Name:_______________________________Class:___________________Date:____________________

Assessment

Chapter Test A
Teacher Notes and Answers
Vibrations and Waves
CHAPTER TEST A (General)
1. a 23. 500 N/m
2. b Given
3. a Felastic= 50 N
4. d
x = €0.10 m
5. a
6. b Solution
7. c Felastic= €kx
8. d € k = €Felastic/x
9. d
10. a k = €50 N/ € 0.10 m = 500 N/m
11. b 24. 2.50 × 10 €2 Hz
12. a Given
13. c T = 40.0 s
€ Solution
14. b
15. c € f = 1/T = 1/ 40.0 s= 2.50 × 10 €2 Hz
16. c 25. 40 Hz
17. d Given
18. d v= 20 m/s
€
19. three € = 0.50 m
20. Complete destructive interference should Solution
occur because the first pulse is inverted when
it reflects from the fixed boundary. The v= f€
pulses then meet with equal but opposite 20 m/s
f = v/€ = = 40 Hz
amplitudes. 0.50 m
21. superposition
22. The period will increase because the
restoring force is a component of the
gravitational force acting on the pendulum €
bob (the bob’s weight). Because the restoring
force is less, but the mass remains the same,
the acceleration of the pendulum bob is less.

Original content Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. Additions and changes to the original content are the responsibility of the instructor.
Holt Physics 1 Chapter Tests
 Assessment

Vibrations and Waves

Chapter Test A
MULTIPLE CHOICE
In the space provided, write the letter of the term or phrase that best completes
each statement or best answers each question.

______ 1. Which of the following is not an example of approximate simple

harmonic motion?
a. a ball bouncing on the floor
b. a child swinging on a swing
c. a piano wire that has been struck
d. a car’s radio antenna waving back and forth
______ 2. A mass attached to a spring vibrates back and forth. At the equilibrium
position, the
a. acceleration reaches a maximum.
b. velocity reaches a maximum.
c. net force reaches a maximum.
d. velocity reaches zero.
______ 3. A simple pendulum, swings in simple harmonic motion. At maximum
displacement,
a. the acceleration reaches a maximum.
b. the velocity reaches a maximum.
c. the acceleration reaches zero.
d. the restoring force reaches zero.
______ 4. The angle between the string of a pendulum at its equilibrium position
and at its maximum displacement is the pendulum’s
a. period. c. vibration.
b. frequency. d. amplitude.
______ 5. For a mass hanging from a spring, the maximum displacement the
spring is stretched or compressed from its equilibrium position is
the system’s
a. amplitude. c. frequency.
b. period. d. acceleration.
______ 6. For a system in simple harmonic motion, which of the following is the
time required to complete a cycle of motion?
a. amplitude c. frequency
b. period d. revolution
 Chapter Test A continued

______ 7. For a system in simple harmonic motion, which of the following is the
number of cycles or vibrations per unit of time?
a. amplitude c. frequency
b. period d. revolution
______ 8. Which of the following features of a given pendulum changes when the
pendulum is moved from Earth’s surface to the moon?
a. the mass c. the equilibrium position
b. the length d. the restoring force
______ 9. A wave travels through a medium. As the wave passes, the particles of
the medium vibrate in a direction perpendicular to the direction of the
wave’s motion. The wave is
a. longitudinal. c. electromagnetic.
b. a pulse. d. transverse.
______10. One end of a taut rope is fixed to a post. What type of wave is produced
if the free end is quickly raised and lowered one time?
a. pulse wave c. sine wave
b. periodic wave d. longitudinal wave

______11. Each compression in the waveform of the longitudinal wave shown

above corresponds to what feature of the transverse wave below it?
a. wavelength c. troughs
b. crests d. amplitude
______12. Which of the following most affects the wavelength of a mechanical
wave moving through a medium? Assume that the frequency of the
wave remains constant.
a. the nature of the medium c. the height of a crest
b. the amplitude d. the energy carried by the wave
 Chapter Test A continued

______13. When a mechanical wave’s amplitude is tripled, the energy the wave
carries in a given time interval is increased by a factor of
a. 3. c. 9.
b. 6. d. 18.
______14. Two mechanical waves can occupy the same space at the same time
because waves
a. are matter.
b. are displacements of matter.
c. do not cause interference patterns.
d. cannot pass through one another.
______15. When two mechanical waves coincide, the amplitude of the resultant
wave is always ____________ the amplitudes of each wave alone.
a. greater than c. the sum of
b. less than d. the same as
______16. Waves arriving at a fixed boundary are
a. neither reflected nor inverted. c. reflected and inverted.
b. reflected but not inverted. d. inverted but not reflected.
______17. Standing waves are produced by periodic waves of
a. any amplitude and wavelength traveling in the same direction.
b. the same amplitude and wavelength traveling in the same direction.
c. any amplitude and wavelength traveling in opposite directions.
d. the same frequency, amplitude, and wavelength traveling in opposite
directions.

______18. How many nodes and antinodes are shown in the standing wave above?
a. two nodes and three antinodes
b. one node and two antinodes
c. one-third node and one antinode
d. three nodes and two antinodes

SHORT ANSWER
19. If a spring is stretched from a displacement of 10 cm to a displacement of
30 cm, the force exerted by the spring increases by a factor of ______________.
___________________________________________________________________
 Chapter Test A continued

20. Two pulses of equal positive amplitude travel along a rope toward a fixed
boundary. The first pulse is reflected and returns along the rope. When the two
pulses meet and coincide, what kind of interference will occur? Explain.
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
21. When two waves meet, they combine according to the _____________
principle.
___________________________________________________________________
22. Suppose that a pendulum has a period of 4.0 s at Earth’s surface. If the
pendulum is taken to the moon, where the acceleration due to gravity is much
less than on Earth, will the pendulum’s period increase, decrease, or stay the
same? Explain your answer.
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________

PROBLEM
23. If a force of 50 N stretches a spring 0.10 m, what is the spring constant?

24. An amusement park ride swings back and forth once every 40.0 s. What is the
ride’s frequency?

25. A periodic wave has a wavelength of 0.50 m and a speed of 20 m/s. What is
the wave frequency?