Waves | Edexcel GCSE Combined Science Physics, Higher tier (1SC0)
Waves
- 92 questions
- 6 subtopics
- Paper 5
- Paper 5
Waves is examined in Paper 5, Physics 1.
It covers what waves transfer, and the evidence for it, frequency, wavelength, amplitude and period, longitudinal and transverse waves, the wave equation, measuring wave speed, and what happens at a boundary and measuring waves in ripple tanks, strings and solids.
Sample questions from Waves
Answer each one closed book first, then open the answer.
-
What waves transfer, and the evidence for it
A loudspeaker fills a room with sound. Explain why the listener feels no wind coming from it.
Show the answer
The air particles only vibrate to and fro about fixed positions, so energy crosses the room but the air itself does not. -
What waves transfer, and the evidence for it
Explain how dust suspended in front of a loudspeaker shows that sound does not carry air along with it.
Show the answer
The dust jiggles backwards and forwards about one position instead of being blown steadily away from the loudspeaker. -
Frequency, wavelength, amplitude and period
Name the unit in which wavelength is measured.
Show the answer
Wavelength is measured in metres, m. -
Frequency, wavelength, amplitude and period
State the relationship between the period and the frequency of a wave.
Show the answer
The period is one divided by the frequency, so a higher frequency means a shorter period. -
Longitudinal and transverse waves
Name the two regions found in a longitudinal wave.
Show the answer
Compressions, where the particles are pushed together, and rarefactions, where they are spread apart. -
Longitudinal and transverse waves
Name the two types of seismic wave and state which is longitudinal and which is transverse.
Show the answer
P waves are longitudinal and S waves are transverse. -
The wave equation
A sound wave of frequency 170 Hz travels at 340 m/s. Calculate its wavelength.
Show the answer
Wavelength = 340 ÷ 170 = 2.0 m. -
The wave equation
A radio wave of wavelength 3.0 m travels at 3.0 × 10⁸ m/s. Calculate its frequency.
Show the answer
Frequency = (3.0 × 10⁸) ÷ 3.0 = 1.0 × 10⁸ Hz.
The 6 subtopics
One subtopic is one session. Work down the list.
| Subtopic | What it covers | Questions |
|---|---|---|
| What waves transfer, and the evidence for it | Waves transferring energy and information but not matter, particles vibrating about fixed positions, and evidence from corks, leaves, ducks, dust, a slinky ribbon and a candle flame that the medium is not carried along. | 12 |
| Frequency, wavelength, amplitude and period | Frequency and the hertz, wavelength, its symbol λ and its measurement on a longitudinal wave, amplitude and loudness, period and its link to frequency, wave velocity, and wavefronts and their spacing. | 15 |
| Longitudinal and transverse waves | How the vibration lies relative to travel in transverse and longitudinal waves, sound, compressions and rarefactions, electromagnetic and seismic waves, and why sound needs a medium. | 9 |
| The wave equation | The equations v = f × λ and v = x ÷ t, calculating the speed, wavelength and frequency of water, sound, radio and light waves, and how wavelength changes when frequency doubles at a fixed speed. | 9 |
| Measuring wave speed, and what happens at a boundary | Finding the speed of sound by echoes or two microphones, ripple speeds in a tank, the normal and how light bends in glass, refraction explained by changes in speed and wavelength, why wavelength decides what a material absorbs or transmits, and refraction models. | 27 |
| Measuring waves in ripple tanks, strings and solids | Measuring the wavelength, frequency and speed of ripples in a ripple tank and of waves on a stretched string, sources of error and conditions to control, and finding the speed of a wave in a solid from a struck metal rod. | 20 |
How the guide is worked
Answering a question from memory stores it far better than reading the answer again. The guide runs that as a fixed procedure on one subtopic at a time, about twenty minutes a session.
-
Step 1 · Closed book
Cover the answers. Work through one subtopic and write down what you can. Leave blanks where you have nothing.
-
Step 2 · Open book
Go back to the top. Read each printed answer and write it out in full, including the ones you had right.
-
Step 3 · Closed book again
Same questions, same order, from memory. The gap between pass one and pass three is the session result.
Read the full method, the return schedule and the research behind it.
Nearby topics
Edexcel GCSE Combined Science Physics, Higher tier Active Recall Guide
Every topic, not just this one. 1,449 questions with their answers.