End of Unit Test

SP4 Higher

Name Class Date

1 a Which of these statements is true?

Tick one box.

A sound waves transfer energy but not information

B sound waves transfer information but not matter
C light waves transfer both energy and matter
D light waves transfer energy, information and matter
(1)
b Figure 1 shows a wave.

water molecule
D
A C

B
Figure 1
i Identify which part of Figure 1 shows the amplitude of the wave. Tick one box.

A
B
C
D
(1)
ii State what the wavelength of a wave is.

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

(1)
c Describe what happens to the water molecule in Figure 1.

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

(2)
(Total for Question 1 = 5 marks)

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SP4 Higher
2 Figure 2 shows a ray of light that is incident on a glass block.

ray of light
from a ray box

Figure 2
a Explain why the ray of light change will change direction at P in Figure 2.

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

(2)

b Sketch, on Figure 2 above, the ray of light as it:

 passes through the glass block from point P
 exits the other side of the glass block.

(2)

(Total for Question 2 = 4 marks)

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SP4 Higher
3 Two students measure the speed of sound using an echo method, as shown in Figure 3.
One student stands in front of a large wall and bangs two pieces of wood together.

Figure 3

The students measure:

 the time, T, between the original sound and hearing the echo
 the distance, D, between the pieces of wood and the wall.
The students work out the speed of sound using the equation:
distance
speed =
time

a The time taken for the students to hear an echo is 0.90 s.

The students are 110 m from the wall.
Calculate the speed of sound in air to 3 significant figures.

speed of sound = ____________ m/s

(2)

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SP4 Higher
b i The students calculate that the speed of sound is 122 m/s.
Explain the error the students made in their calculation.

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

(2)
ii Describe two possible sources of error in the students’ measurement of the speed of sound.

1 _____________________________________________________________________________

2 _____________________________________________________________________________

(2)
(Total for Question 3 = 6 marks)

4 Ultrasound is used to scan the unborn baby of a pregnant mother.

The detector receives an echo from the skull of the fetus 58 μs after the pulse leaves the ultrasound
scanner.
Calculate the distance from the ultrasound scanner to the skull to 2 significant figures.
Give the unit for your answer.
(The speed of ultrasound in soft tissue is 1540 m/s.)

distance = __________ unit: ________

(4)
(Total for Question 4 = 4 marks)

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SP4 Higher
5 a A student notices that 15 water waves pass a point in 5 seconds.
Calculate the frequency of the wave.

frequency = __________ Hz
(2)
b The student finds that the wavelength is 0.5 m.
Calculate the wave speed of the water waves.

wave speed = _________ m/s

(2)

(Total for Question 5 = 4 marks)

   

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SP4 Higher
6 Figure 4 shows how the speed of P waves and S waves vary with depth below the surface.
speed (km/s)
0 5 10
0 surface

mantle

2000

depth (km)

4000
core

6000

graph A graph B  
Figure 4

a i State what happens to both types of wave when they cross from the mantle into the core.

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

(1)
ii Explain why both graphs finish at about 6000 km.

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

(1)
b Transverse waves cannot pass through a liquid.
State what Figure 4 tells us about the core of the Earth.
__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

(1)
c State and explain which graph on Figure 4 shows P waves.

Graph: _______________________

Reason: ___________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

(3)
(Total for Question 6 = 6 marks)

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SP4 Higher
7 The human ear detects sound waves, as shown in Figure 5.

Figure 5
Describe how the human ear detects sound.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

(3)
(Total for Question 7 = 3 marks)

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SP4 Higher
8 a A student taps the side of a stainless steel can containing water, making some sound waves travel from
the stainless steel to the water.
Sound waves travel at 1500 m/s in water and at 550 m/s in stainless steel.
Explain how the changes in velocity, frequency and wavelength are related.

___________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________
(2)
b A student is observing the waves moving along a harbour wall in Figure 6.

Figure 6
The student knows that the speed of the waves can be measured by two different methods:
 direct timing
 measuring frequency.
Compare and contrast these two methods.
Your answer should include any apparatus the student needs and an explanation of which method is
likely to produce more accurate results.

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________
(6)
(Total for Question 8 = 8 marks)
TOTAL FOR PAPER = 40 MARKS

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