Superposition of Waves

Q.1 Select and write the most appropriate answers from given alternatives: 41
1) A standing wave is produced on a string fixed at one end with the other end free. The length of the
string
(A) must be an odd integral multiple of λ/4.
(B) must be an odd integral multiple of λ/2.
(C) must be an odd integral multiple of λ.
(D) must be an even integral multiple of λ.
2) When sound wave are reflected from a denser medium, there is a phase change of
(A) 0 rad (B) π/4 rad (C) π/2 rad (D) π rad
3) In a reflection of sound waves from a rarer medium, there is a phase change of
(A) 0 rad (B) π /4 rad (C) π/2 rad (D) π rad
4) Which of the following equations represents a wave travelling along the y-axis?
(A) x = A sin (ky – ωt)
(B) y = A sin (kx – ωt)
(C) y = A sin (ky) cos(ωt)
(D) y = A cos (ky) sin(ωt)
5) A tube closed at one end containing air produces a fundamental note of frequency 512Hz. If the tube
is open at both ends, the fundamental frequency will be
(A) 256Hz (B) 768Hz (C) 1024Hz (D) 1280Hz
6) If the end correction of an open organ pipe is 0.8 cm, then the inner radius of the pipe will be
(A) 1/2cm (B) 1/3cm (C) 2/3 cm (D) 3/2 cm
7) Beats are produced by two waves
y₁ = a sin 2000 t and y₂ = a sin 2008 πt. The number of beats heard per second is
(A) Zero (B) One (C) Four (D) Eight
8) A resonating column of air contains
(A) Stationary longitudinal waves (B) Stationary transverse waves
(C) Transverse progressive waves (D) Longitudinal progressive waves
9) In stationary waves
(A) Energy is uniformly distributed
(B) Energy is minimum at nodes and maximum at antinodes
(C) Energy is maximum at nodes and minimum at antinodes
(D) None of these
10) In a stationary wave every particle performs
(A) a S.H.M. at all points of the medium
(B) a S.H.M. at all points except nodal points
(C) a S.H.M. at all points except the antinodes points
(D) a S.H.M. of constant amplitude
11) In a stationary wave
(A) All the particles of the medium vibrate in phase
(B) All the particles of antinodes vibrate in phase
(C) The particles in successive antinodes vibrate out of phase
(D) All the particles between consecutive antinodes vibrate in phase
12) In stationary wave the distance between two successive nodes or two successive antinodes is equal
to
(A) λ (B) λ/2 (C) λ/3 (D) λ/4
13) Standing waves are produced in 10m long stretched string. If the string vibrates in 5 segments and
wave velocity in 20m/s, the frequency is?
(A) 5Hz (B) 10Hz (C) 2Hz (D) 4Hz
14) A stretched string resonates with tuning fork of frequency 512Hz when length of the string is 0.5m.
The length f the string required to vibrate resonantly with a tuning fork of frequency 256Hz would be
__________
Page 1 of 6
 (A) 0.25m (B) 0.5m (C) 1m (D) 2m
15) If vibrations of a string are to be increased by a factor 2, tension in the string must be made
(A) Half (B) Twice (C) Four times (D) Eight times
16) The speed of a transverse wave v along a stretched string is given by v = ......

17) When an air column in a pipe closed at one end vibrates such that three nodes are formed in it, the
frequency of its vibrations is …….times the fundamental frequency.
(A) 2 (B) 3 (C) 4 (D) 5
18) If two open organ pipes of length 50 cm and 51 cm sounded together produce 7 beats per second, the
speed of sound is.
(A) 307 m/s (B) 327m/s (C) 350m/s (D) 357m/s
19) The tension in a piano wire is increased by 25%. Its frequency becomes ….. times the original
frequency.
(A) 0.8 (B) 1.12 (C) 1.25 (D) 1.56
20) A transverse wave travelling in a denser medium is reflected from a rarer medium, then
(A) an incident crest is reflected as a crest.
(B) an incident crest is reflected as a trough
(C) there is a phase reversal of 2 rad
(D) there is a phase reversal of π/2 rad
21) The sonometer wire is vibrating in the second overtone. We may say that there are
(A) Two nodes and two antinodes (B) One nodes and two antinodes
(C) Four nodes and three antinodes (D) Three nodes and three antinodes
22) The type of wave produced in a SITAR wire are
(A) Progressive transverse wave (B) Progressive longitudinal wave
(C) Stationary transverse wave (D) Stationary longitudinal wave
23) Two stretched wires of same material of lengths l and 2 l vibrate with frequencies 100 and 150 Hz
respectively. The ratio of their tension is
(A) 2: 3 (B) 3: 2 (C) 1: 9 (D) 1: 3
24) A sonometer wire vibrates with a frequency n. it is replaced by another wire of three times the
diameter. If tension and other parameters remain the same, the frequency of vibration of the wire will
be
(A) 9 n (B) 3 n (C) n/3 (D) n/9
25) A string is vibrating in first overtone then point formed exactly at the middle is
(A) Node (B) Antinodes (C) Sometimes node and sometimes antinodes (D) None of
these
26) The ratio between the amplitudes of two superposing waves is 3: 2. The ratio between the maximum
and minimum intensities of the resultant wave will be
(A) 9: 4 (B) 25: 1 (C) 13: 5 (D) 5: 1
27) One beat means that the intensity of sound should be
(A) once maximum (B) once minimum
(C) once maximum and once minimum (D) twice maximum and twice minimum
28) A wave is propagating along X-axis and another identical wave is propagating along Y-axis if they
superimpose each other, the resultant wave will be
(A) Circular (B) Parabolic (C) Straight line (D) Elliptical
29) For beats to be produced ___________
(A) Frequency of sources should be different and amplitude should be the same
(B) Frequency of sources should be same and amplitude should be different
(C) Frequency of sources should be same and amplitude should be different
(D) Frequency of sources should be same and amplitude should be the same
30) When a progressive wave is passing, two particles of a medium vibrate with a phase difference of
πrad. The distance between these particles is
(A) λ (B) λ/2 (C) λ/4 (D) λ /8
Page 2 of 6
 31) Wave has simple harmonic motion whose period is 4seconds while another wave which also
possesses simple harmonic motion has its period 3sec. If both are combined, then the resultant wave
will have the period equal to
(A) 4sec (B) 5sec (C) 12sec (D) 3sec
32) Sources of sound and observer are moving towards each other, the observer will hear
(A) High frequency, low wavelength (B) Low frequency, low wavelength
(C) High frequency, low wavelength (D) Low frequency, high wavelength
33) The speed of sound in air is 350 meter per second. The fundamental frequency of an open pipe 50
cm long will be
(A) 175 Hz (B) 350 Hz (C) 700 Hz (D) 50 Hz
34) A closed tube has frequency n. if its length is doubled and radius is halved its frequency will become
(A) n/3 (B) n/2 (C) n (D) 2 n
35) A closed organ pipe and an open organ pipe have their first overtones identical in frequency. Their
lengths are in the ratio of
(A) 1: 2 (B) 2: 3 (C) 3: 4 (D) 4: 5
36) The frequency of the note produced by plucking a given string increases as
(A) The length of the string increases (B) The tension in the string increases
(C) The tension in the string decreases (D) The mass per unit length of the string increases
37) In a closed organ pipe the fundamental frequency is n. what will be the ratio of frequencies of the
next three overtones?
(A) 2: 3: 4 (B) 3: 4: 5 (C) 3: 7: 11 (D) 3: 5: 7
38) The frequency of vibration of a string cab be increased by
(A) Increasing the length of the string keeping the tension constant
(B) Decreasing the density of the string keeping the tension constant
(C) Increasing the thickness of the string keeping the length constant
(D) Decreasing the tension of the string keeping length constant
39) Two wires made up of the same material are of equal lengths but their diameters are in the ratio 1: 2.
on stretching each of these two strings by the same tension, the ratio between the fundamental
frequencies of these strings is
(A) 1: 4 (B) 1: 2 (C) 2: 1 (D) 4: 1
40) The harmonics which are present in a pipe open one end are
(A) Odd harmonics (B) Even harmonics (C) Even as we as odd harmonics (D) None of these
41) The loudness and pitch of a sound note depends on __________
(A) Intensity and frequency
(B) Frequency and number of harmonics
(C) Intensity and velocity
(D) Frequency and velocity
Q.2 Answer the following very short questions: 16
1) What happen to the frequency of tuning fork, when its prongs are loaded with wax and on filling its
prongs?
2) State two applications of beats.
3) State the conditions under which beats are formed.
4) Two tuning forks of frequencies 250Hz and 255Hz are sounded together. Find the time period of the
beat produced.
5) A flexible wire 80cm has a mass 0.4 gm. It is stretched by a force of 500N. Find the velocity of the
transverse wave in the string.
6) A cylindrical glass tube is 34 cm long. If both ends of the tube are open. What is fundamental
frequency of vibration of air column? Neglect end correction.
(Velocity of sound in air is 340 m/s)
7) Find the length of an open organ pipe if a tuning fork of frequency 480 is n resonance with it?
8) What is fundamental note and overtone?
9) What happens when a transverse wave reflects from a denser medium?
10) Write the wave equation traveling in the negative x direction.

Page 3 of 6
 11) What happens when a longitudinal wave reflects from a denser medium?
12) State the principle of superposition of waves.
13) A wave is represented by an equation y = A sin (Bx + Ct). Given that the constants A, B and C are
positive, can you tell in which direction the wave is moving?
14) What is the distance between a node and an adjacent antinode?
15) Why is a stationary wave so named?
16) The fundamental frequency of vibration of a stretched string is 200Hz.find the frequency of the first
overtone if the tension increases four times.
Q.3 Answer the following: 38
1) A string is fixed at the two ends and is vibrating in its fundamental mode. It is known that the two
ends will be at rest. Apart from these, is there any position on the string which can be touched so as
not to disturb the motion of the string? What will be the answer to this question if the string is
vibrating in its first and second overtones?
2) Draw neat labelled diagram for the modes of vibrations of air column in a pipe open at both ends.
3) For a stationary wave set up in a string having both ends fixed, what is the ratio of the fundamental
frequency to the second harmonic?
4) How to determine the velocity of sound by resonance tube? State the formula of velocity of sound
with end correction. What is the cause of end correction?
5) Draw neat labelled diagrams for modes of vibration of a stretched string in second harmonic and
third harmonic.
6) Explain resonance.
7) What are harmonics and overtone.
8) Distinguish between free vibration and forced vibrations.
9) What is end correction? Is the end correction same for a pipe open at both ends and closed at one
end?
10) Explain two applications of beats.
11) Explain beats beat period and beat frequency.
12) What is a progressive wave? Write an equation for a progressive wave?
13) Distinguish between stationary waves and progressive waves.
14) Explain the terms:
(i) Free vibration
(ii) Forced vibrations
15) Discuss the construction and working of a sonometer.
16) Distinguish between stationary wave and beats.
17) What is Doppler effect ? Explain the working of radar based on this effect.
18) State the laws of vibrating string.
19) Explain pitch and loudness of sound.
Q.4 Solve the following: 38
1) A sonometer wire is stretched by tension of 40 N. It vibrates in unison with a tuning fork of
frequency 384 Hz. How many numbers of beats get produced in two seconds if the tension in the
wire is decreased by 1.24 N?
2) A sonometer wire of length 50 cm is stretched by keeping weights equivalent of 3.5 kg. The
fundamental frequency of vibration is 125 Hz. Determine the linear density of the wire.
3) Two tuning forks having frequencies 320 Hz and 340 Hz are sounded together to produce sound
waves. The velocity of sound in air is 326.4 m sˉ¹. Find the difference in wavelength of these waves.
4)

5) A string 105 cm long is fixed at one end. The other end of string is moved up and down with
frequency 15 Hz. A stationary wave, produced in the string, consists of 3 loops. Calculate the speed
of progressive waves which have produced the stationary wave in the string.
6) Find the fundamental, first overtone and second overtone frequencies of a pipe, open at both the
ends, of length 25 cm if the speed of sound in air is 330 m/s.
Page 4 of 6
 7) A standing wave is produced in a tube open at both ends. The fundamental frequency is 300 Hz.
What is the length of tube? (speed of the sound = 340 m sˉ¹).
8) A pipe closed at one end can produce overtones at frequencies 640 Hz, 896 Hz and 1152 Hz.
Calculate the fundamental frequency.
9) A pipe open at both the ends has a fundamental frequency of 600 Hz. The first overtone of a pipe
closed at one end has the same frequency as the first overtone of the open pipe. How long are the two
pipes?
10) Two sound waves travel at a speed of 330 m/s. If their frequencies are also identical and are equal to
540 Hz, what will be the phase difference between the waves at points 3.5 m from one source and 3
m from the other if the sources are in phase?
11) A sound wave in a certain fluid medium is reflected at an obstacle to form a standing wave. The
distance between two successive nodes is 3.75 cm. If the velocity of sound is 1500 m/s, find the
frequency.
12) Two wires of the same material and same cross section are stretched on a sonometer. One wire is
loaded with 1.5 kg and another is loaded with 6 kg. The vibrating length of first wire is 60 cm and its
fundamental frequency of vibration is the same as that of the second wire. Calculate vibrating length
of the other wire.
13) The velocity of a transverse wave on a string of length 0.5 m is 225 m/s.
(a) What is the fundamental frequency of a standing wave on this string if both ends are kept fixed?
(b) While this string is vibrating in the fundamental harmonic, what is the wavelength of sound
produced in air if the velocity of sound in air is 330 m/s?
14) A sonometer wire of length 0.5 m is stretched by a weight of 5 kg. The fundamental frequency of
vibration is 100 Hz. Calculate linear density of wire.
15) A violin string vibrates with fundamental frequency of 440Hz. What are the frequencies of first and
second overtones?
16) A string 1m long is fixed at one end. The other end is moved up and down with frequency 15 Hz.
Due to this, a stationary wave with four complete loops, gets produced on the string. Find the speed
of the progressive wave which produces the stationary wave.
17) A string is fixed at both ends. What is the ratio of the frequency of the first harmonic to that of the
second harmonic?
18) Find the distance between two successive nodes in a stationary wave on a string vibrating with
frequency 64 Hz. The velocity of progressive wave that resulted in the stationary wave is 48 m sˉ¹.
19) The string of a guitar is 80 cm long and has a fundamental frequency of 112 Hz. If a guitarist wishes
to produce a frequency of 160 Hz, where should the person press the string?
Q.5 Answer the following: 36
1) State the characteristics of progressive waves.
2) State characteristics of stationary waves.
3) State the characteristics of stationary waves.
4) What is a progressive wave? Write the properties of a progressive wave.
5) What are harmonics and overtones?
6) Explain the reflection of transverse wave.
7) Find the amplitude of the resultant wave produced due to interference of two waves given as y₁ =
A₁ sin ωt y₂ = A₂ sin (ωt + φ)
8) State and explain principle of superposition of waves.
9) Write a comparison between Progressive Waves and Stationary Waves.
10) Explain reflection of longitudinal wave.
11) What are beats? Derive an expression of beat frequency.
12) Explain free, forced vibration and resonance.
Q.6 Solve the following: 30
1) A wire has linear density 4.0 × 10ˉ³ kg/m. It is stretched between two rigid supports with a tension of
360 N. The wire resonates at a frequency of 420 Hz and 490 Hz in two successive modes. Find the
length of the wire.
2) Two wires of the same material and the same cross section are stretched on a sonometer in

Page 5 of 6
 succession. Length of one wire is 60 cm and that of the other is 30 cm. An unknown load is applied
to the first wire and second wire is loaded with 1.5 kg. If both the wires vibrate with the same
fundamental frequencies, calculate the unknown load.
3) Two sources of sound are separated by a distance 4 m. They both emit sound with the same
amplitude and frequency (330 Hz), but they are 180° out of phase. At what points between the two
sources, will the sound intensity be maximum?
4) A wave of frequency 500 Hz is travelling with a speed of 350 m/s.
(a) What is the phase difference between two displacements at a certain point at times 1.0 ms apart?
(b) what will be the smallest distance between two points which are 45° out of phase at an instant of
time?
5) A closed pipe and an open pipe have the same length. Show that no mode of the closed pipe has the
same wavelength as any mode of the open pipe.
6) Two sound waves having wavelengths 81cm and 82.5 cm produce 8 beats per second. Calculate the
speed of sound in air.
7) The displacements of two sinusoidal waves propagating through a string are given by the following
equations
Y₁ = 4sin (20x – 30t)
Y₂ = 4sin (25x – 40t)
where x and y are in centimetre and t is in second.
A) Calculate the phase difference between these two waves at the points x = 5 cm and
t = 2 s.
B) When these two waves interfere, what are the maximum and minimum values of the intensity?
8) A progressive wave travels on a stretched string. A particle on this string takes 4.0 ms to move from
its mean position to one of its extreme positions. The distance between two consecutive points on the
string which are at their mean positions (at a certain time instant) is 2.0 cm. Find the frequency,
wavelength and speed of the wave.
9) An air column is of length 17 cm long. Calculate the frequency of 5th overtone if the air column is
(a) closed at one end and (b) open at both ends. (Velocity of sound in air = 340 ms¯¹).
10) A set of 8 tuning forks is arranged in a series of increasing order of frequencies. Each fork gives 4
beats per second with the next one and the frequency of last fork is twice that of the first. Calculate
the frequencies of the first and the last fork.
Q.7 Answer the following: 32
1) Show that only odd harmonics are present in the vibrations of air column in a pipe closed at one end.
2) State the formula for velocity of transverse wave on stretched string. Hence with neat diagram,
explain various modes of vibration of a stretched string.
3) Derive an expression for equation of stationary wave on a stretched string.
4) Show that only odd harmonics are present in case of an air column vibrating in a pipe closed at one
end. Explain resonance with one example about its merit and demerit.
5) State the laws of vibrating strings and explain how they can be verified using a sonometer.
6) Explain formation of stationary waves by analytical method. What are nodes and antinodes? Show
the distance between two successive nodes or antinodes is half the wavelength.
7) Prove that all harmonics are present in the vibrations of the air column in a pipe open at both ends.
8) Show that all harmonics are present in case of an air column vibrating in a pipe open at both the
ends. Define free vibrations and forced vibrations
-------- All the Best --------

Page 6 of 6