Transverse, longitudinal and sound waves

Grade 8 Science Worksheet

Circle the best answer.

1. 1.

   Ari beats a drum, and a sound wave moves east through the air. How do the air particles move?

   • They stay still
   • Back and forth, east and west
   • Up and down, across the wave's path
   • East with the wave, right to your ear
2. 2.

   A wave moves right along Bo's rope. Think about one red ribbon tied to the rope. How does the ribbon move?

   • To the right, riding along with the wave
   • In a circle around the rope
   • Up and down, staying in place
   • Back and forth, left and right
3. 3.

   Esme's book describes a wave whose particles move at right angles to the wave's direction. Which wave is it?

   • A sound wave in air
   • A transverse wave
   • A wave that carries particles along
   • A longitudinal wave
4. 4.

   Jun reads the spring drawing on its ruler. What is the wave's wavelength?

   • 10 cm
   • 20 cm
   • 40 cm
   • 80 cm

5. Read this first

   Spring wave diagram (example data)

   a spring lying along a ruler marked 0 to 90 cm. Compressions (bunched coils) at 15, 45, 75 cm. Rarefactions (spread-out coils) at 30, 60 cm.

6. 5.

   Kira draws a slower push on the spring, so the compressions are farther apart. What is the wavelength?

   • 60 cm
   • 30 cm
   • 90 cm
   • 15 cm
7. 6.

   Luz measures a very long spring stretched across the gym floor. What is the wavelength?

   • 2.4 m
   • 0.4 m
   • 0.8 m
   • 1.6 m
8. 7.

   Material, speed of sound (m/s). Air at 20 °C, about 343; fresh water, about 1,480; steel, about 5,900 to 6,000. A whale's call travels through water. Using the table, about how many times faster is sound in water than in air, Noah?

   • About 40 times faster
   • Slower in water than in air
   • About the same speed
   • About 4 times faster
9. 8.

   Pia wonders why sound moves faster in water than in air. Which reason fits the science?

   • Water carries the sound along as a current
   • Sound turns into light in water
   • Water is much harder to squeeze than air
   • It doesn't: sound is faster in air
10. 9.

    Tala reads that sound and water waves are mechanical waves. What do mechanical waves need?

    • Light to carry them
    • Empty space with nothing in it
    • A battery
    • Matter to travel through, called a medium
11. 10.

    Zee reads that astronauts outside their spacecraft talk by radio. Why can't they just shout to each other?

    • Radio is louder than shouting
    • Sound needs matter; radio waves don't
    • Their spacesuits are too thick
    • Shouting is too slow in space