P1 - Waves

Question 0

What is a transverse wave?

Answer 0

These waves vibrate perpendicular to the direction of energy transfer of the wave.

Question 1

What can waves be used for?

Answer 1

Energy and information transfer.

Question 2

What type of wave is an electromagnetic wave?

Answer 2

Transverse

Question 3

What is a longitudinal wave?

Answer 3

The wave vibrates parallel to the direction of energy transfer of the wave.

Question 4

What type of wave is a sound wave?

Answer 4

Longitudinal

Question 5

What type of wave is a mechanical wave.

Answer 5

A mechanical wave can be transverse of longitudinal.

Question 6

What is needed for a mechanical wave to vibrate?

Answer 6

A medium

Question 7

How fast do EM waves travel?

Answer 7

300,000,000 m/s

Question 8

Give three examples of EM waves.

Answer 8

Visible light, radio, microwave

Question 9

What are the vibrations of a longitudinal wave also known as?

Answer 9

Compressions

Question 10

What is the amplitude of a wave?

Answer 10

The height or depth of a wave from the position of rest.

Question 11

What is the frequency of a wave?

Answer 11

The number of waves that pass a point in one second.

Question 12

What is a wave’s wavelength?

Answer 12

The distance from one crest to another.

Question 13

What is the formula for wave speed, wavelength and frequency?

Answer 13

v=f λ

Question 14

What is the unit of frequency?

Answer 14

Hertz

Question 15

What is the normal in a diagram showing light rays?

Answer 15

A line drawn at a point perpendicular to the mirror.

Question 16

What is an angle of incidence?

Answer 16

The angle between the incident ray and the normal.

Question 17

What is an angle of reflection?

Answer 17

The angle between the reflected ray and the normal.

Question 18

What is the law of reflection?

Answer 18

The angle of incidence equals the angle of reflection.

Question 19

What is a plane mirror?

Answer 19

A perfectly flat mirror.

Question 20

What is a virtual image?

Answer 20

An upright and laterally inverted image.

Question 21

How is a real image formed?

Answer 21

Focusing light onto a screen.

Question 22

What is refraction?

Answer 22

The change of direction of waves when they travel across a boundary.

Question 23

What happens to a light ray when it travels from air to glass?

Answer 23

The angle of refraction is less than the angle of incidence. The ray travels towards the normal.

Question 24

What happens to a light ray when travelling from glass into air?

Answer 24

The angle of refraction is more than the angle of impedance.

Question 25

What is diffraction?

Answer 25

The spread of waves when passing through a gap or round the edge of an obstacle.

Question 26

How does the width of the gap effect the diffraction of waves?

Answer 26

The narrower the gap is, the greater the diffraction.

Question 27

Why can radio and TV reception be poor in hilly areas?

Answer 27

If the radio waves do not diffract enough, the waves won't reach the aerial on a house.

Question 28

How does diffraction effect optical imaging?

Answer 28

If light diffracts too much, the image is of poor quality.

Question 29

How does diffraction effect ultrasonic imaging?

Answer 29

If the transmitter is too narrow, the waves spread out making the image unclear.

Question 30

What is the range of human hearing?

Answer 30

20-20,000 Hz

Question 31

What are sound waves?

Answer 31

Vibrations that travel through a medium.

Question 32

What are echoes?

Answer 32

Sound waves reflected from a smooth, hard surface.

Question 33

How can sound waves be produced?

Answer 33

Any object vibrating in air makes layers of air nearby vibrate.

Question 34

What is the speed of sound?

Answer 34

330ms^1

Question 35

How does air temperature affect the speed of sound?

Answer 35

The warmer the air, the greater the speed of sound.

Question 36

Where does sound refraction take place in air?

Answer 36

The boundaries between layers of air at different temperatures.

Question 37

Which way does sound reflect in the day and why?

Answer 37

In daytime, sound refracts upwards because the air near the ground is warmer than the air higher up.

Question 38

What determines the pitch of a note?

Answer 38

The pitch of a note increases with the frequency of sound waves.

Question 39

What happens to the loudness of a note as the amplitude increases?

Answer 39

The loudness of a note increases with the amplitude of the sound waves.

Question 40

How are sound waves created by musical instruments?

Answer 40

Vibrations made by the instrument when it is played produce sound waves.