Waves Practice Test Name: _______________________

I. VOCABULARY
Date: ___________ Period: _____
Each of the following sentences is false. Correct the mistakes by changing only the underlined words.

1. Waves are created by vibrations and carry matter from one place to another.

2. Frequency and period have a direct relationship. When the period is low, the frequency is low.

3. The speed of a wave depends on the properties of the small through which it travels.

4. A wave is transverse when the medium vibrates parallel to the direction of wave propagation.

5. Sound waves are classified as transverse while radio waves are classified as torsional.

II. WAVE IDENTIFICATION

6. Label each wave as transverse or longitudinal and indicate one wavelength.

III. MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS

7. One end of a horizontal string is caused to 8. A tuning fork is used to produce waves with a
oscillate vertically while the other end is frequency of 440 hertz. That waves travel
attached to a fixed object. The wave that through the air at 344 m/s. What is the
travels along the string is an example of wavelength of the sound waves?
A an electromagnetic wave A 0.15 m
B a transverse wave B 0.39 m
C a microwave C 0.78 m
D a longitudinal wave D 1.28 m

IV. WAVE SPEED FORMULA

9. A student rapidly shakes the end of a metal 10. An approaching train vibrates the steel train
spring 8 times per second. This creates tracks creating sound waves of length 30 m. If
transverse waves with a wavelength of 0.50 m. the speed of sound in steel is 6000 m/s, what is
What is the speed of the waves? the frequency of the sound?

Answers: 1) energy; 2) inverse, low, high; 3) speed, medium; 4) transverse,

Waves – Page #7 perpendicular; 5) longitudinal, transverse; 6) longitudinal, transverse; 7) B;
Fremont Physics ©Kepple 2012 8) C; 9) 4 m/s; 10) 200 Hz
Waves Study Guide
MAJOR CONCEPTS
 Waves are created by vibrations and carry  The amplitude (height) of a wave indicates
energy from one place to another. the amount of energy the wave carries.

 In a transverse wave the medium vibrates  In a longitudinal wave the medium vibrates
perpendicular to motion of the wave. parallel to the motion of the wave.

 Frequency is the rate at which the source of  The wavelength is the distance a wave
a wave oscillates (moves back and forth). travels in one period (one complete cycle).

TRANSVERSE WAVE LONGITUDINAL WAVE

wavelength () crest

rarefaction

amplitude (A) compression

trough wavelength ()

THE WAVE SPEED FORMULA FREQUENCY AND PERIOD

Used to solve problems involving wavelength,
frequency, and wave speed.
𝑣 =
Frequency and period are RATIOS!
Frequency ( ) is the number
𝑓 of cycles for one second.
=

[m/s] [m] [Hz] Frequency is measured in hertz (Hz).

wave speed wavelength frequency
Period ( ) is the number of
“meters” “per second”
seconds for one cycle. =

Period is measured in seconds (s).

EXAMPLE PROBLEMS
i. A student shakes a slinky 15 times in 5 s to ii. Ocean waves 12 m in length strike a seawall
create a transverse wave. Calculate the with a frequency of 0.5 Hz. How fast do these
frequency and period of the wave. waves move?

= =? =
=
= m =

= = = = = Hz =

iii. The light waves from a laser pointer have a wavelength of 600 nm and travel at 300 Mm/s. What is
the frequency of the oscillating source of these waves?
= m/s = =
= m
= = Hz
=?
=