WAVES & SOUND PROBLEM SET NAME:

A>Wave Terminology

1. The ____________________ of a wave is determined by the rate at

which the source produces the wave.
2. Waves that require a medium are ____________________ waves.
3. The ____________________ of a wave is determined by the amount
of energy that the wave carries.
4. The particles vibrate parallel to the direction of energy
transmission in ____________________ waves.
5. The time required for one complete cycle is called the
___________________.
6. The particles vibrate perpendicular to the direction of energy
transmission in __________________ waves.
7. The ____________________ of a wave is determined by the material
through which it travels.
8. Sound waves are an example of ____________________ and
____________________ waves.
9. Use the diagram below to identify amplitude and wavelength.

10. The _____________________ is a group of transverse waves that

can travel through a vacuum.

1. frequency 2. mechanical 3. amplitude 4. longitudin 5. period

al
6. transverse 7. speed 8. longitudin 9. amplitude 10.Elcectr
al; (D) o-
mechanic wavelengt magne
al h (A) tic
Spectr
um
 B>Wave Types

____ 1. waves that require a medium A) longitudinal

waves
____ 2. particles vibrate perpendicular to direction of
energy transfer B) mechanical
____ 3. waves

C) electromagnetic
waves
____ 4. waves that do not require a medium
D) transverse waves
____ 5. particles vibrate parallel to the direction of
energy transfer

____ 6. sound waves

____ 7. light waves

____ 8. water waves

____ 9.

1. A/B 2. D 3. D 4. C 5. A
6. A/B 7. D/C 8. D/B 9. A

C>Wave Parts 10

_________________________ 10.

_________________________ 11. 14
11 13
_________________________ 12.

_________________________ 13.

_________________________ 14.
12
_________________________ 15.

15
10.Compression 11.Crest 12.Amplitude
13.Rarefaction 14.Wavelength 15.Trough

D> Wave Velocity

1. A fisherman notices that wave crests pass the bow of his

boat every 3.0 s. He measures the distance between two
consecutive crests to be 7.5 meters. How fast are the
waves traveling?
2. A particular sound wave in air has a frequency of 262 hertz
and travels at 330 m/s. How far apart are the
compressions of this sound wave?
3. Calculate the wavelength of a radio wave that has a
frequency of 108 MHz.
4. Calculate the speed of a longitudinal wave in:
a. water
b. granite
5. Determine the wavelength of a 5,000 Hz sound wave
traveling along an iron rod.
6. A sonar signal (sound wave) is sent from a ship at the
water’s surface to ocean floor below. The reflected signal
is detected 3.00 s later. How deep is the ocean beneath
the ship?
7. On a day when the temperature is 20oC, a hiker determines
the length of a lake by listening for her echo of a shout that
is reflected off a rock cliff at the far end of the lake. She
hears her echo 2.0 s after shouting. Estimate the length of
the lake.
8. What is the wavelength of a 10 MHz ultrasonic sound wave
traveling through air on a day when the temperature is
20oC?
9. A fishing boat is floating directly above a school of tuna on
a foggy day. About 1.5 km away, an engine on another
boat backfires. If air temperature is 20oC, what is the time
difference between the tuna hearing the backfire and the
fisherman on the boat above the tuna hearing the
backfire?
10. A person sees a stone strike the concrete pavement.
A moment later two sounds are heard: one travels through
air the other through concrete, and they are 1.4s apart.
How far away did the impact occur? (air temp is 20oC)
 11. The sound from a high burst of fireworks takes 4.5 s
to arrive at your eardrums. The burst occurs 1500 m above
you and travels vertically through two stratified layers of
air, the top one is 0oC and the bottom one is 20oC. What is
the thickness of each layer?
12. A police car’s siren produces a frequency of 1600 Hz
when at rest. (air temp 20oC) What is the frequency
detected if
a. the car is moving toward an observer at 25 m/s?
b. the car is moving away from an observer at 25 m/s?

1. 2.5 m/s 2. 1.26 m 3. 2.78 m

4. a) 1.4 x 103 m/s 5. 0.72 m 6. 2100m
b) 4.1 x 103 m/s
7. 3.4 x 102 m 8. 3.43 x 10-5 m 9. 3.3 s
10.540 m 11. 0o layer: 1200 m 12. a) 1.7 x 103 hz
20o layer: 300 m b) 1.5 x 103 hz

E> Wave Interactions

1. Label the diagram shown below with the appropriate letters.

P
a) Normal
b) Angle of incidence
c) Angle of reflection
d) Incident ray
e) reflected ray

2. Light traveling through air is incident upon a piece of crown glass at an

angle of 45o.What is the angle of refraction to the nearest degree?
3. A ray of light passes from air into water at angle of 30o. What is the
angle of refraction?
4. A light wave travels through air into an unknown liquid. If the angle of
incidence is 30o and the angle of refraction is 22o,
a. what is the index of refraction for the liquid?
b. what is the liquid?
5. Use figure 1 at the bottom of the page to find θ1 and θ2.
6. Use figure 2 at the bottom of the page to answer this question. A 2
m vertical pole extends from the bottom of a swimming pool to a point
50 cm above the water surface. Sunlight hits the water at an angle of
55o measured from the surface of the water. What is the length of the
shadow of the pole on the bottom of the pool?
7. Calculate the speed of light in the following:
a. Quartz
b. Polyethylene
 c. Diamond
8. What is the critical angle for a sample of flint glass surrounded by air?
9. Light falling on two slits 0.042 mm apart produces a 5th order
maximum at 7.8o. What is the wavelength of the light?
10. At what angle will 650 nm light produce a 2nd order maximum when
falling on a grating whose slits are 1.15 x 10-5 m apart?
11. White light passes through two slits 0.50 mm apart and an interference
pattern is observed on a screen 2.5 m away. A 1st order red maximum
is observed 3.5 mm away from the central maximum and a 1st order
violet maximum is observed 2.0 mm from the central maximum.
Calculate the wavelength of red and violet light.
blocked sunrays
FIGURE 1 FIGURE 2
incident wave reflected wave
55o water surface
38o θ1
n = 1.58

n = 1.22
θ2

refracted wave
1. See 2. 28o 3. 22o 4. a) 1.33 b)
instructor water
5. θ1: 38o 6. 1.07 m 7. a) 2.05x108 8. 38.4o
θ2: 52.9O m/s b)
1.97x108m/
s c)
1.23x108m/
s
9. 1.1x10-6m 10. 6.49o 11. red 7x10-7m violet 4x10-7m