The cards Question What is the crest of a wave? Tap to flip Answer The top or peak of the wave. Question What is the trough of a wave? Tap to flip Answer The lowest point of the wave. Question What is the wavelength of a transverse wave? Tap to flip Answer The distance from one wave crest (or trough) to the next. Question What is the amplitude of a wave? Tap to flip Answer The maximum displacement of the wave: the furthest each part moves from its rest position. Question What is the displacement at a point on a wave? Tap to flip Answer The distance the wave medium is from its rest position at that point. Question Is a displacement-distance graph of a wave a picture of the wave? Tap to flip Answer No. Question On a displacement-distance graph, what does a positive displacement show? Tap to flip Answer Part of the wave above the equilibrium position. Question What is a wave medium? Tap to flip Answer The material that a wave can move through. Question What does a displacement-time graph of a wave show? Tap to flip Answer How the displacement at one point varies as the wave passes. Question On a displacement-time graph of a wave, what does the distance between two crests equal? Tap to flip Answer The period of the wave. Question What is the period (T) of a wave? Tap to flip Answer The time for one complete oscillation. Question How is frequency related to period? Tap to flip Answer Frequency = 1 ÷ period. Question What is frequency, and what is its unit? Tap to flip Answer The number of waves produced each second, measured in hertz (Hz). Question In a longitudinal wave, in which direction are the oscillations? Tap to flip Answer In the same direction in which the wave travels. Question What is a compression in a longitudinal wave? Tap to flip Answer A part of the wave where its parts are squashed closer together. Question What is a rarefaction in a longitudinal wave? Tap to flip Answer A part of the wave where its parts are spaced further apart. Question What is the wavelength of a longitudinal wave? Tap to flip Answer The distance from one compression (or rarefaction) to the next. Question In a longitudinal wave, which displacement is counted as positive? Tap to flip Answer Forwards displacement (backwards is negative). Question What is the amplitude of a longitudinal wave? Tap to flip Answer The maximum distance each part of the wave moves forward or backward. Question What does an oscilloscope connected to a microphone show? Tap to flip Answer A displacement-time graph of a sound wave. Question How does the amplitude of a sound wave affect the sound? Tap to flip Answer The bigger the amplitude, the louder the sound. Question How is the period of a wave measured most accurately on an oscilloscope? Tap to flip Answer Measure the time for several waves (say 10) and divide by that number. Question What is the horizontal scale of an oscilloscope graph? Tap to flip Answer Time. Question What is a random error? Tap to flip Answer An error caused by unpredictable factors that affect the measurement of a variable. Question How can the effect of random errors be reduced? Tap to flip Answer By repeating readings and calculating a mean. Question How is the uncertainty in a mean result calculated? Tap to flip Answer As half the range of the repeat measurements. Question Does calculating a mean reduce the random errors in the original readings? Tap to flip Answer No. It reduces the effect of random errors on the final result; the original readings are unaffected. Question What is a standing wave? Tap to flip Answer A stable pattern of oscillation that does not appear to travel across the wave medium. Question What does the speed of waves on a string depend on? Tap to flip Answer Only the properties of the string (the wave medium), such as tension and density. Question For waves on a string, how are frequency and wavelength related? Tap to flip Answer They are inversely proportional. Question What is tension? Tap to flip Answer The force applied to a stretched string or rope. Question What are control variables? Tap to flip Answer Quantities kept the same during an experiment so they do not affect the results. Question What is the wave equation? Tap to flip Answer Wave speed = frequency × wavelength (v = f × λ). Question What does the speed of a wave depend on? Tap to flip Answer The medium it is travelling through. Question Does the speed of a wave depend on its frequency? Tap to flip Answer No. Question For a given wave speed, what happens to the wavelength as frequency increases? Tap to flip Answer The wavelength gets shorter. Question What does the symbol λ (lambda) stand for? Tap to flip Answer The wavelength of a wave. Question Apart from the wave equation, which equation can be used to calculate wave speed? Tap to flip Answer Wave speed = distance ÷ time. Question Does the frequency of a wave change when it crosses into a different medium? Tap to flip Answer No. Question What is a ripple tank? Tap to flip Answer A clear-bottomed container in which a vibrating beam makes water waves that are easier to observe. Question Why measure the length of ten waves and divide by ten rather than measure one wavelength? Tap to flip Answer It is more accurate. Question When is a result accurate? Tap to flip Answer When it is close to the true value. Question What is a systematic error? Tap to flip Answer An error that affects all results by the same amount. Question Are repeatable (precise) measurements always accurate? Tap to flip Answer No. They may include a systematic error that makes them inaccurate. Question Which method can be used to measure the speed of sound in air? Tap to flip Answer An echo method, using speed = distance ÷ time. Where this deck sits in the curriculum Curriculum National Curriculum for England Stage GCSE (Years 10–11) Course GCSE Physics Unit Measuring waves Exam boards AQA, Edexcel, OCR Tiers foundation and higher England's National Curriculum sets what is taught; the units and their order are Oak National Academy's. Flash Feed is not affiliated with Oak or any exam board.
How this deck was checked On 2026-11-02, every card was compared with its source: the lessons of Oak National Academy, a public body funded by England's Department for Education that publishes lessons for the national curriculum. Because the cards come from those lessons, no second source was sought. The comparison was done automatically, not by a teacher, so a card can still be wrong. Flash Feed is not affiliated with any source named here.
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A Physics lesson by Oak National Academy licensed under Open Government Licence (OGL)
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