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.
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- A. Have low speed in vacuum
- B. Disperse in space due to long wavelength
- C. Lose frequency in the absence of air
- D. Lose transmission without interacting particles
Explanation: A mechanical wave propagates by particles of a medium pushing on their neighbours, so with no particles there is nothing to carry the…
Correct answer: Lose transmission without interacting particles- A. Frequency
- B. Time period
- C. Wavelength
- D. Amplitude
Explanation: This is the option marked correct in the official UHS answer key, and the total energy of a simple harmonic oscillator is proportional to…
Correct answer: Amplitude- A. half a wavelength
- B. one whole wavelength
- C. a quarter of a wavelength
- D. three quarters of a wavelength
Explanation: A path difference of a whole number of wavelengths brings the two waves back into phase so their crests coincide, giving constructive…
Correct answer: one whole wavelength- A. One
- B. Two
- C. Four time
- D. None of these
Explanation: For pipes of the same length, the fundamental wavelength of an open pipe is 2L, while that of a closed pipe is 4L.
Correct answer: Two- A. only even harmonics are present
- B. only odd harmonics are present
- C. both even and odd harmonics are present
- D. selected harmonics are present
Explanation: An open pipe has displacement antinodes at both ends, allowing standing waves with wavelengths 2L/n for n = 1, 2, 3 and so on.
Correct answer: both even and odd harmonics are present- A. increases
- B. decreases
- C. remains unchanged
- D. may increase or decrease
Explanation: Adding wax to a tuning-fork prong increases its effective mass while its stiffness is nearly unchanged.
Correct answer: decreases- A. fopen = 2 fclosed
- B. fclosed = 2fopen
- C. fopen = fclosed
- D. fopen = 1 / f closed
Explanation: For pipes of the same length, the fundamental wavelength of an open pipe is 2L, while that of a closed pipe is 4L.
Correct answer: fopen = 2 fclosed- A. Velocity
- B. Stress
- C. Time Period
- D. Gravity
Explanation: Frequency and time period are reciprocals: f = 1/T, where f is measured in hertz (Hz) and T in seconds (s).
Correct answer: Time Period- A. Double
- B. Four times
- C. One half
- D. None time
Explanation: The energy carried by a wave is proportional to the square of its amplitude, E ∝ A².
Correct answer: Four times- A. crest
- B. trough
- C. wavelength
- D. wave front
Explanation: A wavefront is the locus of points in a medium that are vibrating in the same phase at a given instant.
Correct answer: wave front- A. a cylindrical wave front
- B. an elliptical wave front
- C. a spherical wave front
- D. a plane wave front
Explanation: Wavefronts from a point source spread equally in all directions in a homogeneous medium, forming concentric spheres centred on the source.
Correct answer: a spherical wave front- A. reflection
- B. refraction
- C. diffraction
- D. polarization
Explanation: Polarization requires vibrations to be restricted to one direction perpendicular to propagation, which is possible for transverse waves…
Correct answer: polarization- A. isothermal law
- B. adiabatic law
- C. isochoric law
- D. all of the above
Explanation: Sound compressions and rarefactions occur so rapidly that there is essentially no time for heat to flow between the gas and its…
Correct answer: adiabatic law- A. Longitudinal
- B. Transverse
- C. Periodic
- D. both A and C
Explanation: The disturbance repeats at a fixed frequency of 50 Hz, so the surface waves are periodic.
Correct answer: both A and C- A. they are transverse waves
- B. they are stationary waves
- C. they require material medium for propagation
- D. they do not have enough energy
Explanation: Sound is a mechanical wave, so its particles must pass vibrations from one particle to the next through a material medium.
Correct answer: they require material medium for propagation- A. refraction
- B. polarization
- C. interference
- D. diffraction
Explanation: Only transverse waves can be polarized because polarization restricts vibrations to a particular direction perpendicular to propagation.
Correct answer: polarization- A. matter waves
- B. electromagnetic waves
- C. carrier waves
- D. mechanical waves
Explanation: Mechanical waves need particles of a material medium to pass the disturbance from one place to another, so they cannot propagate through a…
Correct answer: mechanical waves- A. Dopplers effect
- B. Interference of waves
- C. Beats phenomena
- D. All of these
Explanation: The Doppler effect causes a change in the observed frequency when a star moves relative to Earth, allowing its radial velocity to be…
Correct answer: Dopplers effect- A. an apparent increase in frequency
- B. an apparent decrease in frequency
- C. an apparent decrease in wavelength
- D. no apparent change in frequency
Explanation: When a sound source moves away from a stationary listener, successive wavefronts reach the listener less frequently, so the observed…
Correct answer: an apparent decrease in frequency- A. frequency in the audible range
- B. frequency is greater than 20 kHz
- C. frequency lower than 20 Hz
- D. all of above
Explanation: Ultrasonic waves have frequencies greater than 20 kHz, which is above the upper limit of normal human hearing.
Correct answer: frequency is greater than 20 kHz