Home / iGCSE / Coordinated Sciences / P3.1 General properties of waves Paper 1 |IITIAN ACADEMY

CIE iGCSE Co-Ordinated Science P3.1 General properties of waves Exam Style Questions Paper 1

CIE iGCSE Co-Ordinated Science Paper 1 - All Chapters

Question

One property of a water wave is the number of crests on the surface of water that pass a particular point each second.

What is this property?

A. amplitude
B. frequency
C. speed
D. wavelength

▶️ Answer/Explanation

Frequency is defined as the number of complete wave cycles (or crests) that pass a particular point per second. It is measured in hertz (Hz), where 1 Hz = 1 wave per second.

The other wave properties are:

  • Amplitude: The maximum displacement of a point on the wave from its equilibrium position (height of the crest).
  • Speed: The distance the wave travels per unit time.
  • Wavelength: The distance between two consecutive crests or troughs.

Therefore, the property described is frequency.

✅ Answer: (B)

Question

A student investigates the motion of a small ball that is floating on water in a tank. A wave passes along the water surface from left to right.

What happens to the ball?

A. It does not move.
B. It moves only to the left.
C. It moves only to the right.
D. It moves up and down.

▶️ Answer/Explanation
In a water wave, particles of water (and objects floating on it) move in a circular or up-and-down motion as the wave passes. The wave transfers energy from left to right, but the water particles themselves do not travel horizontally—they oscillate vertically about their equilibrium position. The floating ball moves up and down as the wave passes beneath it, rather than being carried horizontally by the wave.
✅ Answer: (D)

Question

What is the name of the distance between one wave crest and the next wave crest?

A. amplitude
B. frequency
C. speed
D. wavelength

▶️ Answer/Explanation
Wavelength is the distance between two consecutive corresponding points on a wave, such as from one crest to the next crest or from one trough to the next trough.
Amplitude is the maximum displacement, frequency is the number of waves per second, and speed is how fast the wave travels.
✅ Answer: (D)

Question

Which wave diagram shows the amplitude X and the wavelength Y of a wave?

▶️ Answer/Explanation
Amplitude (X) is the maximum displacement of a wave from its equilibrium position, measured from the centre line to a crest or trough. Wavelength (Y) is the distance between two corresponding points on consecutive waves, such as crest to crest or trough to trough. Diagram C correctly identifies amplitude as the vertical distance from the equilibrium to the crest and wavelength as the horizontal distance between two successive crests.
✅ Answer: (C)

Question

Which statement about waves is correct?

A. They do not transfer energy or matter.
B. They transfer energy and matter.
C. They transfer energy but not matter.
D. They transfer matter but not energy.

▶️ Answer/Explanation
Waves are a mechanism for transferring energy from one point to another without transferring matter. As a wave passes through a medium, the particles of the medium oscillate about their equilibrium positions but do not travel with the wave itself. Therefore, the correct statement is that waves transfer energy but not matter.
✅ Answer: (C)
More CIE iGCSE Co-Ordinated Science Paper 1 Questions..
Scroll to Top