Free Waves MCQs with Answers
1,281 Waves MCQs from Physics, each with the correct answer and a written explanation of why it is correct. Free and unlimited, with no account needed.
Progressive waves transfer energy through oscillations, with wavelength, frequency, amplitude and wave speed related by v = fλ; sound speed depends on the medium. Superposition produces interference and stationary waves in strings and organ pipes, while simple harmonic motion describes the oscillation itself and must be distinguished from wave propagation.
Last updated
1,281 questions · page 1 of 65
- A. along the direction of propagation
- B. perpendicular to the direction of propagation
- C. in circles of increasing radius
- D. not at all
Explanation: Light, waves on a string and ripples on water are transverse, with the displacement at right angles to the direction the energy travels.
Correct answer: perpendicular to the direction of propagation- A. v equals f divided by wavelength
- B. v equals f times wavelength
- C. v equals wavelength divided by f
- D. v equals f plus wavelength
Explanation: In one period the wave advances exactly one wavelength, so dividing wavelength by period gives the speed, and since frequency is the…
Correct answer: v equals f times wavelength- A. 0.68 m
- B. 1.47 m
- C. 170 m
- D. 0.34 m
Explanation: Wavelength is speed divided by frequency, so 340 divided by 500 gives 0.68 m.
Correct answer: 0.68 m- A. air
- B. water
- C. steel
- D. vacuum
Explanation: Sound travels fastest in solids because their particles are closely bound and pass on a disturbance quickly, giving about 5000 m per…
Correct answer: steel- A. the pressure alone increases at constant temperature
- B. the temperature increases
- C. the humidity falls
- D. the frequency of the sound increases
Explanation: Speed rises by roughly 0.61 m per second for every degree Celsius, because hotter molecules move faster and transmit the disturbance more…
Correct answer: the temperature increases- A. the vector sum of the individual displacements
- B. always zero
- C. always double one of them
- D. the larger of the two displacements
Explanation: Displacements add algebraically, so waves in phase reinforce and waves in antiphase cancel, and afterwards each wave continues unchanged.
Correct answer: the vector sum of the individual displacements- A. of different frequencies
- B. coherent, keeping a constant phase relationship
- C. very far apart
- D. of unequal amplitude
Explanation: If the phase difference between the sources drifts, the positions of the bright and dark fringes shift too fast to be seen and the pattern…
Correct answer: coherent, keeping a constant phase relationship- A. an odd number of half wavelengths
- B. a whole number of wavelengths
- C. always zero
- D. one quarter of a wavelength
Explanation: A path difference of a whole number of wavelengths brings the waves back into phase, so the crests coincide and the amplitude is a…
Correct answer: a whole number of wavelengths- A. of exactly the same frequency overlap
- B. of slightly different frequencies overlap
- C. travel in opposite directions
- D. have very different amplitudes
Explanation: The two waves drift in and out of phase, so the loudness rises and falls at a rate equal to the difference between the two frequencies.
Correct answer: of slightly different frequencies overlap- A. 4 Hz
- B. 258 Hz
- C. 516 Hz
- D. 0.5 Hz
Explanation: The beat frequency is simply the difference between the two frequencies, so 260 minus 256 gives 4 beats per second.
Correct answer: 4 Hz- A. two identical waves travel in the same direction
- B. two identical waves travel in opposite directions and superpose
- C. a wave is absorbed by a wall
- D. a single wave travels through a very long medium
Explanation: Usually the incident wave and its own reflection interfere, producing a pattern with fixed nodes of zero displacement and antinodes of…
Correct answer: two identical waves travel in opposite directions and superpose- A. one wavelength
- B. half a wavelength
- C. a quarter of a wavelength
- D. two wavelengths
Explanation: Nodes recur every half wavelength, with an antinode midway between each pair, so measuring the node separation is the standard way of…
Correct answer: half a wavelength- A. a node at the closed end and an antinode at the open end
- B. antinodes at both ends
- C. nodes at both ends
- D. an antinode at the closed end
Explanation: The air cannot move at a closed end, so a node forms there, while the open end is free to vibrate and carries an antinode.
Correct answer: a node at the closed end and an antinode at the open end- A. all harmonics
- B. only even harmonics
- C. only odd harmonics
- D. no harmonics at all
Explanation: The node and antinode boundary conditions can only be satisfied by odd multiples of the fundamental, so a closed pipe gives the first…
Correct answer: only odd harmonics- A. constant in magnitude and direction
- B. proportional to the displacement and directed towards the mean position
- C. proportional to the speed
- D. always zero at the extreme positions
Explanation: The restoring force is proportional to the displacement and always points back to equilibrium, which produces sinusoidal motion in time.
Correct answer: proportional to the displacement and directed towards the mean position- A. at the extreme positions
- B. at the mean position
- C. midway between mean and extreme
- D. everywhere, since it is constant
Explanation: At the mean position the displacement is zero, so all the energy is kinetic and the speed peaks, while at the extremes the body is…
Correct answer: at the mean position- A. its mass and length
- B. its length and the acceleration due to gravity
- C. its amplitude, for all amplitudes
- D. the material of the bob
Explanation: The period is 2 pi times the square root of length divided by g, so it is independent of the mass entirely and of the amplitude provided…
Correct answer: its length and the acceleration due to gravity- A. the driving frequency equals the natural frequency of the system
- B. the driving frequency is much higher than the natural frequency
- C. the amplitude is very small
- D. there is no damping present at all
Explanation: At resonance energy is transferred most efficiently to the oscillator and the amplitude builds to a large value, limited only by damping.
Correct answer: the driving frequency equals the natural frequency of the system- A. lower than the true pitch
- B. higher than the true pitch, because the waves reach the observer more frequently
- C. unchanged
- D. louder but of the same pitch
Explanation: Motion towards the observer crowds the wavefronts together, shortening the observed wavelength and raising the frequency, and the pitch…
Correct answer: higher than the true pitch, because the waves reach the observer more frequently- A. the speed of the wave
- B. the frequency of the wave
- C. the plane in which the vibrations occur
- D. the amplitude of the wave
Explanation: A transverse wave vibrates in any plane perpendicular to its direction of travel, so a filter can select one of those planes, whereas a…
Correct answer: the plane in which the vibrations occurWaves MCQs: common questions
Are these Waves MCQs free?
Yes. All Waves MCQs from Physics are free on TestUstad, with unlimited attempts and no account needed. Nothing on this page is a sample or a trial.
How many Waves MCQs are on this page?
There are 1,281 Waves MCQs in the Physics bank, shown 20 to a page with the correct answer and an explanation on each.
Does every Waves MCQ have an explanation?
Yes. Each Waves question shows the correct option and a written explanation of why it is correct, so a wrong answer teaches you something rather than just being marked wrong.
Can I take a timed Waves test?
Yes. The practice button on this page starts a free Waves test drawn from the Physics bank. It marks each answer instantly, gives you a score at the end, and can be retaken as many times as you like.