Physics Practice Questions - Vibrations and waves

C

34) A floating leaf oscillates up and down two complete cycles in one second as a water wave passes by. The wave's wavelength is 10 meters. What is the wave's speed? A) 2 m/s B) 10 m/s C) 20 m/s D) 40 m/s E) more than 40 m/s

D

35) A wave travels an average distance of 6 meters in one second. What is the wave's velocity? A) less than 0.2 m/s B) 1 m/s C) 3 m/s D) 6 m/s E) more than 6 m/s

D

36) A wave travels an average distance of 1 meter in 1 second with a frequency of 1 hertz. Its amplitude is A) less than 1 meter. B) 1 meter. C) more than 1 meter. D) not enough information to say

B

37) The frequency of the second hand on a clock is A) 1 hertz. B) 1/60 hertz. C) 60 hertz.

C

38) The period of the second hand on a clock is A) 1 second. B) 1/60 second. C) 60 seconds. D) 3600 seconds. E) 12 hours.

A

39) A Doppler effect occurs when a source of sound moves A) toward you. B) at right angles to you. C) both of these D) none of these

A

4) In a longitudinal wave the compressions and rarefactions travel in A) the same direction. B) opposite directions. C) a vacuum.

C

41) Some of a wave's energy dissipates as heat. In time, this will reduce the wave's A) speed. B) wavelength. C) amplitude. D) frequency. E) period.

C

42) The amplitude of a particular wave is 1 meter. The top-to-bottom distance of the disturbance is A) 0.5 m. B) 1 m. C) 2 m. D) none of these

B

43) When a pendulum clock at sea level is taken to the top of a high mountain, it will A) gain time. B) lose time. C) neither gain nor lose time.

B

44) If you double the frequency of a vibrating object, its period A) doubles. B) halves. C) is quartered.

A

45) You dip your finger repeatedly into water and make waves. If you dip your finger more frequently, the wavelength of the waves A) shortens. B) lengthens. C) stays the same.

B

46) During a single period, the distance traveled by a wave is A) one-half wavelength. B) one wavelength. C) two wavelengths.

C

47) A floating object oscillates up and down 2 complete cycles in 1 second as a water wave of wavelength 5 meters passes by. The speed of the wave is A) 2 m/s. B) 5 m/s. C) 10 m/s. D) 15 m/s. E) none of these

D

48) A wave oscillates up and down two complete cycles each second. If the wave travels an average distance of 6 meters in one second, its wavelength is A) 0.5 m. B) 1 m. C) 2 m. D) 3 m. E) 6 m.

D

49) As a train of water waves goes by, a piece of cork floating on the water bobs up and down one complete cycle each second. The waves are 2 meters long. What is the speed of the wave? A) 0.25 m/s B) 0.50 m/s C) 1.0 m/s D) 2 m/s E) 4 m/s

A

5) Which of the following is not a transverse wave? A) sound B) light C) radio D) all of these E) none of these

A

50) A skipper on a boat notices wave crests passing the anchor chain every 5 seconds. The skipper estimates the distance between crests is 15 m. What is the speed of the water waves? A) 3 m/s B) 5 m/s C) 15 m/s D) not enough information given

B

51) A child swings to and fro on a playground swing. If the child stands rather than sits, the time for a to-and-fro swing is A) lengthened. B) shortened. C) unchanged.

B

53) A pendulum clock at high altitudes runs A) fast. B) slow. C) normally as it does at sea level.

A

54) The stride of a horse depends somewhat on the pendulum-like swing of its legs. This stride would be higher in frequency if more of the mass in its legs were concentrated A) in the upper part, nearer the horse's body. B) towards its feet. C) halfway up its legs. D) uniformly all along its legs. E) none of these

D

55) A jet traveling at 1500 km/hr passes between observers A and B. In a short time a sonic boom will be heard by A) observer A , observer B, and the pilot of the jet. B) observer A only. C) observer B only. D) observers A and B, but not the pilot.

A

56) The sonic boom at ground level produced by an aircraft will be reduced if the aircraft A) is smaller, flies higher, and is more streamlined. B) flies higher. C) is more streamlined. D) is smaller. E) None of the above choices are true.

E

58) As a source of continuous sound approaches a constant speed, you will be aware of an apparent increasing of its A) loudness, frequency, and wavelength. B) loudness and wavelength. C) loudness and frequency. D) frequency and wavelength. E) None of the above choices are correct.

B

59) If at a concert, a wind blows directly from the orchestra toward you, the speed of the sound you hear will be A) decreased. B) increased. C) neither decreased nor increased.

B

6) The vibrations of a transverse wave move in a direction A) along the direction of wave travel. B) at right angles to the direction of wave travel. C) that changes with speed.

C

60) At a concert the oboe is playing a long steady note as you walk away from the stage at an accelerating velocity toward the rest room. The pitch of the sound that you hear, is A) steady but higher than normal B) steady but lower than normal. C) continually decreasing. D) continually increasing. E) None of the above choices are correct.

B

61) If at a concert you run toward the orchestra, the frequency of the sound you hear will be A) decreased. B) increased. C) neither decreased nor increased.

C

62) Two wave crests are generated at opposite ends of a long rope. Will there be an instant in which the rope's amplitude is zero everywhere? A) Yes, if the waves have the same amplitude B) Yes, if the waves have different amplitudes. C) No.

A

7) The vibrations of a longitudinal wave move in a direction A) along the direction of wave travel. B) at right angles to the direction of wave travel. C) that changes with speed.

B

8) How many vibrations per second are associated with a 101-MHz radio wave? A) less than 101,000,000 B) 101,000,000 C) more than 101,000,000

B

9) Radio waves travel at the speed of light, 300,000 km/s. The wavelength of a radio wave received at 100 megahertz is A) 0.3 m. B) 3.0 m. C) 30 m. D) 300 m. E) none of these

C

2) A common source of wave motion is a A) wave pattern. B) harmonic object. C) vibrating object. D) region of variable high and low pressure. E) none of these

A

20) A node is a position of A) minimum amplitude. B) maximum amplitude. C) half amplitude.

D

21) The Doppler effect is characteristic of A) water waves. B) sound waves. C) light waves. D) all of the above choices E) none of the above choices

C

22) A Doppler effect occurs when a source of sound moves A) towards you. B) away from you. C) either towards you or away from you. D) in a circle around you.

B

23) A wave barrier is produced when a wave source moves A) nearly as fast as the waves it produces. B) as fast as the waves it produces. C) faster than the waves it produces.

C

24) A bow wave is produced when a wave source moves A) nearly as fast as the waves it produces. B) as fast as the waves it produces. C) faster than the waves it produces.

C

25) An observer on the ground hears a sonic boom which is created by an airplane flying at a speed A) just below the speed of sound. B) equal to the speed of sound. C) greater than the speed of sound. D) All of the above choices are true. E) None of the above choices are true.

B

26) An aircraft that flies faster than the speed of sound is said to be A) subsonic. B) supersonic. C) impossible.

B

27) As a supersonic craft increases in speed, the angle of its V-shaped shock wave becomes A) wider. B) narrower. C) neither

B

28) The source of a sonic boom A) must itself be an emitter of sound. B) may or may not be an emitter of sound. C) is not itself an emitter of sound.

C

29) A fishing-boat captain returns to port saying, "It's rough out there - the waves are 4 meters high." He probably means that the amplitude of the waves is A) 4 m. B) 3 m. C) 2 m. D) 1 m.

A

3) Like a transverse wave, a longitudinal wave has A) amplitude, frequency, wavelength, and speed B) amplitude, frequency, and wavelength. C) amplitude, wavelength, and speed. D) wavelength, speed, and frequency. E) amplitude, frequency, and speed.

C

30) The pendulum with the greatest frequency is the pendulum with the A) shortest period. B) shortest length. C) shortest period and the shortest length. D) shortest amplitude. E) greatest amplitude.

D

31) If waves are going by at the same speed, the wave with the greatest period of oscillation is the wave that has the greatest A) amplitude. B) length. C) frequency. D) None of the above choices are true.

B

32) If the waves are going by at the same frequency, the wave that has the greatest speed will have the greatest A) amplitude. B) length. C) frequency. D) None of the above choices are true.

C

33) A floating leaf oscillates up and down two complete cycles each second as a water wave passes by. What is the wave's frequency? A) 0.5 hertz B) 1 hertz C) 2 hertz D) 3 hertz E) 6 hertz

A

1) A wiggle in time is a A) vibration. B) wave. C) both D) neither

E

10) The frequency of a simple pendulum depends on A) its mass. B) its length. C) the acceleration due to gravity. D) all of these E) two of these

A

11) If the frequency of a certain wave is 10 hertz, its period is A) 0.1 second. B) 10 seconds. C) 100 seconds. D) None of the above choices are correct.

B

12) A 60-vibration-per-second wave travels 30 meters in 1 second. Its frequency is A) 30 hertz and it travels at 60 m/s. B) 60 hertz and it travels at 30 m/s. C) 1800 hertz and it travels at 2 m/s.

A

13) An object that completes 10 vibrations in 20 seconds has a frequency of A) 0.5 hertz. B) 2 hertz. C) 200 hertz.

C

14) An object that completes 20 vibrations in 10 seconds has a frequency of A) 0.5 hertz. B) 1 hertz. C) 2 hertz. D) 200 hertz.

D

15) An object that completes 100 vibrations in 5 seconds has a period of A) 0.5 second. B) 1 second. C) 2 seconds. D) None of the above choices are correct.

A

16) A weight suspended from a spring bobs up and down over a distance of 1 meter in two seconds. Its frequency is A) 0.5 hertz. B) 1 hertz. C) 2 hertz. D) None of the above choices are correct.

D

17) To say that one wave is out of phase with another is to say that the waves are A) of different amplitudes. B) of different frequencies. C) of different wavelengths. D) out of step. E) all of these

D

18) Wave interference occurs for A) sound waves. B) light waves. C) water waves. D) All of the above choices are correct. E) None of the above choices are correct.

B

19) A standing wave occurs when A) two waves overlap. B) a wave reflects upon itself. C) the speed of the wave is zero or near zero. D) the amplitude of a wave exceeds its wavelength.