be a longitudinal wave.
C It must be a radio wave.
D It must be a transverse wave.

13

A sound wave has displacement y at distance x from its source at time t.

Which graph correctly shows the amplitude a and the wavelength of the wave?

14

The intensity of a progressive wave is proportional to the square of the amplitude of the wave. It is also
proportional to the square of the frequency.
The variation with time t of displacement x of particles in a medium, when two progressive waves P and Q
pass separately through the medium, are shown on the graphs.
Jahangir Masud
Senior Physics Teacher
O-A Level Section
The intensity of wave P is I0.
What is the intensity of wave Q?
A I0

15

B I0

C 8I0

D 16I0

A sound wave of frequency 150 Hz travels in water at a speed of 1500 m s 1. It then travels
through the surface of the water and into air, where its speed is 300 m s 1.
Which line in the table gives the correct values for the wavelengths of the sound in water and in
air?

16

The graph represents a standing wave at two different times.

What does the distance XY represent?

A half the amplitude
B half the frequency
C half the period
D half the wavelength

17

In which situation does diffraction occur?

A A wave bounces back from a surface.
B A wave passes from one medium into another.
C A wave passes through an aperture.
D Waves from two identical sources are superposed.

18

Light of wavelength 700 nm is incident on a pair of slits, forming fringes 3.0 mm apart on a screen.
What is the fringe spacing when light of wavelength 350 nm is used and the slit separation is doubled?
A 0.75 mm

19

B 1.5 mm

C 3.0 mm

D 6.0 mm

A diffraction grating is used to measure the wavelength of monochromatic light.

The spacing of the slits in the grating is 1.15 106m. The angle between the first order diffraction
maxima is 60.0o, as shown in the diagram.

What is the wavelength of the light?

A 287 nm
20

B 498 nm

C 575 nm

D 996 nm

The number of wavelengths of visible light in one metre is of the order of

A 104.

B 106.

C 108.

D 1010.
Jahangir Masud
Senior Physics Teacher
O-A Level Section

Oscillations & Waves

MCQ
Paper - 1
(Part-2)
1

A health inspector is measuring the intensity of a sound. Near a loudspeaker his meter records
an intensity I. This corresponds to an amplitude A of the sound wave. At another position the
meter gives an intensity reading of 2 I.
What is the corresponding sound wave amplitude?
A A/2 B 2A

C 2A

D 4A

A sound wave is set up in a long tube, closed at one end. The length of the tube is adjusted until
the sound from the tube is loudest.
What is the nature of the sound wave in the tube?
A longitudinal and progressive
B longitudinal and stationary
C transverse and progressive
D transverse and stationary

T is a microwave transmitter placed at a fixed distance from a flat reflecting surface S.

A small microwave receiver is moved steadily from T towards S and receives signals of alternate
maxima and minima of intensity.

The distance between successive maxima is 15 mm.

What is the frequency of the microwaves?
A 1.0 x 107Hz
B 2.0 x 107Hz
C 1.0 x 1010Hz
D 2.0 x 1010Hz
A teacher sets up the apparatus shown to demonstrate a two-slit interference pattern on the
screen.

Which change to the apparatus will increase the fringe spacing?

A decreasing the distance p
B decreasing the distance q
C decreasing the distance r
D decreasing the wavelength of the light
A parallel beam of white light is incident normally on a diffraction grating. It is noted that the
second-order and third-order spectra partially overlap.
Which wavelength in the third-order spectrum appears at the same angle as the wavelength of
600 nm in the second-order spectrum?
A 300 nm

B 400 nm

C 600 nm

Which of the following is a longitudinal wave?

A a light wave travelling through air
B a radio wave from a broadcasting station
C a ripple on the surface of water
D a sound wave travelling through air

D 900 nm
Jahangir Masud
Senior Physics Teacher
O-A Level Section

A stationary sound wave is set up along the line joining two loudspeakers.
Which measurement is sufficient on its own to enable you to deduce the wavelength of the wave?
A the amplitude of the sound wave
B the distance between the two loudspeakers
C the distance between two adjacent antinodes
D the frequency of the sound wave

A wave of amplitude 20 mm has intensity IX. Another wave of the same frequency but of
amplitude 5 mm has intensity IY.
What is IX /IY?
A2
B4
C 16
D 256

The diagram represents a stationary wave on a stretched string.

What is represented by point P and by the length x?

10

Fringes of separation y are observed on a screen 1.00 m from a Youngs slit arrangement that is
illuminated by yellow light of wavelength 600 nm.
At which distance from the slits would fringes of the same separation y be observed when using
blue light of wavelength 400 nm?
A 0.33 m B 0.67 m
C 0.75 m
D 1.50 m

11

Which observation indicates that sound waves are longitudinal?

A Sound can be reflected from a solid surface.
B Sound cannot be polarised.
C Sound is diffracted around corners.
D Sound is refracted as it passes from hot air to cold air.

12

The diagram shows a transverse wave on a rope. The wave is travelling from left to right.
At the instant shown, the points P and Q on the rope have zero displacement and maximum
displacement respectively.

Which of the following describes the direction of motion, if any, of the points P and Q at this
instant?
Jahangir Masud
Senior Physics Teacher
O-A Level Section
13

A plane wave of amplitude A is incident on a surface of area S placed so that it is perpendicular

to the direction of travel of the wave. The energy per unit time reaching the surface is E.
The amplitude of the wave is increased to 2 A and the area of the surface is reduced to S.
How much energy per unit time reaches this smaller surface?
A 4E B 2E C E
D E

14

What is the approximate range of frequencies of infra-red radiation?

A 1 x 103 Hz to 1 x 109 Hz
B 1 x 109 Hz to 1 x 1011 Hz
C 1 x 1011 Hz to 1 x 1014 Hz
D 1 x 1014 Hz to 1 x 1017 Hz

15

The lines of a diffraction grating have a spacing of 1.6 x 10 6m. A beam of light is incident
normally on the grating. The first order maximum makes an angle of 20o with the undeviated
beam.
What is the wavelength of the incident light?
A 210 nm
B 270 nm
C 420 nm
D 550 nm

16

The graph shows how the displacement of a particle in a wave varies with time.

Which of the following is correct?

A The wave has an amplitude of 2 cm and could be either transverse or longitudinal.
B The wave has an amplitude of 2 cm and must be transverse.
C The wave has an amplitude of 4 cm and could be either transverse or longitudinal.
D The wave has an amplitude of 4 cm and must be transverse.
17

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?
A 5.0 cm
B 6.0 cm
C 10.0 cm
D 12.0 cm

18

Which of the following applies to a progressive transverse wave?

19

Which of the following may be used to produce stationary waves?

A blowing air over the top of an empty bottle
B making a loud sound near a mountain
C passing monochromatic light through a double slit
D passing water waves through a narrow slit

20

Jahangir Masud
Senior Physics Teacher
O-A Level Section

In an interference experiment, two slits are illuminated with white light.

What is seen on the screen?

A The central fringe is black with black and white fringes on each side.
B The central fringe is black with coloured fringes on each side.
C The central fringe is white with black and white fringes on each side.
D The central fringe is white with coloured fringes on each side.

Oscillations & Waves

MCQ
Paper - 1
(Part-3)
1

Microwaves of wavelength 3.00cm are incident normally on a row of parallel metal rods. The
separation of the rods is 8.00 cm. The first order diffraction maximum is observed at an angle of
22.0 to the direction of the incident waves.
What is the angle between the first and second order diffraction maxima?
A 22.0

B 26.6

C 44.0

D 48.6

Which of the following is true for all transverse waves?

A They are all electromagnetic.
B They can all be polarised.
C They can all travel through a vacuum.
D They all involve the oscillation of atoms.

The graph represents a stationary wave at two different times.

What does the distance XY represent?

A half the amplitude
B half the frequency
C half the period
D half the wavelength
4

Electromagnetic waves of wavelength and frequency f travel at speed c in a vacuum.

Which of the following describes the wavelength and speed of electromagnetic waves of
frequency f / 2?

A sound wave is displayed on the screen of a cathode-ray oscilloscope. The time base of the c.r.o.
is set at 2.5 ms / cm.

Jahangir Masud
Senior Physics Teacher
O-A Level Section
What is the frequency of the sound wave?
A 50 Hz
6

B 100 Hz

C 200 Hz

D 400 Hz

When the light from two lamps falls on a screen, no interference pattern can be obtained.
Why is this?
A The lamps are not point sources.
B The lamps emit light of different amplitudes.
C The light from the lamps is not coherent.
D The light from the lamps is white.

A diffraction grating is used to measure the wavelength of monochromatic light, as shown in the
diagram.

The spacing of the slits in the grating is 1.00 x 106 m. The angle between the first order diffraction
maxima is 70.0.
What is the wavelength of the light?
A 287nm B 470nm
8

A 3 102 m
9

C 574nm

D 940nm

Which value is a possible wavelength for radiation in the microwave region of the electromagnetic
spectrum?
B 3 105 m

C 3 108 m

D 3 1010m

The four graphs represent a progressive wave on a stretched string. Graphs A and B show how
the displacement d varies with distance x along the string at one instant. Graphs C and D show
how the displacement d varies with time t at a particular value of x.
The labels on the graphs are intended to show the wavelength , the period T, and the amplitude
a of the wave, but only one graph is correctly labelled.
Which graph is correctly labelled?

10

A wave of amplitude a has an intensity of 3.0Wm2.

What is the intensity of a wave of the same frequency that has an amplitude 2a?
A 4.2Wm2

6.0Wm2

9.0Wm2

12Wm2

11

Coherent monochromatic light illuminates two narrow parallel slits and the interference pattern
that results is observed on a screen some distance beyond the slits.
Which change increases the separation between the dark lines of the interference pattern?
Jahangir Masud
A using monochromatic light of higher frequency
Senior Physics Teacher
B using monochromatic light of a longer wavelength
O-A Level Section
C decreasing the distance between the screen and the slits
D increasing the distance between the slits

12

Monochromatic light of wavelength 590 nm is incident normally on a diffraction grating. The angle
between the two second-order diffracted beams is 43.
What is the spacing of the lines on the grating?
A 0.87 m
B 1.6 m
C 1.7 m
D 3.2 m

13

Which of the following summarises the change in wave characteristics on going from infra-red to
ultraviolet in the electromagnetic spectrum?

14

The diagram shows a cathode-ray oscilloscope trace of a sound wave. The time-base is calibrated
at 2.0 ms cm1.

What is the frequency of the sound wave?

A 62.5 Hz
15

B 125 Hz

C 250 Hz

D 500 Hz

Which statement correctly relates the intensity of a sound wave to the vibrations of the molecules?
A intensity amplitude
B intensity (amplitude)2
C intensity displacement
D intensity (displacement)2

16

The diagram shows an experiment which has been set up to demonstrate two-source interference,
using microwaves of wavelength .
Jahangir Masud
Senior Physics Teacher
O-A Level Section

The detector is moved from O in the direction of the arrow. The signal detected decreases until the
detector reaches the point X, and then starts to increase again as the detector moves beyond X.
Which equation correctly determines the position of X?
A OX = /2
17

B OX =

C S2X S1X = /2

D S2X S1X =

Two progressive waves of frequency 300 Hz are superimposed to produce a stationary wave in
which adjacent nodes are 1.5m apart.
What is the speed of the progressive waves?
A 100ms1

B 200ms1

C 450ms1

D 900ms1

10