Properties of Waves

What is the term for the number of waves that pass a fixed point each second?

• wave speed

• amplitude

• frequency

• period

Which of the measurements would be the most helpful in determining the wavelength?

• W

• X

• Y

• Z

According to the diagrams, long wavelengths ______________.

• travel more slowly than short wavelengths

• have a greater frequency than short wavelengths

• diffract around objects more easily than do short wavelengths

• are able to generate far more power than are short wavelengths

The glass prism is able to bend light because _________.

• light is refracted as it enters a different medium

• the prism offers destructive interference

• energy is diffracted when it encounters an obstacle

• the glass and the light’s wavelength create resonance

Which of the following is present in both drawings?

• compression waves

• diffraction

• destructive interference

• refraction

Which of the following is a transverse wave?

• waves generated by a violin

• vibrations that are felt through a rock

• sounds made underwater

• a wave produced on a rope

Sound is a compression wave with regions of greater and lesser density. The less-dense region of a sound wave is a

• crest

• rarefaction

• diffraction

• compression

In 1 second, four crests of a wave pass a certain point. What is the wave’s frequency?

• 2 Hz

• 3 Hz

• 4 Hz

• 5 Hz

Which statement best explains frequency?

• Frequency is the number of wavelengths that pass a point per second.

• Frequency is the number of crests that pass a point in total.

• Frequency is the number of wavelengths that pass a point in total.

• Frequency is the amplitude per second.

When a longitudinal wave travels through a medium, which way does the matter that makes up the medium move?

• backward

• in all directions

• in the same direction the wave travels

• at right angles to the direction of the wave