Travelling Waves (DP IB Physics: HL)

A travelling wave has a frequency of 200 Hz. Two consecutive points with a phase difference of  are 1 cm apart.

What is the speed of the wave?

A radio station broadcasts in the frequency range 97-99 MHz.

What range of wavelengths are being used?

A longitudinal travelling wave has speed v and wavelength λ. What is the least distance between a compression and a rarefaction measured against the direction of propagation?

A sound wave has a wavelength of 0.40 m. What is the phase difference between two points along the wave which are 1.7 m apart?

Two waves are travelling from the surface of the Sun to the upper atmosphere of Earth.

Which statements must be correct?

1. The waves have the same frequency
2. The waves have the same speed
3. Neither wave is longitudinal
4. At least one of the waves is audible to humans

A section of the electromagnetic spectrum is shown. What could the labelled sections represent?

Which is a possible frequency of visible light?

Sound waves can be propagated through fluids and solids. Which statements are correct?

1. Sound waves have constant speed in air
2. Thunder always arrives before lighting because of the difference in wave speeds.
3. Sound waves can be modelled using the equation that v = fλ
4. Vibrations from an earthquake will be felt in the ground before they are heard, because of the difference in wave speeds

Which cannot be observed with ultrasound?

Approximately how many times larger is the wavelength of sound waves which are audible to humans greater than the wavelength of light waves which are visible to humans?

The intensity, I,  of a sound wave is inversely proportional to the square of the distance, d, from the source and directly proportional to the square of the amplitude, A. 

At distance d from the point source of a sound wave, the amplitude of the wave is 6 A.

What is the amplitude at a distance of 3 d?

The diagram shows a cross-sectional view through a water wave travelling from left to right.

At which point is the water moving with maximum speed in the upward direction?

The table below contains the frequencies of various parts of the electromagnetic spectrum. 

Which row correctly describes X as infrared and Y as X-rays?

The diagram shows a wave with a frequency of 25 Hz travelling from left to right.

At this particular instant in time, the displacement from the equilibrium position of point X is zero.

What is the shortest time to elapse for the displacement of point Y to be zero?

The graphs below show the displacement of a wave as a function of time and position.

What is a correct expression for wave speed?

The graph shows the displacement, x, of a wave pulse as a function of distance, d. 

Which graph correctly shows the displacement of the wave pulse as a function of time, t?

The star Deneb emits EM waves of wavelengths 500 µm, 5 µm, 0.5 µm and 0.005 µm.

Which row correctly identifies the areas of the EM spectrum to which these wavelengths belong?

Visible light has wavelengths ranging from 400 nm to 700 nm.

What is the maximum frequency of visible light?

The diagram shows the positions of three points on a string as a transverse wave travels along it from left to right.

Which row correctly shows the velocities of the points on the string?

The diagram below shows a water particle on the crest of a wave in a ripple tank. 

Which arrow correctly shows the force acting on the particle?