Waves | Edexcel GCSE Physics, Higher tier (1PH0)
Waves
- 139 questions
- 9 subtopics
- Paper 1
- Paper 1
Waves is examined in Paper 1, 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, measuring waves, and calculating depth from wave velocity, reflection, refraction, transmission and absorption at a boundary, sound waves, ultrasound and infrasound and uses of ultrasound and infrasound.
Sample questions from Waves
Answer each one closed book first, then open the answer.
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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. -
Frequency, wavelength, amplitude and period
Name the unit in which wavelength is measured.
Show the answer
Wavelength is measured in metres, m. -
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. -
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. -
Measuring wave speed, and what happens at a boundary
Describe what happens to a ray of light that meets the surface of a glass block along the normal.
Show the answer
It carries straight on into the glass without changing direction. -
Measuring waves, and calculating depth from wave velocity
Describe how the frequency of ripples in a ripple tank can be found without electronic timing.
Show the answer
Count the ripples passing a fixed mark in ten seconds and divide the count by ten. -
Reflection, refraction, transmission and absorption at a boundary
Explain why a window can be seen through and yet also gives a faint reflection.
Show the answer
Most of the light is transmitted through the glass while a small part is reflected back from each surface. -
Sound waves, ultrasound and infrasound
Describe what the cochlea does during hearing.
Show the answer
It converts the vibrations into electrical signals that are sent along the nerve to the brain.
The 9 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, and calculating depth from wave velocity | Depth and distance from echo times for sonar, ultrasound, thunder and radar, ripple tank and stretched string measurements of wavelength, frequency and speed, and the speed of a wave in a solid from the note of a struck metal rod. | 26 |
| Reflection, refraction, transmission and absorption at a boundary | Reflection, refraction, transmission and absorption of waves at a boundary, windows, microwave ovens and a black jumper in sunlight, and why frequency stays fixed while the speed and wavelength of sound change between air and water. | 15 |
| Sound waves, ultrasound and infrasound | How sound makes solids vibrate and vibrating solids make sound, the 20 Hz to 20 000 Hz range of human hearing, the eardrum, ear bones and cochlea, and ultrasound and infrasound with their frequencies, sources and wavelengths. | 18 |
| Uses of ultrasound and infrasound | Sonar depth finding, ultrasound imaging of a foetus and of cracks in castings, and how earthquake waves reveal the layers and the liquid core of the Earth. | 8 |
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.
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Step 1 · Closed book
Cover the answers. Work through one subtopic and write down what you can. Leave blanks where you have nothing.
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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.
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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 Physics, Higher tier Active Recall Guide
Every topic, not just this one. 2,063 questions with their answers.