DP Physics Questionbank

Description

Nature of science:
Patterns, trends and discrepancies: Scientists have discovered common features of wave motion through careful observations of the natural world, looking for patterns, trends and discrepancies and asking further questions based on these findings. (3.1)

Understandings:

• Travelling waves
• Wavelength, frequency, period and wave speed
• Transverse and longitudinal waves
• The nature of electromagnetic waves
• The nature of sound waves

Applications and skills:

• Explaining the motion of particles of a medium when a wave passes through it for both transverse and longitudinal cases
• Sketching and interpreting displacement–distance graphs and displacement–time graphs for transverse and longitudinal waves
• Solving problems involving wave speed, frequency and wavelength
• Investigating the speed of sound experimentally

Guidance:

• Students will be expected to derive 
• Students should be aware of the order of magnitude of the wavelengths of radio, microwave, infra-red, visible, ultraviolet, X-ray and gamma rays

Data booklet reference:

International-mindedness:

• Electromagnetic waves are used extensively for national and international communication

Theory of knowledge:

• Scientists often transfer their perception of tangible and visible concepts to explain similar non-visible concepts, such as in wave theory. How do scientists explain concepts that have no tangible or visible quality?

Utilization:

• Communication using both sound (locally) and electromagnetic waves (near and far) involve wave theory
• Emission spectra are analysed by comparison to the electromagnetic wave spectrum (see Chemistry topic 2 and Physics sub-topic 12.1)
• Sight (see Biology sub-topic A.2)

Aims:

• Aim 2: there is a common body of knowledge and techniques involved in wave theory that is applicable across many areas of physics
• Aim 4: there are opportunities for the analysis of data to arrive at some of the models in this section from first principles
• Aim 6: experiments could include (but are not limited to): speed of waves in different media; detection of electromagnetic waves from various sources; use of echo methods (or similar) for determining wave speed, wavelength, distance, or medium elasticity and/or density

Directly related questions

• 18M.1.SL.TZ2.17: A sound wave has a wavelength of 0.20 m. What is the phase difference between two points along...
• 18M.2.SL.TZ1.3a.i: A series of dark and bright fringes appears on the screen. Explain how a dark fringe is formed.
• 18M.2.HL.TZ1.3a.ii: Outline why the beam has to be coherent in order for the fringes to be visible.
• 17N.1.SL.TZ0.13: What is the phase difference, in rad, between the centre of a compression and the centre of...
• 17M.2.HL.TZ1.7e.ii: Explain whether P is at the centre of a compression or the centre of a rarefaction.
• 17M.2.HL.TZ1.7e.i: State the direction of motion of P on the spring.
• 17M.1.HL.TZ1.12: A travelling wave of period 5.0 ms travels along a stretched string at a speed of 40 m s–1. Two...
• 17M.1.SL.TZ2.15: The graph shows the variation with distance x of the displacement of the particles of a medium in...
• 17M.1.SL.TZ2.14: A girl in a stationary boat observes that 10 wave crests pass the boat every minute. What is...
• 17M.1.SL.TZ1.15: Two pulses are travelling towards each other. What is a possible pulse shape when the pulses...
• 17M.1.SL.TZ1.14: What statement about X-rays and ultraviolet radiation is correct? A.  X-rays travel faster in a...
• 16M.2.HL.TZ0.4b: (i) Calculate the speed of this wave. (ii) Show that the angular frequency of oscillations of a...
• 16M.2.SL.TZ0.4c: The equilibrium position of a particle in the medium is at x=0.80 m. For this particle at t=0,...
• 16M.2.SL.TZ0.4b: Calculate, for this wave, (i) the speed. (ii) the frequency.
• 16M.2.SL.TZ0.4a: State what is meant by a longitudinal travelling wave.
• 16N.1.SL.TZ0.17: A student stands a distance L from a wall and claps her hands. Immediately on hearing the...
• 15M.1.HL.TZ2.12: A wave pulse is sent along a light string which is attached to a heavy rope as shown. The...
• 15M.2.SL.TZ1.5e: The sound waves from the loudspeaker travel in air with speed 330 ms−1. (i) Calculate the...
• 15M.2.SL.TZ1.5f: A second loudspeaker S emits the same frequency as L but vibrates out of phase with L. The graph...
• 14M.1.SL.TZ1.12: A wave of period 5.0m s travels through a medium. The graph shows the variation with distance d...
• 14M.1.SL.TZ2.16: The diagram shows, at a particular instant in time, part of a rope along which a wave is...
• 15N.1.SL.TZ0.14: A transverse travelling wave has an amplitude \({x_0}\) and wavelength \(\lambda \). What is the...
• 15N.2.SL.TZ0.4e.ii: Deduce the frequency of wave B.
• 15N.1.SL.TZ0.15: A wave on a string travels to the right as shown. The frequency of the wave is \(f\). At time...
• 14M.3.SL.TZ1.19b: A charge moves backwards and forwards along a wire, as shown in the diagram below. Outline,...
• 15N.2.SL.TZ0.4d: State the amplitude of wave A.
• 15N.2.SL.TZ0.4e.i: Wave A has a frequency of 9.0 Hz. Calculate the velocity of wave A.
• 14N.2.SL.TZ0.5c.i: Calculate the wavelength of an infrared wave with a frequency equal to that of the model in (b).
• 11N.1.SL.TZO.15: Which of the following gives regions of the electromagnetic spectrum in the order of decreasing...
• 11N.1.HL.TZ0.14: Which of the following gives regions of the electromagnetic spectrum in the order of decreasing...
• 13N.1.SL.TZ0.14: Which of the following correctly relates the direction of oscillation of the particles in a...
• 13M.1.HL.TZ1.17: Unpolarized light of intensity I0 is transmitted through a polarizer which has a transmission...
• 13M.1.HL.TZ1.11: Gas particles are equally spaced along a straight line. A sound wave passes through the gas. The...
• 12M.1.SL.TZ2.14: A wave pulse is travelling along a dense thick rope which is connected to a less dense thin...
• 12M.1.SL.TZ1.14: What region of the electromagnetic spectrum includes waves of wavelength 5 ×10–8 m? A. X-ray B....
• 13M.2.SL.TZ2.8c: The oscillations of P initially set up a longitudinal wave in the gas. (i) Describe, with...
• 13M.1.SL.TZ2.15: Which of the following correctly describes the direction of a ray drawn relative to a wavefront...
• 12M.2.SL.TZ2.5c: A light spring is stretched horizontally and a longitudinal travelling wave is set up in the...
• 11M.2.SL.TZ2.4c: A wave is travelling along a string. The string can be modelled as...
• 11N.2.SL.TZ0.6a: On the diagram above, identify (i) with an arrow, the direction of movement of marker P at the...
• 11N.2.SL.TZ0.8b: The graph shows the variation with frequency of the percentage transmittance of electromagnetic...
• 11M.3.SL.TZ2.19a: State two properties that are common to all electromagnetic waves.
• 11N.2.SL.TZ0.6b: The wavelength of the wave is 25mm and its speed is 18mms–1. (i) Calculate the time period T of...
• 11N.3.SL.TZ0.15a: Outline the nature of electromagnetic waves.
• 12N.2.SL.TZ0.6c: Describe the difference between transverse waves and longitudinal waves.
• 12M.3.SL.TZ2.17b: State two cases in which electrons may produce electromagnetic waves.
• 12M.3.SL.TZ2.17a: Outline what is meant by an electromagnetic wave.
• 13N.2.SL.TZ0.5c: The particle P in (b) is a particle in medium M1 through which a transverse wave is...
• 11M.1.SL.TZ1.13: A transverse wave travels from left to right. The diagram below shows how, at a particular...
• 11M.1.SL.TZ1.16: Which of the following electromagnetic waves has a frequency greater than that of visible...
• 11M.2.SL.TZ1.5b: Graph 2 shows the variation with position d of the displacement x of particles in the medium at a...
• 11M.2.SL.TZ1.5c: Graph 2 – reproduced to assist with answering (c)(i). (c) The diagram shows the equilibrium...
• 11M.3.SL.TZ1.19a: State an approximate value for the wavelength of visible light.
• 09M.1.SL.TZ1.14: In which of the following regions of the electromagnetic spectrum is radiation of wavelength 600...
• 10N.1.SL.TZ0.14: One end of a horizontal string is fixed to a wall. A transverse pulse moves along the string as...
• 09N.1.HL.TZ0.14: Which of the following is the best estimate of the wavelength? A.     2 cm B.     4 cm C.   ...
• 10M.1.SL.TZ1.14: Which of the following is a value of wavelength that is found in the visible region of the...
• 09N.1.HL.TZ0.15: Which of the following is the best estimate of the amplitude? A.     0.4 cm B.     0.8 cm C. ...