PRACTICE QUESTIONS PLUS RATIONALES 2026
|INSTANT DOWNOAD PDF
1. What is a wave?
A. Movement of matter only
B. Transfer of energy without transfer of matter
C. Permanent displacement of particles
D. Motion that requires a vacuum
Correct answer: B – A wave transfers energy through a medium
or space without transporting matter.
2. Which of the following is an example of a mechanical wave?
A. Light
B. Radio waves
C. Sound
D. X-rays
Correct answer: C – Sound requires a medium, making it a
mechanical wave.
3. What quantity describes the height of a wave from its rest
position?
A. Wavelength
B. Frequency
C. Amplitude
D. Speed
Correct answer: C – Amplitude measures maximum
displacement from equilibrium.
,4. The distance between two consecutive crests is called:
A. Period
B. Frequency
C. Amplitude
D. Wavelength
Correct answer: D – Wavelength is the spatial length of one full
wave cycle.
5. Frequency is measured in:
A. Seconds
B. Meters
C. Hertz
D. Joules
Correct answer: C – Hertz (Hz) measures cycles per second.
6. The period of a wave is the:
A. Energy carried by the wave
B. Time for one complete cycle
C. Height of the wave
D. Distance traveled per second
Correct answer: B – Period is the time taken for one oscillation.
7. Which equation relates wave speed, frequency, and
wavelength?
A. v = f / λ
B. v = f + λ
C. v = fλ
D. v = λ − f
, Correct answer: C – Wave speed equals frequency times
wavelength.
8. Increasing the frequency of a wave (in the same medium)
will:
A. Increase wavelength
B. Decrease wavelength
C. Increase speed
D. Not affect wavelength
Correct answer: B – Wavelength is inversely proportional to
frequency.
9. Sound waves are classified as:
A. Transverse waves
B. Electromagnetic waves
C. Longitudinal waves
D. Standing waves only
Correct answer: C – Sound waves involve compressions and
rarefactions.
10. Regions of high pressure in a sound wave are called:
A. Nodes
B. Antinodes
C. Rarefactions
D. Compressions
Correct answer: D – Compressions occur where particles are
closest together.