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11th grade Transverse and longitudinal waves worksheet

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Transverse and longitudinal waves

Grade 11 Science Worksheet

NameDate

Circle the best answer, or write your answer on the line.

  1. A seismograph records the S-wave 10 s after the P-wave. In this rock, P-waves travel 6.0 km/s and S-waves 3.5 km/s. How far away is the quake, Ari?

  2. A seismograph records the S-wave 25 s after the P-wave. In this rock, P-waves travel 6.0 km/s and S-waves 3.5 km/s. How far away is the quake, Bo?

  3. A seismograph records the S-wave 15 s after the P-wave. In this rock, P-waves travel 6.0 km/s and S-waves 3.5 km/s. How far away is the quake, Esme?

  4. Jun shakes the same rope at twice the frequency, with the tension unchanged. What happens to the wave speed and the wavelength?

    • The speed doubles and the wavelength halves
    • The speed stays the same and the wavelength halves
    • The speed and the wavelength both halve
    • The speed doubles and the wavelength stays the same

  5. The tension in a rope is made 4 times as large. Wave speed goes with the square root of tension. The shaking frequency stays the same. What happens to the wavelength, Kira?

    • It halves
    • It doubles
    • It stays the same
    • It quadruples

  6. A wave passes from a light rope into a heavy rope. The frequency stays the same. What happens to the wavelength, Luz?

    • It gets longer, since a heavy rope carries waves farther
    • It gets shorter, since the frequency rises in the heavy rope
    • It gets shorter, since the wave travels more slowly on the heavy rope
    • It stays the same, since the same hand shakes both ropes

  7. A microphone records the pressure peaks (compressions) of a sound arriving every 2.5 ms. What is the frequency, Milo?

    • 40 Hz
    • 4,000 Hz
    • 400 Hz
    • 2.5 Hz

  8. That 400 Hz sound travels in 20 °C air at 343.3 m/s. What is its wavelength, Noah?

    • About 0.43 m
    • About 1.2 m
    • About 0.86 m

  9. A wave travels right along a rope. At one instant, point P is at the top of a crest. What is the velocity of P at that instant, Tala?

    • Zero: it is momentarily at rest at its highest point
    • Down, since it is about to fall
    • Right, at the speed of the wave
    • Up, since the point has just been lifted by the crest approaching it from the left

  10. As a wave passes, where is a point on the rope moving fastest, Zee?

    • At the rest position, passing through the middle
    • Everywhere the same, since the wave speed is constant
    • At the crest, where the rope is displaced furthest from its rest position
    • At the trough
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11th grade Transverse and longitudinal waves worksheet – printable
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About this worksheet

Transverse and longitudinal waves. Every version has 10 questions, and the answer key prints on the second page.

What your child will learn

  • I can find wave speed from shakes in a time and the wavelength, and a rope point's greatest speed from 2πfA.
  • I can say which way a rope point moves as a crest approaches and passes, and where it is fastest or still.
  • I can use evidence (polarization, S-waves in a liquid core, sound in a jar) to decide whether a wave is transverse or longitudinal.
  • I can read a wave snapshot, use P- and S-wave arrival gaps to find distance, and judge claims about water waves, energy and amplitude.

Standard: supports HS-PS4-1

Words to know

transverse wave: The medium moves at right angles to the wave's direction

longitudinal wave: The medium moves back and forth along the wave's direction

compression: A region where particles are crowded together

rarefaction: A region where particles are spread apart

medium: The material a mechanical wave travels through

period: Time for one full oscillation: 1 ÷ frequency

S-wave: An earthquake wave that shears the ground sideways; it cannot cross a liquid

P-wave: An earthquake wave of compressions along its path; it crosses solids and liquids

Common mistakes

Your child multiplied the number of shakes by the wavelength. Wave speed needs the shakes each second, the frequency.

Your child divided time by shakes, which is the period. Wave speed uses the frequency, shakes ÷ time.

Your child used only the P-wave speed. The gap in arrival times comes from both speeds.

Questions parents ask

What is the most common mistake with transverse and longitudinal waves?

Your child multiplied the number of shakes by the wavelength. Wave speed needs the shakes each second, the frequency.

Are these 11th grade science worksheets free to print?

Yes. All 6 printable versions at each level are free to print, with the answer key, and no account is needed.

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