Name: 
 

Wave Review



True/False
Indicate whether the statement is true or false.
 

 1. 

Water waves can move a piece of cork floating on top of the water only in an up and down motion.
 

 2. 

Mechanical waves can travel in any type of medium.
 

 3. 

Radio waves are the only type of electromagnetic wave that is a transverse wave.
 

 4. 

Sound waves are compressional waves.
 

 5. 

The amplitude of a wave is the distance between a point on one wave and the identical point on the next wave.
 

 6. 

In general, the more energy a wave has the greater its amplitude.
 

 7. 

The speed of light depends on the medium it travels through.
 

 8. 

You can see yourself in a mirror because of the wave property called interference.
 

 9. 

Refraction occurs when the amplitude of a wave changes as it goes from one medium to another.
 

 10. 

You can hear sounds around the corner of a door due to the wave property called diffraction.
 

Multiple Choice
Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
 

 11. 

Which one of the following is NOT an example of a mechanical wave?
a.
sound wave
c.
earthquake wave
b.
water wave
d.
radio wave
 

 12. 

Which one of the following is NOT an example of an electromagnetic wave?
a.
sound wave
c.
red light
b.
x-rays
d.
gamma rays
 

 13. 

Which one of the following is NOT an example of a compressional wave?
a.
wave moving through a coiled spring
b.
sound traveling through the air
c.
sound traveling through water
d.
green light traveling through the air
 

 14. 

Tsunamis have a large amount of energy because of their large ____.
a.
wavelength
c.
frequency
b.
amplitude
d.
diffraction
 

 15. 

Which one of the following determines the color of a light wave?
a.
amplitude only
c.
wavelength and frequency
b.
wavelength and amplitude
d.
interference patterns
 

 16. 

A place where molecules are far apart is a ____.
a.
refraction
c.
rarefaction
b.
reflection
d.
compression
 

 17. 

The speed of sound through air is about ____.
a.
340 m/s
c.
3,000,000 m/s
b.
2,000,000 m/s
d.
3,000,000 m/hour
 

 18. 

When light bounces off a surface it is called ____.
a.
reflection
c.
diffraction
b.
refraction
d.
interference
 

 19. 

In which one of the following cases will refraction occur?
a.
light traveling from air to glass
b.
light reflecting off of a mirror
c.
light bending around the corner of a door
d.
green light interfering with blue light
 

 20. 

Constructive interference occurs when waves meet ____.
a.
crest-to-crest and trough-to-trough
b.
crest-to-trough and crest-to-trough
c.
trough-to-crest and trough-to-crest
d.
crest-to-crest
 

Matching
 
 
Match each item with the correct statement below.
a.
compressional wave
d.
mechanical wave
b.
electromagnetic wave
e.
transverse wave
c.
interference
 

 21. 

does not require a medium to travel through
 

 22. 

light waves and water waves are examples of this
 

 23. 

interaction of various different waves
 

 24. 

can be either transverse or compressional
 

 25. 

sound waves are an example of this
 
 
Match each item with the correct statement below.
a.
amplitude
d.
reflection
b.
diffraction
e.
refraction
c.
frequency
 

 26. 

the pitch of a sound wave
 

 27. 

why light shines off of a mirror
 

 28. 

related to the energy of a wave
 

 29. 

the changing of the speed of a wave
 

 30. 

the spreading out of waves around a barrier
 

Completion
Complete each statement.
 

 31. 

Waves are rhythmic disturbances that carry energy through matter or space without transferring ____________________.
 

 

 32. 

Since sound is a mechanical wave it needs a ____________________ to travel through.
 

 

 33. 

Waves that do not require matter to transfer energy are ____________________ waves.
 

 

 34. 

____________________ waves can be either transverse or compressional.
 

 

 35. 

The less dense area of a compressional wave is called a(n) ____________________.
 

 

 36. 

In a compressional wave, the amount of compression is like the ____________________ of a transverse wave.
 

 

 37. 

The ____________________ is the unit of measure for the frequency of wavelengths per second.
 

 

 38. 

Sound travels faster in ____________________ than in liquids.
 

 

 39. 

An electromagnetic wave is slowed down if many ____________________ are in the medium.
 

 

 40. 

Hertz can be described as ____________________.
 

 

 41. 

The echo of a sound wave is due to ____________________ of the sound wave.
 

 

 42. 

When light slows down as it passes from air to water it bends toward the ____________________.
 

 

 43. 

The change in direction of waves when the wave travels from air to glass is ____________________.
 

 

 44. 

Diffraction occurs when waves ____________________ around the edge of a barrier.
 

 

 45. 

When two waves interact and their amplitudes cancel out, ____________________ interference has occurred.
 

 

Short Answer
 

 46. 

A boat in a lake is subjected to passing water waves. Describe the motion of the boat.
 

 47. 

Describe why you could not hear someone talk if you were both on the surface of the Moon.
 

 48. 

How can light travel from the Sun to Earth through the vacuum of space?
 

 49. 

How do your vocal cords produce sounds?
 

 50. 

Explain why a bright light differs from a dim light in terms of the amplitudes of each light wave.
 

 51. 

An instrument plays a pitch of 266 Hz. Another identical instrument plays a pitch of 400 Hz. How do the wavelength of each of these sound waves compare?
 

 52. 

Light that reflects off some surfaces can cause glare. Why don't all surfaces cause glare?
 

 53. 

A pencil is placed in a bucket of water. In some views, the pencil in the water will look bent when compared to the pencil above the water. Why is this so?
 

 54. 

Why is diffraction of light hard to detect?
 

 55. 

Describe how ear protectors help protect against hearing damage.
 

Problem
 

 56. 

When sunlight passes through a piece of glass known as a prism, the sunlight gets separated into the colors of the rainbow. Use the concept of refraction to explain how this occurs.
 



 
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