This checkpoint tests Block A: introduction to waves, mechanical vs electromagnetic waves, transverse vs longitudinal waves, wave features, and sound waves.
This checkpoint assesses your understanding of wave fundamentals and sound.
Introduction to waves: energy transfer, medium, everyday examples.
Mechanical vs electromagnetic waves: need for a medium, speed differences.
Transverse vs longitudinal waves: particle motion, examples.
Wave features: amplitude, wavelength, frequency, period, wave speed.
Sound waves: production, transmission, speed in different media, pitch and loudness.
1. What does a wave transfer from one place to another?
2. Which of the following is a mechanical wave?
3. In a transverse wave, the particles of the medium vibrate...
4. Which wave feature is defined as the distance from one crest to the next crest?
5. The unit of frequency is the...
6. A wave has a frequency of 5 Hz and a wavelength of 2 m. What is its speed?
7. Sound waves are always...
8. In which medium does sound travel the fastest?
9. Why can sound not travel through space?
10. A student creates waves in a slinky spring. She observes that increasing the frequency while keeping the tension constant makes the crests closer together. Which conclusion is best supported?
11. Describe the difference between mechanical and electromagnetic waves. Include two examples of each type. 4 MARKS
12. Explain the difference between transverse and longitudinal waves. In your answer, describe how particles move in each type and give one example of each. 4 MARKS
13. A student sends a sound wave through a steel rod and measures the time taken. The sound arrives much sooner than when sent through air over the same distance. Explain why sound travels faster through steel than through air. 4 MARKS
Tick when you have finished all questions and reviewed your answers.