Practise 45 real questions on Waves from 2021 to 2026. See the answer and explanation as soon as you answer.
Waves is one of the 14 main topics in our O Level Physics (Cambridge (CAIE) 5054) question bank, and about 6% of its real questions come from it. Tayyari Karo has 45 real questions on this topic from 2021 to 2026, from Paper 1, Paper 2; 30 are multiple choice and marked instantly, and the rest are structured questions with a model answer. By difficulty: 25 medium, 13 easy, 7 hard.
Work through the questions below, then open the explanation for each one. Redo the ones you missed a few days later.
These are real past-paper questions. Think of your answer first, then open the explanation.
Which equation gives the speed of a wave?
Answer: D. speed = wavelength × frequency
The wave equation is v = f λ, so speed = frequency × wavelength.
A firework is launched vertically from the ground. When the firework reaches a height of 360 m, it explodes, producing coloured light. A student on the ground incorrectly measures the time between seeing the coloured light and hearing the explosion, obtaining a value of 1.8 s.
What is the speed of sound that the student's value suggests?
Answer: A. 200 m/s
Using the student's (incorrect) time directly with the distance: speed = distance ÷ time = 360 ÷ 1.8 = 200 m/s.
A student claps in front of a wall, clapping again at the same moment as hearing each echo. Another student times from the first clap to the eleventh clap, reading 9.4 s on a stop-watch; the speed of sound is 320 m/s. What is the distance x between the student and the wall?
Answer: B. 150 m
Eleven claps give 10 echo intervals in 9.4 s, so one there-and-back journey takes 9.4 ÷ 10 = 0.94 s; distance x = speed × time ÷ 2 = 320 × 0.94 ÷ 2 = 150 m.
Which row names a region of the electromagnetic spectrum with a wavelength longer than that of visible light and a region with a frequency greater than that of visible light?
Answer: A. longer wavelength infrared; greater frequency ultraviolet
Infrared lies just beyond the red end and so has a longer wavelength than visible light, while ultraviolet lies beyond the violet end and so has a higher frequency.
Which statement is correct?
Answer: D. Both longitudinal waves and transverse waves can travel in water.
Water can carry both sound (longitudinal) and light or water-surface waves (transverse), whereas only transverse electromagnetic waves cross a vacuum or travel at the speed of light.
A girl is long-sighted. Which statement is correct?
Answer: A. She sees close objects less clearly than a person with normal vision.
Long-sightedness (hyperopia) means near objects cannot be brought into focus properly, so close objects appear less clear than to someone with normal vision; distance vision is normal (not superior), the fault is corrected with a converging lens, and the unfocused image of a close object falls behind (not in front of) the retina.
Ultrasound of frequency 30 kHz has a wavelength of 0.011 m in air. State what is meant by 'frequency'.
Frequency is the number of complete waves (oscillations/cycles) passing a fixed point, or produced by a source, per second.
This is the standard definition of wave frequency.
State one use of ultrasound.
Medical scanning (e.g. imaging a fetus) — other acceptable answers include industrial flaw detection, cleaning, or sonar/distance measurement.
Ultrasound is widely used for prenatal medical scanning because it is non-ionising and reflects at boundaries between tissues.
| Session | Paper 1 | Paper 2 |
|---|---|---|
| May/June 2026 | 2 | 2 |
| Oct/Nov 2025 | 3 | – |
| May/June 2024 | 3 | 6 |
| Oct/Nov 2024 | 5 | 2 |
| May/June 2023 | 1 | 1 |
| Oct/Nov 2023 | 1 | 1 |
| May/June 2022 | 2 | – |
| Oct/Nov 2022 | 1 | 1 |
| May/June 2021 | 1 | 1 |
| Oct/Nov 2021 | 11 | 1 |
45 real O Level Physics (5054) questions on Waves from 2021 to 2026, from Paper 1, Paper 2. Each one shows the year, session and paper it came from.
Yes. Every question shows the correct answer and a short explanation the moment you answer.
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