MCQ Questions

1. Which of the following waves cannot pass through a vacuum?

a. light b. sound c. X-rays d. radio waves
2. The distance between 2 successive wavefronts is equal to
a. half the distance between a crest and a trough b. the distance between a crest and a trough
c. the distance between two successive crests d. the distance between three successive crests
3. A ripple tank with a vibration hitting the surface of the water at a frequency of 50Hz produces 10 complete waves in a
distance of 20cm. The velocity of water wave produced is
a. 0.1 m/s b. 10 m/s c. 1 m/s d. 100 m/s
4. A crest of a water wave travels 40cm in 5s. If the distance between 2 successive crests is 5mm, what is the frequency of
the wave?
a. 0.2 Hz b. 1.6 Hz c. 8 Hz d. 16 Hz
5. In a ripple tank, circular waves are reflected from a straight barrier. Which one of the following shapes best describes the
shape of the reflected waves?
a. circular b. planar c. parabolic d. square
6. Which one of the following is changed when the wave is reflected?
a. wavelength b. frequency c. speed d. velocity
7. Which of the following is not changed when the wave is refracted?
a. wavelength b. frequency c. speed d. velocity
8. All electromagnetic waves in vacuum have the same
a. amplitude b. frequency c. wavelength d. velocity
9. Which of the following waves has the longest wavelength?
a. gamma rays b. infra-red c. ultraviolet d. X-rays
10. A dipper dips into the water in a ripple tank at a frequency of 20 Hz produces plane water waves which travel at a speed
of 40cm/s. What is the wavelength of the waves?
a. 0.02m b. 2m c. 40m d. 800m
11. A wave source of frequency 2000Hz emits waves of wavelength 0.2m. How long does it take for the waves to travel
4000m?
a. 0.4s b. 0.5s c. 2s d. 10s
12. Two notes are played on a piano. The second note is louder and has a lower pitch. The second note is
a. higher in amplitude and higher in frequency b. higher in amplitude and lower in frequency
c. lower in amplitude and higher in frequency d. lower in amplitude and lower in frequency
13. An instrument on a ship that is used to measure the distance between the ship and a cliff sends out a pulse of sound and
receives an echo 5s later. If the speed of sound in air is 330m/s, how far is the ship from the cliff?
a. 66m b. 825m c. 1650m d. 3300m
14. During a thunderstorm, an observer sees a lightning flash. 6 s later he hears the thunder. The speed of sound is 330m/s.
Approximately how far away is the observer from the lightning?
a. 1/20 km b. 1/3 km c. 1/2 km d. 2 km e. 30km
15. A dolphin emits an ultrasonic wave with a frequency of 150 000Hz. The speed of the ultrasonic wave in water is 1500m/s.
What is the wavelength of this wave in water.
a. 0.0001m b. 0.01m c. 0.1m d. 10m e. 100m
16. A marine survey ship sends a sound wave straight to the seabed. It receives an echo 1.5s later. The speed of sound in
seawater is 1500m/s. How deep is the sea at this position?
a. 500m b. 1000m c. 1125m d. 2250m e. 4500m
17. Water waves were produced in a ripple tank using a vibrator of frequency 3Hz. Which of the following values of speed
and wavelength could the waves have had?
a. speed = 1cm/s; wavelength = 3cm b. speed = 2cm/s; wavelength = 1cm c. speed = 5cm/s; wavelength = 15cm
d. speed = 6cm/s; wavelength = 3cm e. speed = 12cm/s ; wavelength = 4cm
18. A surf board moves at 5m/s on the crest of a wave. The distance between wave crests is 10m. The frequency of the
wave motion is
a. 0.5Hz b. 1Hz c. 2Hz d. 5Hz e. 10Hz
19. Which of the following cannot travel through glass?
a. ultraviolet waves b. water waves c. sound waves d. light waves
20. Which of the following is a property of electromagnetic waves?
a. they are reflected by mirror only b. they travel at a speed of 330m/s through air c. they are deflected by magnet
d they can travel through a vacuum
21. The figure shows a sea-wave that causes a small cork (z) to rise up and down through one complete oscillation every 4
seconds. Refer to this for questions 21 to 23.

The amplitude of the wave is
a. 0.5m b. 1.0m c. 1.5m d. 3.0m
22. The horizontal speed of the wave is
a. 0.25m/s b. 0.75m/s c. 4m/s d. 12m/s
23. If the wave is moving to the right, after 4 seconds the cork z will be at position
a. P b. Q c. R d. S
24. A large ripple tank with a vibrator working at a frequency of 30 Hz produces 25 complete waves in a distance of 50cm.
The velocity of the wave is
a. 1500cm/s b. 750cm/s c. 60cm/s d. 5/3 cm/s
25. A source of frequency 500 Hz emits waves of wavelength 0.2m. How long does it take the waves to travel 600m?
a. 3s b. 6s c. 12s d. 60s
26. A wave of frequency 1000 Hz travels between two points P and Q with a velocity of 300m/s. How many wavelengths are
there in PQ if the length of PQ is 600m?
a. 0.3 b. 3.3 c. 600 d. 2000
27. Which one of the following statements about ultraviolet radiation and visible light is not true?
a. they are emitted by the sun b. they have the same frequency c. the vibrate transversely d. they can be
reflected by polished sheets of metal
28. A VHF radio station broadcasts at a frequency of 100 MHz (1.0 x 10
8
Hz). The speed of radio waves is 3.0 x 10
8
m/s.
What is the wavelength of the waves broadcast by the station?
a. 0.33m b. 3.0m c. 4.0 x 10
15
m d. 3.0 x 10
15
m
29. Which of the following is an example of longitudinal wave?
a. blue light b. water ripples c. radio wave d. sound wave
30. A boy, using a stopwatch, notes that there is a 3s delay between the flash of lighting and the sound of thunder. How far is
he from the thunderstorm? Assume speed of sound is 330m/s
a. 990m b. 110m c. 3.3km d. 1.1km
31. Which type of electromagnetic radiation travels at the highest speed through a vacuum?
a. gamma rays b. light waves c. radio waves d. none - all travel at same speed
32. Sound waves cannot be sent from earth to the moon because
a. sound waves are stationary waves b. sound travels too slowly c. the distance between the earth
and moon is too far d. there is a vacuum between the earth and the moon
33. Dolphins communicate with one another mainly by means of sound...
a. travelling through the water b. travelling through the seabed c. reflected from the water surface d. reflected from
the sea bed
34. Sound in air causes the formation of
a. rarefactions or compressions b. rarefactions and compressions c. crests or troughs d. crests and troughs
35. Frequencies of sound which can be heard by the human ear are called
a. audible frequencies b. auxillary frequencies c. normal frequencies d. low frequencies
36. We can hear sounds of frequencies between
a. 10 Hz and 10 kHz b. 10 Hz and 20 kHz c. 20 Hz and 20 kHz d. 20 Hz and 10 kHz
37. The minimum frequency of ultrasonic sounds is
a. 10 Hz b. 20 Hz c. 10 kHz d. 20 kHz
38. When sound passes through wood, the particles of the wood oscillate
a. parallel to the direction of the sound b. perpendicular to the direction of the sound c. at 45 to the direction of the
sound d. up and down
39. When the amplitude of a sound increases, the
a. wavelength of the sound increases b. speed of the sound increases c. pitch of the sound increases d. loudness of the
sound increases
40. Hitting a drum louder produces a louder sound which is caused by the increased
a. wavelength b. frequency c. speed d. amplitude
41. Noise which is harmful to our ears has levels above
a. 8 dB b. 80 dB c. 800 dB d. 8000 dB
42. A sonar signal is a sound wave having
a. low frequency b. high frequency c. a single frequency d. various frequencies
43. Which one of the following musical instruments produces notes of the highest quality?
a. violin b. guitar c. drum d. piano
44. The quality of a note depends on its
a. frequency b. wavelength c. amplitude d. waveform
45. A man's voice is usually different from a woman's voice mainly due to the difference in their
a. pitch b. quality c. loudness d. wavelength
46. Which one of the following quantities of a sound is changed when the sound is reflected?
a. wavelength b. period c. frequency d. direction of motion
47. A student, using a stopwatch, notes that there is a delay of 4s between the flash of lightning and the sound of thunder.
How far is the student from the lightning and thunder? (Assume speed of sound in air is 330 m/s)
a. 82.5m b. 165m c. 660m d. 1320m
48. When a teacher is talking in an enclosed air-conditioned room, the students do not hear echo because
(1) the wall is not big enough (2) sound travels too fast
(3) the sound energy is absorbed by the students and furniture
a. (1) and (2) only b. (1) and (3) only c. (2) and (3) only d. (1), (2) and (3)
49. Which of the following statements is/are true about sound?
(1) A loud sound travels faster than a soft sound
(2) A high pitch sound travels faster than a low pitch sound
(3) A sound with short wavelength has a high pitch than a sound with a longer wavelength

a. (3) only b. (1) and (2) only c. (1) and (3) only d. (1), (2) and (3)
50. Ships use sound waves to find the vertical distance to the seabed. A pulse of sound waves is sent out and the echoes
are detected. A ship emits a pulse of waves lasting 0.50s. The waves have a frequency of 3600Hz. How many complete
wavelengths does the pulse contain?
a. 1800 b. 3600 c. 7200 d. 18 000
51. A sound is played on a flute. A sound of the same pitch is played on a trumpet. Which of the following correctly compares
the two sound waves?
frequency speed
a. different different
b. different same
c. same different
d. same same

MCQ Answers
1. b
2. c
3. b
4. d
5. a
6. d
7. b
8. d
9. b
10. a
11. d
12. b
13. b
14. d
15. b
16. c
17. e
18. a
19. b
20. d
21. a
22. b
23. d
24. c
25. b
26. d
27. b
28. b
29. d
30. a
31. d
32. d
33. a
34. b
35. a
36. c
37. d
38. a
39. d
40. d
41. c
42. b
43. d
44. d
45. a
46. d
47. d
48. c
49. a
50. a
51. d