Wave properties and the wave equation: Edexcel GCSE Physics questions

Every Edexcel GCSE Physics exam question on Wave properties and the wave equation (specification points 4.1–4.8, 4.17), 2018–2025, with its mark scheme and examiner’s report.

All 68 questions on Wave properties and the wave equation, as a list

June 2025, Paper 1 Higher, Q3(a)(i) (1 mark): Use data from Figure 5 to determine the amplitude of the wave. (1) amplitude = cm
June 2025, Paper 1 Higher, Q3(a)(ii) (1 mark): Use data from Figure 5 to determine the wavelength of the wave. (1) wavelength = cm
June 2025, Paper 1 Higher, Q3(a)(iii) (2 marks): The water wave shown in Figure 5 is generated in a large tank. A student observes the wave. Describe how the student could determine the wave speed of the wave.
June 2025, Paper 1 Higher, Q3(b)(i) (1 mark): State one other example of a transverse wave. (1)
June 2025, Paper 1 Higher, Q3(b)(ii) (2 marks): A point in the crust is labelled R in Figure 6. There is a rock at point R. Describe the effect that this earthquake wave has on the rock at R as the wave passe
June 2025, Paper 1 Higher, Q3(b)(iii) (2 marks): The wave from X reaches L 3.8 seconds after it passes through R. The speed of the wave is 4500 m / s. Calculate the distance between X and R. (2) distance = m
June 2025, Paper 1 Foundation, Q9(a)(i) (1 mark): Use data from Figure 16 to determine the amplitude of the wave. (1) amplitude = cm
June 2025, Paper 1 Foundation, Q9(a)(ii) (1 mark): Use data from Figure 16 to determine the wavelength of the wave. (1) wavelength = cm
June 2025, Paper 1 Foundation, Q9(a)(iii) (2 marks): The water wave shown in Figure 16 is generated in a large tank. A student observes the wave. Describe how the student could determine the wave speed of the wave
June 2025, Paper 1 Foundation, Q9(b)(i) (1 mark): State one other example of a transverse wave. (1)
June 2025, Paper 1 Foundation, Q9(b)(ii) (2 marks): A point in the crust is labelled R in Figure 17. There is a rock at point R. Describe the effect that this earthquake wave has on the rock at R as the wave pass
June 2024, Paper 1 Higher, Q5(a)(ii) (3 marks): The speed of electromagnetic radiation is 3 00 . 108 m/s . Calculate the frequency of the shortest wavelength of UVB radiation. (3) frequency = Hz
June 2024, Paper 1 Higher, Q10(a) (1 mark): Which row of the table shows two transverse waves? (1) A infrasound infrared B infrared ultraviolet C ultrasound infrasound D ultraviolet ultrasound
June 2024, Paper 1 Foundation, Q5(a) (1 mark): A sound wave can transfer information across a room. Which row of the table shows what else a sound wave can transfer? (1) can transfer energy can transfer air
June 2024, Paper 1 Foundation, Q5(b) (1 mark): Which of these always increases as a sound gets louder? (1) A amplitude B frequency C speed D wavelength
June 2024, Paper 1 Foundation, Q5(c) (3 marks): The speed of a sound wave in air is 330 m/s. The wavelength of this wave is 0.75 m. Calculate the frequency of this wave. Use the equation O ó v f (3) frequen
June 2024, Paper 1 Foundation, Q5(d) (1 mark): Figure 10 shows a water wave. 10 8 6 4 2 vertical displacement 0 of water in cm 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 −2 −4 −6 −8 −10 distance in cm Figure 10 Which of thes
June 2024, Paper 1 Foundation, Q5(e)(i) (3 marks): Describe how a student could determine the wave speed of the ripples. (3)
June 2024, Paper 1 Foundation, Q5(e)(ii) (1 mark): Figure 11 shows a duck floating on the pond. Figure 11 The ripples cause the duck to move. Draw arrows on Figure 11 to show how the duck moves due to the ripple
June 2023, Paper 1 Higher, Q6(a)(i) (3 marks): Calculate M’s reaction time as a percentage of the time sound takes to travel from L to M. (3) %
June 2023, Paper 1 Higher, Q6(a)(ii) (1 mark): Which of these would improve the technicians’ measurement of the speed of sound? (1) A Use a firework ‘banger’ instead of the starting pistol. B Use a stop cloc
June 2023, Paper 1 Foundation, Q5(a)(i) (1 mark): Which of the arrowed lines shows the amplitude of the wave? (1) A B C D
June 2023, Paper 1 Foundation, Q5(a)(ii) (2 marks): Explain why the wave shown in Figure 7 is a transverse wave. (2)
June 2023, Paper 1 Foundation, Q5(b)(i) (2 marks): Describe how the student could measure the frequency of the ripples. (2)
June 2023, Paper 1 Foundation, Q5(b)(ii) (2 marks): Describe how the student could measure the wavelength of the ripples. (2)
June 2023, Paper 1 Foundation, Q5(c) (3 marks): In a swimming pool, a wave is produced with a wavelength of 4.0 m and a velocity of 0.8 m / s. Calculate the frequency of the wave. State the unit of frequency.
June 2022, Paper 1 Higher, Q9(b)(i) (3 marks): A microwave oven uses waves of frequency 2.45 GHz. Calculate the wavelength of the microwaves. The velocity of light is 3.00 × 108 m/s. (3) wavelength = m
June 2022, Paper 1 Foundation, Q2(a)(i) (1 mark): State the number of crests of the wave between P and Q. (1) number of crests =
June 2022, Paper 1 Foundation, Q2(a)(ii) (2 marks): The distance between P and Q is 42 cm. Calculate the wavelength of the water wave in Figure 3. (2) wavelength = cm
June 2022, Paper 1 Foundation, Q2(a)(iii) (3 marks): Describe how a student could determine the wave speed of the water wave in Figure 3. (3)
June 2022, Paper 1 Foundation, Q2(b)(i) (1 mark): Which row of the table is correct for sound waves? (1) can sound waves sound waves are transfer energy? A longitudinal yes B l longitudinal no C transverse yes
June 2022, Paper 1 Foundation, Q2(b)(ii) (2 marks): A sound wave has a frequency of 440 Hz and a wavelength of 0.75 m. Calculate the wave speed of the sound wave. (2) wave speed = m/s
November 2021, Paper 1 Higher, Q2(a) (2 marks): Figure 1 shows part of a wave. 6 4 2 height in cm 0 0 5 10 15 20 25 distance in cm –2 –4 –6 Figure 1 Use data from Figure 1 to calculate the wavelength of the w
November 2021, Paper 1 Higher, Q2(b)(i) (3 marks): Figure 2 shows a student sitting on the shore of a lake watching ripples on the surface of the water moving past a toy boat. toy boat ripples Figure 2 The stude
November 2021, Paper 1 Higher, Q2(b)(ii) (2 marks): The speed of a water wave is 1.5m/s. The frequency of the wave is 0.70Hz. Calculate the wavelength of this wave. Use the equation v = f × λ (2) wavelength = m
November 2021, Paper 1 Higher, Q2(b)(iii) (2 marks): Water waves are transverse waves. Describe the difference between transverse waves and longitudinal waves. (2)
November 2021, Paper 1 Foundation, Q8(a) (2 marks): Figure 12 shows part of a wave. 6 4 2 height in cm 0 0 5 10 15 20 25 distance in cm –2 –4 –6 Figure 12 Use data from Figure 12 to calculate the wavelength of th
November 2021, Paper 1 Foundation, Q8(b)(i) (3 marks): Figure 13 shows a student sitting on the shore of a lake watching ripples on the surface of the water moving past a toy boat. toy boat ripples Figure 13 The stu
November 2021, Paper 1 Foundation, Q8(b)(ii) (2 marks): The speed of a water wave is 1.5m/s. The frequency of the wave is 0.70Hz. Calculate the wavelength of this wave. Use the equation v = f × λ (2) wavelength = m
November 2021, Paper 1 Foundation, Q8(b)(iii) (2 marks): Water waves are transverse waves. Describe the difference between transverse waves and longitudinal waves. (2)
November 2021, Paper 1 Foundation, Q8(c) (2 marks): Sound waves travel at 330 m/s in air. A student sees a flash of lightning. The student hears the sound of thunder 4.0s later. Calculate the distance from the st
November 2020, Paper 1 Higher, Q5(a) (3 marks): A radio station transmits on 97.4 MHz. To receive the waves an aerial needs a length equal to half the wavelength of the radio waves being transmitted. Calculat
November 2020, Paper 1 Higher, Q6(a)(i) (2 marks): Calculate the difference between the students’ value and the accepted value as a percentage of the accepted value. (2) percentage difference = %
November 2020, Paper 1 Higher, Q6(a)(ii) (2 marks): When the distance was 100 m, the students measured the following times: 0.43 s 0.35 s 0.50 s 0.38 s Explain why their times vary so much. (2)
November 2020, Paper 1 Higher, Q6(a)(iii) (2 marks): Explain one way the students might improve this experiment. (2)
November 2020, Paper 1 Higher, Q6(b)(i) (1 mark): Draw and label a distance of one wavelength in Figure 8. (1)
November 2020, Paper 1 Higher, Q6(b)(ii) (2 marks): Describe the motion of the particles as the wave travels through the air. (2)
November 2020, Paper 1 Foundation, Q6(a)(i) (1 mark): Water waves are transverse waves. Give another example of a transverse wave. (1)
November 2020, Paper 1 Foundation, Q6(a)(ii) (2 marks): Figure 12 shows a side view of part of the tank. L M 32 m water Figure 12 A water wave is moving from L to M. Calculate the wavelength of the wave. (2) waveleng
November 2020, Paper 1 Foundation, Q6(a)(iii) (2 marks): A technician stands at the side of the tank. He counts the peaks of the waves as they pass him. 12 peaks pass the technician in a time of 15 s. Calculate the fr
November 2020, Paper 1 Foundation, Q6(b)(i) (2 marks): Draw arrows on Figure 13 to show how the rock at R moves when the seismic wave passes through R. (2)
November 2020, Paper 1 Foundation, Q6(b)(ii) (3 marks): The frequency of the seismic wave is 12 Hz. The wave speed of the seismic wave is 7 km / s. Calculate the wavelength of the seismic wave, in metres. Use the equ
June 2019, Paper 1 Higher, Q2(c)(i) (2 marks): Use the scale on the diagram to measure the wavelength of the wave. (2) wavelength = cm
June 2019, Paper 1 Higher, Q2(c)(ii) (2 marks): Describe the motion of the cork. You should include how the cork moves relative to the direction of travel of the wave. (2)
June 2019, Paper 1 Higher, Q2(d) (2 marks): A different water wave has a wavelength of 0.25 m and a frequency of 1.5 Hz. Calculate the wave speed. (2) wave speed = m/s
June 2019, Paper 1 Higher, Q6(a) (2 marks): The diagram in Figure 7 shows two students, P and Q, trying to measure the speed of sound in air. 50 m P Q Figure 7 P will clap his hands together. When Q sees
June 2019, Paper 1 Higher, Q6(b) (2 marks): Figure 8 shows a long metal rod and a hammer. The rod is hit at one end by the hammer. This causes a sound wave to travel along the inside of the metal rod. met
June 2019, Paper 1 Higher, Q6(d) (3 marks): Sound travels slower in cold air than it does in warm air. The equation relating the speed of sound in air to the density of the air is K speed of sound = where
June 2019, Paper 1 Foundation, Q8(c)(i) (2 marks): Use the scale on the diagram to measure the wavelength of the wave. (2) wavelength=... cm
June 2019, Paper 1 Foundation, Q8(c)(ii) (2 marks): Describe the motion of the cork. You should include how the cork moves relative to the direction of travel of the wave. (2)
June 2019, Paper 1 Foundation, Q8(d) (2 marks): A different water wave has a wavelength of 0.25 m and a frequency of 1.5 Hz. Calculate the wave speed. (2) .m/s wave speed =
June 2018, Paper 1 Higher, Q2(b) (3 marks): The speed of light is 3.0 × 108 m/s. The wavelength of yellow light is 5.8 × 10−7 m. Calculate the frequency of yellow light. State the unit. Use the equation s
June 2018, Paper 1 Higher, Q5(a) (2 marks): Figure 7 shows a tuning fork. prong Figure 7 When the prongs of the tuning fork are struck, the prongs vibrate in the directions shown by the arrows on Figure 7
June 2018, Paper 1 Foundation, Q2(a)(i) (1 mark): State the equation linking speed, distance and time. (1)
June 2018, Paper 1 Foundation, Q2(a)(ii) (2 marks): Calculate the speed of the sound wave in air. (2) wave speed = m/s
June 2018, Paper 1 Foundation, Q2(b) (2 marks): Figure 2 shows water waves spreading out from a source. A student measures the wavelength of the waves. He uses a ruler to measure the distance from one crest t
June 2018, Paper 1 Foundation, Q2(c) (3 marks): Sound waves are longitudinal waves. Water waves are transverse waves. Describe the difference between longitudinal waves and transverse waves. (3)
June 2018, Paper 1 Foundation, Q8(b) (3 marks): The speed of light is 3.0 × 108 m/s. The wavelength of yellow light is 5.8 × 10−7 m. Calculate the frequency of yellow light. State the unit. Use the equation s

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