Simple Harmonic Motion and Waves Quiz
1) As you are moving very quickly toward a speaker emitting a pure tone, which characteristics of the sound get larger? (There may be more than one correct choice.)
A) frequency
B) amplitude
C) wavelength
D) period
E) loudness
2) In many cartoon shows, a character runs off a cliff, realizes his predicament, and lets out a scream. He continues to scream as he falls. If the physical situation is portrayed correctly, from the vantage point of an observer at the foot of the cliff, the pitch of the scream as he falls should be
A) higher than the original pitch and constant.
B) higher than the original pitch and increasing as he falls.
C) lower than the original pitch and constant.
D) lower than the original pitch and decreasing as he falls.
E) It is impossible to predict.
3) Seven seconds after a brilliant flash of lightning, thunder shakes the house. Approximately how far was the lightning strike from the house?
A) much closer than one kilometer
B) about one kilometer away
C) about two kilometers away
D) much farther away than two kilometers
E) It is impossible to say.
4) Sound A has a high pitch and sound B has a low pitch. Which of the following statements about these two sounds are correct? (There could be more than one correct choice.)
A) The wavelength of A is longer than the wavelength of B.
B) The period of A is shorter than the period of B.
C) The frequency of A is greater than the frequency of B.
D) Sound B travels faster than sound B through air.
E) The amplitude of A is larger than the amplitude of B.
5) You double your distance from a sound source that is radiating equally in all directions. What happens to the intensity of the sound? It reduces to
A) one-half its original value.
B) one-fourth its original value.
C) one-sixteenth its original value.
D) none of the above
6) If we double the frequency of a system undergoing simple harmonic motion, which of the following statements about that system are true? (There could be more than one correct choice.)
A) The period is doubled.
B) The angular frequency is doubled.
C) The amplitude is doubled.
D) The period is reduced to one-half of what it was.
E) The angular frequency is reduced to one-half of what it was.
7) A simple harmonic oscillator oscillates with frequency f when its amplitude is A. If the amplitude is now doubled to 2A, what is the new frequency?
A) 2f
B) 4f
C) f
D) f/2
E) f/4
8) The figure shows a graph of the position x as a function of time t for a system undergoing simple harmonic motion. Which one of the following graphs represents the velocity of this system as a function of time?
A) graph a
B) graph b
C) graph c
D) graph d
9) The figure shows a graph of the velocity v as a function of time t for a system undergoing simple harmonic motion. Which one of the following graphs represents the acceleration of this system as a function of time?
A) graph a
B) graph b
C) graph c
D) graph d
10) In simple harmonic motion, when is the speed the greatest? (There could be more than one correct choice.)
A) when the magnitude of the acceleration is a maximum
B) when the displacement is a maximum
C) when the magnitude of the acceleration is a minimum
D) when the potential energy is a maximum
E) when the potential energy is a zero
11) The total mechanical energy of a simple harmonic oscillating system is
A) zero as it passes the equilibrium point.
B) zero when it reaches the maximum displacement.
C) a maximum when it passes through the equilibrium point.
D) a minimum when it passes through the equilibrium point.
E) a non-zero constant.
12) An object attached to an ideal spring executes simple harmonic motion. If you want to double its total energy, you could
A) double the amplitude of vibration.
B) double the force constant (spring constant) of the spring.
C) double both the amplitude and force constant (spring constant).
D) double the mass.
E) double both the mass and amplitude of vibration.
13) An object that hangs from the ceiling of a stationary elevator by an ideal spring oscillates with a period T. If the elevator accelerates upward with acceleration 2g, what will be the period of oscillation of the object?
A) 4T
B) 2T
C) T
D) T/2
E) T/4
14) An object is attached to a vertical spring and bobs up and down between points A and B. Where is the object located when its kinetic energy is a maximum?
A) at either A or B
B) midway between A and B
C) one-third of the way between A and B
D) one-fourth of the way between A and B
E) at none of the above points
15) Two simple pendulums, A and B, are each 3.0 m long, and the period of pendulum A is T. Pendulum A is twice as heavy as pendulum B. What is the period of pendulum B?
A) T/
B) T
C) T
D) 2T
E) T/2
16) A ball swinging at the end of a massless string, as shown in the figure, undergoes simple harmonic motion. At what point (or points) is the magnitude of the instantaneous acceleration of the ball the greatest?
A) C
B) A and D
C) A and C
D) A and B
E) B
17) Identical balls oscillate with the same period T on Earth. Ball A is attached to an ideal spring and ball B swings back and forth to form a simple pendulum. These systems are now taken to the Moon, where g = 1.6 m/s2, and set into oscillation. Which of the following statements about these systems are true? (There could be more than one correct choice.)
A) Both systems will have the same period on the Moon as on Earth.
B) On the Moon, ball A will take longer to complete one cycle than ball B.
C) On the Moon, ball B will take longer to complete one cycle than ball A.
D) On the Moon, ball A will execute more vibrations each minute than ball B.
E) On the Moon, ball B will execute more vibrations each minute than ball A.
18) Grandfather clocks are designed so they can be adjusted by moving the weight at the bottom of the pendulum up or down. Suppose you have a grandfather clock at home that runs slow. Which of the following adjustments of the weight would make it more accurate? (There could be more than one correct choice.)
A) Raise the weight.
B) Lower the weight.
C) Add more mass to the weight.
D) Remove some mass from the weight.
E) Increase the amplitude of swing by a small amount.
19) What is the frequency of the wave shown in the figure?
A) 0.5 Hz.
B) 1 Hz.
C) 2 Hz.
D) 4 Hz.
E) It cannot be determined from the given information.
20) Which one of the curves shown in the figure best represents the variation of wave speed v as a function of tension for transverse waves on a stretched string?
A) A
B) B
C) C
D) D
E) E