SOUND

IGCSE/O LEVEL PHYSICS

SOUND

EXERCISE

Answer all questions

Name:……………………………………………………………..

Date : ……………………………………………………………..

Marks ……..../…….... ……....% Grade ………

A* OR 9 ≥ 95%

A OR 8/7 ≥ 85%

B OR 6 ≥ 75%

C OR 5/4≥ 65%

D OR 3 ≥ 55%

E OR 2 less than 55%

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MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS

1) A sound wave travels through air as a series of compressions and rarefactions.
Which row correctly compares the air pressure in a compression and the air pressure in
a
rarefaction to the air pressure nearby where there is no sound wave?

2) A sound wave has a certain amplitude and a certain frequency.

A second sound wave is quieter and lower in pitch than the first sound wave.
The second wave has
A a larger amplitude and a greater frequency.
B a larger amplitude and a smaller frequency.
C a smaller amplitude and a greater frequency.
D a smaller amplitude and a smaller frequency.

3) A fire alarm is not loud enough and the pitch is too low. An engineer adjusts the
alarm so that it produces a louder note of a higher pitch.What effect does this have
on the amplitude and on the frequency of the sound?

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4) A dolphin has a range of audible frequencies of 150 Hz–150 kHz.

Which range of frequencies can be heard both by humans with good hearing and by
dolphins?
A 20 Hz–150 Hz
B 20 Hz–150 kHz
C 20 kHz–150 kHz
D 150 Hz–20 kHz

5) A girl notices that, when she shouts into a cave, she hears an echo.
Which wave property causes the echo?
A diffraction
B dispersion
C reflection
D refraction

6) A sound wave travels from a medium in one state into the same medium but in
another state.
This causes the speed of the wave to change from approximately 300 m / s to
approximately
3000 m / s.
Between which two states is the sound wave travelling?
A gas to solid
B liquid to gas
C liquid to solid
D solid to liquid

7) A sheet of ice floats on water. A source of sound S is positioned at the edge of the
ice sheet.Four microphones are placed equal distances from S.Which microphone
detects the sound from S first?

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8) Sounds are produced by vibrating objects. A certain object vibrates but a person
nearby cannot
hear any sound.
Which statement could explain why nothing is heard?
A The amplitude of the sound waves is too large.
B The frequency of the vibration is too high.
C The sound waves are transverse.
D The speed of the sound waves is too high.

9) In an experiment to measure the speed of sound, a student uses a stopwatch to find

the time taken for a sound wave to travel from X to Y. She does this six times.

10) A swimmer is sitting on a rock at the sea shore looking at passing waves. He notices
that five complete wavelengths pass him in 20 s.
What is the frequency of this wave?
A 0.25 Hz B 4.0 Hz C 15 Hz D 100 Hz

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11) A girl notices that when she shouts into a cave she hears an echo.
Which wave property causes the echo?
A diffraction
B dispersion
C reflection
D refraction

12) In a test, a car horn is found to be too loud and the pitch of the note is too high.
What information does this give about the amplitude and the frequency of the sound
wave produced?

13) A student wishes to measure the speed of sound in air. She plans to measure the
time between making a sound and hearing the echo from a cliff.

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14) The diagrams show the wave shapes of two different sounds. The scales are the
same in each diagram.

15) Which row states two properties of sound waves?

16) A man holding a starting pistol stands 640 m away from a spectator.640 m
Spectator The spectator hears the sound of the starting pistol 2.0 s after seeing the
flash from the pistol. Using this information, what is the speed of sound in air?
A 160 m / s B 320 m / s C 640 m / s D 1280 m / s

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17) A boy blows a whistle that has a frequency of 10 000 Hz. The boy’s friend cannot
hear the sound from the whistle. The friend has normal hearing.
What could be a reason why he cannot hear the sound?
A The amplitude is too large.
B The amplitude is too small.
C The frequency is too high.
D The frequency is too low.

18) A lighted candle is placed in front of a loudspeaker that is making a loud, steady
note. The candle flame vibrates because of the sound wave.

19) A student claps once when standing 100 m away from a large wall.
The speed of sound in air is 330 m / s.
How long after clapping does the student hear an echo?
A 0.30 s B 0.61 s C 1.7 s D 3.3 s

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20) The diagrams represent two sound waves. The scales in the two diagrams are the
same.

21) The diagrams represent the waves produced by four sources of sound. The scales
are the same for all the diagrams. Which sound has the highest frequency?

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22) A girl stands at a distance from a large building. She claps her hands and a short
time later hears an echo.
Why is an echo produced when the sound waves hit the building?
A The sound waves are absorbed.
B The sound waves are diffracted.
C The sound waves are reflected.
D The sound waves are refracted.

23) Sound travels by wave motion.

Which property of waves causes echoes?
A diffraction
B dispersion
C reflection
D refraction

24 A student listens to a machine that makes sounds of different frequencies. He can

only hear one of the sounds.
Which frequency of sound is the student able to hear?
A 2 Hz B 10 Hz C 2 kHz D 30 kHz

STRUCTURE QUESTIONS
1) Two students are measuring the speed of sound.
The students are provided with a starting pistol, a stopwatch and a long measuring tape.
The starting pistol, when fired, produces a loud sound and a puff of smoke at the same
instant.Describe how the students use the apparatus and how they calculate the speed.
You may draw a diagram.

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2) A device at the bottom of the sea emits a sound wave of frequency 200Hz.
(i) The speed of sound in sea-water is 1500m/ s.
Calculate the wavelength of the sound in sea-water.

wavelength = ................................................................. [2]

(ii) The sound wave passes from the sea-water into the air.
State what happens, if anything, to
• the frequency of the sound, ...............................................................................
................................................................................................................................
• the speed of the sound. .....................................................................................
..............................................................................................................................[2]

3) (a) Radio waves, ultrasound and visible light are all waves.
State what is meant by ultrasound and suggest a value for the minimum possible
(i) frequency of ultrasound waves.

................................................................................................................................

................................................................................................................................

................................................................................................................................ [2]

(ii) State which of these waves are

• electromagnetic,

................................................................................................................................

• longitudinal.

................................................................................................................................
[2]

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4) Ultrasound passes through both human flesh and bone.

Fig. 5.1 shows an ultrasound source sending an ultrasound wave into human flesh.

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5) A loudspeaker produces a sound wave of constant frequency.

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6) In the water of wavelength 0.25 m.

(a) (i) The frequency of the sound waves is 6.0 kHz.
Calculate the speed of the sound waves in water.
speed of sound waves in water = ...........................................................[2]
(ii) State a typical value for the speed of sound in air.
speed of sound in air = ...........................................................[1]
(iii) State and explain, for the sound produced by the loudspeaker, how the wavelength
of
the sound in air compares with the wavelength of the sound in water.
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[1]
(b) Sound is a longitudinal wave.
Explain what is meant by a longitudinal wave.

........................................................................................................................................[2]
(c) The sound emerges from the loudspeaker through a gap. The sound diffracts as it
passes through the gap.
(i) State how the width of the gap affects the diffraction.

.......................................................................................................................................[1]
(ii) State how the wavelength of the sound affects the diffraction.

.................................................................................................................................[1]

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7) (a) (i) State a typical value for the speed of sound in air.

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8) (a) (i) The pitch of a sound wave increases.

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9) (a) The left-hand column of the table shows some possible speeds of a sound wave.

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10) A vibrating source on a ship produces a sound wave that travels through the ocean.
The wave produced is a longitudinal wave.

BEST OF LUCK

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