Grade 10 · CAPS

Grade 10 Waves and Sound

Physical Sciences practice questions and a worked example

Grade 10 waves and sound covers transverse pulses and waves, superposition and sound. The questions here ask you to identify crests, troughs, amplitude and points in phase, explain constructive and destructive interference, use v = fλ and f = 1/T, and answer questions about pitch, loudness, echoes and ultrasound. They come from the DBE Grade 10 common Paper 1 for November 2016, 2017 and 2018, each with the answer from the marking guideline.

Worked example

The diagram below is a graphical representation of a transverse wave moving from left to right across the page. The wave is moving at a speed of 0,4 m·s⁻¹ and has a frequency of 0,5 Hz. A, B, C, D and E represent points on the wave. 6.5 Calculate the wavelength of the wave.

Answer & explanation

v = fλ 0,4 = 0,5 × λ λ = 0,8 m
To find the wavelength of a wave, you can use the formula for wave speed: 1. The formula is given by , where is the wave speed, is the frequency, and is the wavelength. 2. Substitute the given values into the formula: . 3. Solve for by dividing both sides by 0.5: . 4. This calculation gives meters. Therefore, the wavelength of the wave is 0.8 meters.

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Waves and Sound

Question 1 of 3

1.4 A wave in which the particles of the medium vibrate at right angles to the path along which the wave travels through the medium, is produced by …
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More practice questions

Explore additional Grade 10 Waves and Sound questions.

  • 2
    The diagram below is a graphical representation of a transverse wave moving from left to right across the page. The wave is moving at a speed of 0,4 m·s⁻¹ and has a frequency of 0,5 Hz. A, B, C, D and E represent points on the wave. 6.1 Write down the amplitude of the wave in metres.
  • 3
    The diagram below is a graphical representation of a transverse wave moving from left to right across the page. The wave is moving at a speed of 0,4 m·s⁻¹ and has a frequency of 0,5 Hz. A, B, C, D and E represent points on the wave. 6.2 Label the points marked: 6.2.1 D
  • 4
    The diagram below is a graphical representation of a transverse wave moving from left to right across the page. The wave is moving at a speed of 0,4 m·s⁻¹ and has a frequency of 0,5 Hz. A, B, C, D and E represent points on the wave. 6.2 Label the points marked: 6.2.2 E
  • 5
    The diagram below is a graphical representation of a transverse wave moving from left to right across the page. The wave is moving at a speed of 0,4 m·s⁻¹ and has a frequency of 0,5 Hz. A, B, C, D and E represent points on the wave. 6.3 Write down TWO points on the graph above that are in phase.

Common mistakes

  • Measuring amplitude from crest to trough. Amplitude is measured from the rest position to a crest or a trough.
  • Mixing up pitch and loudness. Pitch depends on frequency; loudness depends on amplitude.
  • Using kHz or nm without converting. Change to Hz and metres before using v = fλ.

More Grade 10 Physical Sciences topics

Aligned to CAPS Grade 10 Physical Sciences — Waves and Sound. Curriculum source: CAPS for the FET Phase, Department of Basic Education.

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