Start learning →

KCSE Physics — practice by topic

Browse 30 questions across 1 Physics topics. Choose what you want to revise, then open a question to check its answer and worked solution.

Start learning KCSE with Quill →

Physics topics

Sound (30)

Try a Physics question

How is sound defined?Read the answer and worked solution →What is meant by a disturbance in the description of a wave?Read the answer and worked solution →On what two properties of a medium does the speed of sound depend?Read the answer and worked solution →How does making a medium more rigid affect the speed of sound in it?Read the answer and worked solution →

Worked practice questions

How is sound defined?

  1. A disturbance of matter travelling outward
  2. A flow of charged particles through air
  3. A stream of light released by a source
  4. A steady pressure applied to a surface
Show answer and solution

Correct answer: A. A disturbance of matter travelling outward

1. Sound is a wave, and a wave is a travelling disturbance. 2. Sound is defined as a disturbance of matter transmitted outward from its source. 3. Because it is a disturbance of matter, sound needs a medium and cannot cross a vacuum. 4. Light needs no medium, which is what separates it from sound. _Source: OpenStax Physics (high school, CC BY 4.0), Ch 14 "Sound", section Properties of Sound Waves_

Open this question →

What is meant by a disturbance in the description of a wave?

  1. Something losing all of its energy
  2. Something moved from its equilibrium
  3. Something changing its chemical form
  4. Something gaining electrical charge
Show answer and solution

Correct answer: B. Something moved from its equilibrium

1. A wave carries a disturbance rather than carrying matter along with it. 2. A disturbance is anything moved from its state of equilibrium. 3. For sound, the particles of the medium are pushed off their rest positions. 4. Some sound waves are periodic, so those particles undergo simple harmonic motion. _Source: OpenStax Physics (high school, CC BY 4.0), Ch 14 "Sound", section Properties of Sound Waves_

Open this question →

On what two properties of a medium does the speed of sound depend?

  1. Its colour and its temperature
  2. Its charge and its conductivity
  3. Its rigidity and its density
  4. Its volume and its total mass
Show answer and solution

Correct answer: C. Its rigidity and its density

1. The speed of sound varies greatly with the medium it travels through. 2. It is set by a combination of the rigidity of that medium and its density. 3. Rigidity is described as compressibility when the medium is a gas. 4. Temperature matters only because it changes the density of the medium. _Source: OpenStax Physics (high school, CC BY 4.0), Ch 14 "Sound", section The Speed of Sound_

Open this question →

How to practise

  1. Choose a Physics question and try to work out your answer.
  2. Open the question to check the correct answer and read its worked solution.
  3. Continue in the app for bite-sized lessons, explanations and review with Quill. You can start without creating an account.