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JEE Main Waves — practice questions

Explore 23 free Waves questions in JEE Main Physics. Open each question or exercise to read its content, reference answers and available explanation.

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Waves: quick revision

A travelling wave transfers a disturbance and energy through a medium. Its frequency is set by the source; its speed depends on the medium. Boundary conditions select the normal modes of a standing wave.

Key ideas and when to use them

  • $v=f\lambda$.
  • Ideal stretched string: $v=\sqrt{T/\mu}$, where μ is mass per length.
  • String fixed at both ends: $f_n=nv/(2L)$ for $n=1,2,\ldots$.

Common mistakes

  • Wave speed and the instantaneous velocity of a particle of the medium are different.
  • A fixed–free system has different allowed modes from a fixed–fixed string.

Three worked examples

Example 1: A wave travels at 240 m/s with frequency 80 Hz. Find its wavelength.
  1. Rearrange the wave-speed relation.
  2. $\lambda=240/80$.

3 m

Example 2: An ideal stretched string has tension 100 N and linear density 0.010 kg/m. Find its wave speed.
  1. Use mass per length, not total string mass.
  2. $v=\sqrt{100/0.010}$.

100 m/s

Example 3: A 0.50 m string is fixed at both ends and has wave speed 100 m/s. Find its fundamental frequency.
  1. The fundamental has one half-wavelength along the string.
  2. $f_1=100/(2\times0.50)$.

100 Hz

Qallery AI-assisted study notes and original examples. Further reading: NCERT Physics — Waves.

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Waves questions and exercises with answers

Showing questions 1–23 of 23.

If the medium oscillates perpendicular to the direction of propagation, the wave is:Read the answer and worked solution →If the displacement of the medium is parallel to the direction of travel, the wave is:Read the answer and worked solution →Waves on a string, water waves and sound waves are examples of which family?Read the answer and worked solution →Waves that travel from one part of the medium to another are called:Read the answer and worked solution →Points on a standing wave where the amplitude is zero are called:Read the answer and worked solution →The lowest possible natural frequency of a system is called its:Read the answer and worked solution →Transverse waves can propagate only in media that can sustain which stress?Read the answer and worked solution →Which type of wave can air sustain?Read the answer and worked solution →When two waves overlap, their displacements add. This is known as the principle of:Read the answer and worked solution →Wave patterns that do not travel along the medium are called:Read the answer and worked solution →Points on a standing wave where the amplitude is largest are called:Read the answer and worked solution →The speed of a transverse wave on a stretched string is set by the properties of the:Read the answer and worked solution →For a pipe open at both ends, each end behaves as which point?Read the answer and worked solution →Which harmonics are present in a pipe closed at one end?Read the answer and worked solution →Laplace pointed out that pressure variations in sound propagation are:Read the answer and worked solution →How does the Newton formula result for the speed of sound in air compare with experiment?Read the answer and worked solution →The beat frequency produced by two waves equals which combination of their frequencies?Read the answer and worked solution →Liquids and solids generally have a speed of sound compared with gases that is:Read the answer and worked solution →Transverse or longitudinalRead the answer and worked solution →Node or antinodeRead the answer and worked solution →One word is wrongRead the answer and worked solution →Finish the sentenceRead the answer and worked solution →Type the wave numbersRead the answer and worked solution →

Worked practice questions

If the medium oscillates perpendicular to the direction of propagation, the wave is:

  1. Transverse
  2. Transparent
  3. Translucent
  4. Transitional
Show answer and solution

Correct answer: A. Transverse

1. Waves are classified by how the medium moves relative to the wave. 2. One class has the medium moving across the direction of travel. 3. If the constituents oscillate perpendicular to the direction of propagation, the wave is transverse. 4. So the answer is transverse. _Source: syllabus Physics Part II, Ch 14 'Waves'_

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If the displacement of the medium is parallel to the direction of travel, the wave is:

  1. Longsuffering
  2. Longitudinal
  3. Longstanding
  4. Longitudinally
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Correct answer: B. Longitudinal

1. The other class has the medium moving along the line of travel. 2. Sound in air behaves this way. 3. In a longitudinal wave the displacement is parallel to the direction of propagation. 4. So the answer is longitudinal. _Source: syllabus Physics Part II, Ch 14 'Waves'_

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Waves on a string, water waves and sound waves are examples of which family?

  1. Mechanical waves
  2. Mechanised waves
  3. Melodious waves
  4. Meridional waves
Show answer and solution

Correct answer: A. Mechanical waves

1. These waves all need a medium to travel through. 2. That requirement gives the family its name. 3. Waves on a string, water waves, sound waves and seismic waves are mechanical waves. 4. So the answer is mechanical waves. _Source: syllabus Physics Part II, Ch 14 'Waves'_

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More Physics topics

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