Course: Combined Science + Separate Physics | 20 questions | ← All quizzes
Write A, B, C or D for each question, then tap Show answer to mark it.
Q1 (F, recall) Which of these is a transverse wave?
A. Light
B. Sound
C. Ultrasound
D. A seismic P-wave
Show answer
✅ A. Light
All electromagnetic waves are transverse. Sound, ultrasound and P-waves are longitudinal.
Q2 (F, definition) What is the frequency of a wave?
A. The distance from one crest to the next
B. The height of a wave
C. The number of waves passing a point each second
D. The time for one wave to pass a point
Show answer
✅ C
Frequency is measured in hertz (Hz). A is wavelength and D is the period.
Q3 (F, calculation) A water wave has a frequency of 50 Hz and a wavelength of 0.30 m. What is its speed?
A. 167 m/s
B. 15 m/s
C. 0.0060 m/s
D. 50.3 m/s
Show answer
✅ B. 15 m/s
F: v = f λ
I: v = 50 × 0.30
A: 15 m/s
Q4 (F, recall) Which electromagnetic wave has the highest frequency?
A. Radio waves
B. Visible light
C. Ultraviolet
D. Gamma rays
Show answer
✅ D. Gamma rays
In order of increasing frequency: radio, microwaves, infrared, visible, ultraviolet, X-rays, gamma.
Q5 (F, recall) Which type of electromagnetic wave is used by a TV remote control?
A. Microwaves
B. Infrared
C. Ultraviolet
D. X-rays
Show answer
✅ B. Infrared
Q6 (F/H, calculation) A wave has a frequency of 25 Hz. What is its period?
A. 0.040 s
B. 25 s
C. 4.0 s
D. 0.40 s
Show answer
✅ A. 0.040 s
F: T = 1 ÷ f
I: T = 1 ÷ 25
A: 0.040 s
Q7 (F/H, definition) What is the amplitude of a wave?
A. The distance from a crest to a trough
B. The number of waves per second
C. The length of one wave
D. The maximum displacement of a point on the wave from its undisturbed position
Show answer
✅ D
Examiner tip: amplitude is measured from the middle (rest) line to a crest, so it is half the crest-to-trough height.
Q8 (F/H, application) Light travels from air into a glass block at an angle. What happens?
A. It speeds up and bends away from the normal
B. It carries on in a straight line
C. It slows down and bends towards the normal
D. It is completely reflected
Show answer
✅ C
Light travels more slowly in glass than in air, so it refracts towards the normal.
Q9 (F/H, recall) What do all electromagnetic waves have in common?
A. They all travel at the same speed in a vacuum
B. They all have the same wavelength
C. They are all longitudinal
D. They all need a medium to travel through
Show answer
✅ A
They are also all transverse, and they transfer energy from the source to an absorber.
Q10 (F/H, recall) What is a hazard of ultraviolet radiation?
A. It heats the body’s internal organs
B. It can make skin age prematurely and increase the risk of skin cancer
C. It causes hearing damage
D. It has no hazards
Show answer
✅ B
X-rays and gamma rays are ionising radiation that can cause mutation of genes and cancer.
Q11 (F/H, practical) In the ripple tank practical, how can you measure the wavelength most accurately?
A. Measure one wave with a ruler
B. Count the waves passing in 10 s
C. Measure the height of the waves
D. Measure across 10 waves on a still image or shadow, then divide by 10
Show answer
✅ D
Measuring across many waves reduces the uncertainty of each measurement. B is how you would measure the frequency.
Q12 (F/H, calculation) A radio station broadcasts at 100 MHz. Radio waves travel at 3.0 × 10⁸ m/s. What is the wavelength?
A. 3.0 × 10⁶ m
B. 0.33 m
C. 3.0 m
D. 3.0 × 10¹⁶ m
Show answer
✅ C. 3.0 m
Convert: 100 MHz = 100 × 10⁶ Hz = 1.0 × 10⁸ Hz
F: v = f λ
I: 3.0 × 10⁸ = 1.0 × 10⁸ × λ
F: λ = 3.0 × 10⁸ ÷ 1.0 × 10⁸
A: 3.0 m
Examiner tip: 3.0 × 10⁶ m comes from leaving the frequency in MHz.
Q13 (F/H, graph) A student’s results for waves on a string: 10 Hz with wavelength 0.30 m; 20 Hz with wavelength 0.15 m; 30 Hz with wavelength 0.10 m. What do the results show?
A. The wave speed increases as the frequency increases
B. The wave speed stays constant at 3.0 m/s
C. The wavelength is directly proportional to frequency
D. The wave speed is 0.30 m/s
Show answer
✅ B
v = f λ: 10 × 0.30 = 3.0 m/s; 20 × 0.15 = 3.0 m/s; 30 × 0.10 = 3.0 m/s
Examiner tip: in the same medium, changing the frequency changes the wavelength, not the speed.
Q14 (S only, application) A ray of light hits a mirror at 25° to the mirror’s surface. What is the angle of reflection?
A. 65°
B. 25°
C. 90°
D. 50°
Show answer
✅ A. 65°
Angles are measured from the normal: angle of incidence = 90° − 25° = 65°. The angle of reflection equals the angle of incidence.
Examiner tip: 25° is the trap answer – always measure from the normal.
Q15 (S only, application) A red book is viewed under blue light. What colour does it look?
A. Red
B. Blue
C. Purple
D. Black
Show answer
✅ D. Black
The book only reflects red light. It absorbs the blue light, and there is no red light for it to reflect.
Q16 (S only, calculation) A lens produces an image 6.0 cm tall of an object 2.0 cm tall. What is the magnification?
A. 0.33
B. 12 cm
C. 3.0
D. 4.0 cm
Show answer
✅ C. 3.0
F: magnification = image height ÷ object height
I: magnification = 6.0 ÷ 2.0
A: 3.0
Examiner tip: magnification is a ratio, so it has no unit.
Q17 (S only, H, calculation) A ship sends an ultrasound pulse to the sea bed. The echo returns after 0.40 s. Sound travels at 1500 m/s in sea water. How deep is the sea?
A. 300 m
B. 600 m
C. 3750 m
D. 150 m
Show answer
✅ A. 300 m
F: s = v t
I: s = 1500 × 0.40 = 600 m (there and back)
A: depth = 600 ÷ 2 = 300 m
Examiner tip: 600 m forgets that the pulse travels down and back.
Q18 (H, application) Which statement best explains why light changes direction when it enters glass at an angle?
A. The light is attracted by the glass
B. One side of the wavefront enters the glass first and slows down, so the wavefront turns
C. The frequency of the light changes
D. The light is partly absorbed
Show answer
✅ B
The part of the wavefront still in air travels faster, so the wavefront changes direction.
Examiner tip: the frequency never changes during refraction. Just writing “it slows down” gets 1 mark at most.
Q19 (S only, application) As an object gets hotter, what happens to the radiation it emits?
A. It emits less radiation
B. It stops emitting infrared
C. It emits more radiation, and the peak wavelength gets shorter
D. It emits more radiation, and the peak wavelength gets longer
Show answer
✅ C
This is why very hot stars look blue and cooler stars look red.
Q20 (H, recall) How are radio waves produced?
A. By changes in the nucleus of an atom
B. By hot objects
C. By electrons dropping energy levels
D. By oscillations in electrical circuits
Show answer
✅ D
When radio waves are absorbed, they can create an alternating current with the same frequency as the wave. A describes gamma rays.
Your score
Add up your marks out of 20 and multiply by 5 to get a percentage. Rough guide (not an official grade): 18–20 excellent, grade 8–9 standard | 14–17 grade 6–7 | 10–13 grade 4–5 | under 10 revise the notes and try again.
Answer key (for teachers and printing)
1 A 2 C 3 B 4 D 5 B 6 A 7 D 8 C 9 A 10 B 11 D 12 C 13 B 14 A 15 D 16 C 17 A 18 B 19 C 20 D
Revise: Waves topic page | Fill the gaps: Waves | Which equation? Waves and magnetism
