Waves

Sound waves travel through water by —

• passing through spaces between water molecules

• being absorbed and then emitted by water molecules

• causing water molecules to compress and move apart

• vibrating water molecules perpendicular to the direction of sound motion

Which of the following is necessary for light to propagate?

• Air

• Ether

• Matter

• None of these are necessary

Which statement best explains the difference between light waves traveling through a vacuum and light waves

traveling through a medium?

• Light waves traveling through a vacuum are transverse, but light waves traveling through a medium are

  longitudinal.

• Light waves traveling through a vacuum travel faster than light waves traveling through a medium.

• Light waves traveling through a vacuum have no mass, but light waves traveling through a medium

  have a mass greater than zero.

• Light waves traveling through a vacuum have a shorter wavelength than light waves traveling through a

  medium.

What electromagnetic wave travels the fastest?

• Microwaves

• X-ray

• Ultraviolet

• All of these waves travel at the speed of light 'c'

An astronomer is star gazing on the night when there is no Moon. He sees two blue stars in the sky, and one star

is much brighter than the other.

Which property of electromagnetic waves allows the astronomer to determine the brightness of a star?

• Amplitude

• Frequency

• Velocity

• Wavelength

Two waves in the same medium have different wavelengths, different speeds, and different amplitudes. How can

they have the same frequency?

• if the wave with the longer wavelength is moving faster

• if the wave with the longer wavelength is moving slower

• if the wave with the longer wavelength has a greater amplitude

• if the wave with the shorter wavelength has a greater amplitude

When examining an emission spectrograph for an unknown element, which photon has the longest wavelength?

• Violet

• Green

• Red

• Cannot be determined

Two waves have the same speed. The first has twice the frequency of the second. Which statement best compares

the wavelength of the two waves?

• The two waves have the same wavelength.

• The first has half the wavelength of the

  second.

• The second has half the wavelength of the

  first.

• The first has one third the wavelength of

  the second.

An ocean wave has a length of 24.0 m. A wave passes a fixed location every 1.60 s. What is the speed of the

wave?

• 15.0 m/s

• 16.67 m/s

• 38.4 m/s

• 66.7 m/s

An ocean wave has a length of 12.0 m. A wave passes a fixed location every 1.30 s. Which best represents the

speed of the wave?

• 39.2 m/s

• 15.6 m/s

• 9.23 m/s

• .108 m/s