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physics Physics For High Schools (KS4)
 
Solved problems for the chapter:
 

Reflection, Refraction and Diffraction of Waves

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Progressive Transverse Wave
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Detailed solution steps are available at:
 
https://en.openprof.com/wb/chapter:reflection%2C_refraction_and_diffraction_of_waves/3535/


Example 1.

Water waves are reflected at a plane surface. Which property of the waves is changed by the reflection?


  • speed

  • wavelength

  • direction

  • frequency


    
Example 2.

Which describes the speed of a water wave best?


  • the distance that a wavefront moves along the surface in one second

  • the distance between the crest of a wave and a trough

  • the distance between one wave crest and the next

  • the distance that a particle of water moves up and down in one second


    
3.

At a house at the bottom of a hill, radio waves are received. The radio waves are able to reach the house because the hill has caused them to be:


  • radiated

  • diffracted

  • reflected

  • refracted


    
4.

A girl notices that when she shouts into a cave, she hears an echo. Which wave property causes this echo?


  • diffraction

  • reflection

  • dispersion

  • refraction


    
5.

Water waves change direction when they move from shallow water to deep water. What is this effect called?


  • reflection

  • dispersion

  • diffraction

  • refraction


    
6.

Waves move from deep water to shallow water where they are slower. Which diagram describes what happens to the waves?


    
7.

Plane water waves are passing through a narrow gap in a barrier. The waves spread out on the far side of the barrier. Which property of waves does this illustrate?


  • refraction

  • reflection

  • vibration

  • diffraction


    
8.

Water waves in a tank pass over a thin plastic block as shown below. What happens to the waves as they reach the plastic block?




  • They are diffracted because they slow down

  • They are refracted because they speed up

  • They are diffracted because they speed up

  • They are refracted because they slow down

    

9.

A girl stands at a distance form a large building. She claps her hands and in a short time, she hears an echo. Why is an echo produced when the sound waves hit the building?


  • the sound waves are reflected

  • the sound waves are absorbed

  • the sound waves are diffracted

  • the sound waves are refracted


    
10.

In a ripple tank, water waves move towards a barrier with a narrow gap.




What diagram describes the waves beyond the barrier best?


    
11.

Waves in a tank pass from shallow water to deep water. Which property increases as the waves enter the deep water?


  • frequency

  • wavelength

  • wave energy

  • amplitude


    
12.

Water waves are about to move into shallow water from deep water. Which property of the waves remain the same after the waves move into shallow water?


  • speed

  • wavefront direction

  • wavelength

  • frequency

    
13.

Wavefronts are incident on a boundary. What is needed for the wave to refract at the boundary?


  • a small gap in the boundary

  • different mediums at either side of the boundary in which the speed of the wave is different

  • a shiny surface at the boundary

  • different mediums at either side of the boundary in which the frequency of the wave is different


    
14.

A tank contains water. Ripples are produced on the surface of the water and refraction is observed. What causes the ripples to refract?


  • The ripples hit the wall of the tank.

  • The cold water in the tank is replaced by warm water.

  • The ripples pass through a narrow gap.

  • The ripples change speed as they move from deep to shallow water.


    
15.

The diagram shows the surface of water in a ripple tank. A wave is travelling in the direction of the arrow towards a gap in a barrier. What happens to the wave as it passes through the gap, and what happens to the shape of the wavefronts after passing through the gap?





 what happens at the gapshape after passing through the gap
Adiffractionstraight
Brefractioncurved
Cdiffractioncurved
Drefractionstraight
    
16.

The diagram below shows wavefronts of a water wave passing through a gap in a barrier. Which change will increase the diffraction of the wave as it passes through the gap?




  • Reduce the depth of water.

  • Increase the width of the gap.

  • Reduce the frequency of the wave.

  • Increase the amplitude of the wave.

    
17.

The diagram shows two pieces of wood resting in shallow water of constant depth. Straight, parallel wavefronts approach the pieces of wood as indicated. The gap between the pieces of wood is 2.0 cm wide and the wavefronts are 3.0 cm apart.




What is the appearance of the wavefronts after they pass through the gap?


  • straight and 2.0 cm apart

  • semicircular and 2.0 cm apart

  • straight and 3.0 cm apart

  • semicircular and 3.0 cm apart


    
18.

The marine hydrometeorological buoy Vida is anchored 2.3 km from Piran's Cape Madona. Waves travel from the buoy to the cape in 3 minutes. What is the average depth of the sea?

    

19.

A long rope, fixed at one end, is being used by a student to demonstrate transverse waves.


  • What does the student do to the rope to produce the transverse waves?

  • Suggest what the student could do to reduce the wavelength of the waves.


    
20.

The diagram below shows water waves passing through a gap in a harbour wall. The water waves curve round the wall and reach a small boat in the harbour.




  • What is the name of this curving effect?


  • How can the gap be changed so that the waves are less likely to reach the boat?

    
21.

Plane waves travel on the surface of some water in a tank. The diagram shows the appearance of the waves before and after the boundary between two different depths of water in a tank.




State what happens to the wavelength as the waves cross the boundary.