Name_____________________________ Class_________ Date_________________

Chapter 1 Test: Waves (37 points)

Multiple Choice (1 point each)

Identify the letter of the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.

____ 1. An example of a mechanical wave is a(n)

a. light wave. c. ocean wave.
b. radio wave. d. X ray.

____ 2. When two objects, such as marimba bars and columns, vibrate at the same frequency, this
occurs.
a. refraction c. resonance
b. reflection d. amplitude

____ 3. What unit is used to describe the frequency of a wave?

a. decibel c. meters per second
b. hertz d. wavelength

____ 4. A standing wave results from

a. diffraction. c. interference and reflection
b. refraction. d. a change in medium.

____ 5. An echo is the result of a

a. reflected sound wave. c. refracted sound wave.
b. diffracted sound wave. d. dispersed sound wave.

____ 6. Which of these waves can travel without a medium?

a. ocean waves c. sound waves
b. seismic (earthquake) waves d. radio waves

____ 7. Which of the following is true about sound waves?

a. they are mechanical waves c. they are electromagnetic waves
b. they are longitudinal waves d. both A and B are true

____ 8. A wave can make a leaf bob up and down on the water, but it cannot move the leaf
toward the shore. This is because waves only transfer
a. matter. c. media.
b. energy. d. crests.

____ 9. When wave reflection occurs, the incoming wave approaching the barrier is called what?
a. incident wave c. reflected wave
b. transverse wave d. refracted wave
____ 10. Which wave interaction explains why you can hear around corners?
a. reflection b. refraction
c. interference d. diffraction

Matching (1 point each)

Match each item with the correct statement.

a. amplitude d. reflection
b. diffraction e. resonance
c. standing wave f. crest
g. medium h. longitudinal wave

____ 11. a physical substance that a wave can travel through

____ 12. a change in the direction of a wave when the wave finds an obstacle or an edge

____ 13. a pattern of vibration that simulates a wave that is standing still

____ 14. the highest point of a transverse wave

____ 15. the bouncing back of a ray of light, sound, or heat when the ray hits a surface that it does
not penetrate

____ 16. wave in which the particles vibrate parallel to the direction of wave motion

____ 17. a phenomenon that occurs when two objects naturally vibrate at the same frequency

____ 18. the maximum distance that particles vibrate from their rest positions

Figures

19) Label the parts of the wave indicated below (3 points).

What type of wave is it? _________________________

Image modified from gcsescience.com.

20) Label the parts of the wave indicated below (5 points). Image modified from:
Gauge Theory Mechanisms
What type of wave is it? ____________________________

21) What type of wave interaction is shown in the figure below? (1 point)

Image from gcsecience.com

22) What type of wave interaction is shown in the figure below? (1 point)

Image from School-for-Champions.com

23) Which of the following waves has the greatest frequency? (1 point)

____________

Image modified from Mendon High School Physics Period 9

24) Beneath each figure, draw what will happen when the two wave forms meet each other (3
points).
 Cartoon from Watterson, B. (1988). The Essential Calvin and Hobbes. Kansas City, MO: Andrews
McMeel Publishing.

25) What basic wave property dramatically increases when Calvin creates the “tidal wave” in
the figure above? (1 point)

Short Answer (4 points)

26) Explain what the wavelength and frequency of a wave are, and what the relationship
between them is.

Non-original test questions: 1-6, 8, 11-18.

From: Holt Science and Technology, Short Course O – Sound and Light