SCIENCE

SOUND

1. Sound energy is basically:

(A) mechanical energy (B) electromagnetic energy
(C) potential energy (D) electrical energy
ANS . A
2. The transfer of energy in a material medium due to the periodic motion of its particles is called:
(A) wave front (B) wave motion (C) pulse (D) none of the above
AN S . B
3. Which is not the condition for hearing sound?
(A) There must be a vibrating body capable of transferring energy.
(B) There must be a material medium to pick up and propagate energy
(C) The medium must have a large density.
(D) There must be receiver to receive the energy and interpret it.
ANS . C
4. An instrument commonly used in laboratory to produce a sound of some particular frequency is :
(A) sonar (B) electric bell (C) tuning fork (D) a stretched
wire
ANS . C
5. The sound waves in a medium are characterised by the:
(A) linear motion of particles in the medium (B) rotatory motion of particles in the medium
(C) oscillatory motion of particles in the medium (D) none of the above
ANS . C
6. The sound waves which travel in the air are called:
(A) transverse waves (B) longitudinal waves
(C) polarised waves (D) none of the above
ANS . B
7. When a sound wave travels in the air, the physical quantity which is transferred from one place to
the other is:
(A) mass (B) force (C) momentum (D) energy
ANS . D
8. In case of longitudinal waves, the particles of medium vibrate:
(A) in the direction of wave propagation (B) opposite to the direction of wave
propagation
(C) at right angles to the direction of wave propagation (D) none of the above
ANS . A
9. In case of transverse waves the particles of a medium vibrate:
(A) in the direction of wave propagation
(B) opposite to the direction of wave propagation
(C) at the right angles to the direction of wave propagation
(D) none of the above
ANS . C
10. A longitudinal waves consists of:
(A) crest and troughs in the medium (B) compressions and rarefactions in the
medium
(C) both (A) and (B) (D) neither (A), nor (B)
ANS . B
11. A transverse wave consists of:
(A) crests and troughs in the medium (B) compressions and rarefactions in the
medium
(C) both (A) and (B) (D) neither (A), nor (B)
ANS . A
12. The longitudinal waves can propagate only in :
(A) solids (B) liquids (C) gases (D) all the
above
ANS . D
13. The transverse waves can propagate only in :
(A) liquids (B) gases (C) solids (D) vacuum
ANS . C
14. A part of the longitudinal wave in which particles of medium are closer than the normal particles is
called:
(A) rarefaction (B) crest (C) trough (D)
compression
ANS . D
15. In the compression region of the medium in case of longitudinal wave:
(A) the volume monetarily decreases (B) the density momentarily
(C) the pressure monetarily increases (D) all the above
ANS . D

16 A part of longitudinal wave in which particles of medium are farther away than the normal particles
is called:
(A) rarefaction (B) trough (C) compresion (D) crest
ANS .A
17 In case of a longitudinal wave, in the region of rarefaction :
(A) the volume of momentarily increases (B) the density momentarily decreases
(C) the pressure momentarily decreases (D) all the above
ANS . D
18. In the region of compression or rarefaction, in a longitudinal wave the physical quantity which does
not change is:
(A) pressure (B) mass (C) density (D) volume
ANS . B
19 A slinky can produce in laboratory :
(A) transverse waves only (B) longitudinal
waves only
(C) both (A) and (B) (D) none of the above
ANS . C
20 In case of transverse wave :
 (A) the hump on the + y axis is called crest
(B) the hump on the – y axis is called crest
(C) the highest point on the hump on + y axis is called crest
(D) the highest point on the hump on the – y axis is called crest
ANS . C
21 In case of transverse wave:
(A) the hump on the – y axis is called trough
(B) the lowest point the hump on the – y axis is called trough
(C) the hump on + y axis is called trough
(D) the highest point on the hump on the + y axis is called trough
ANS . B
22 The wavelength is the linear distance between the:
(A) two consecutive compressions
(B) two consecutive rarefactions
(C) one compression and one rarefaction
(D) both (A) and (B)
ANS . D
23 In case of transverse wave the wavelength is the linear distance between :
(A) two consecutive troughs (B) two consecutive crests
(C) one crest and one trough (D) both (A) and (B)
ANS . D
24. The change in density/pressure of a medium from maximum value to minimum value and again to
maximum value, due to the propagation of a longitudinal wave is called complete:
(A) oscillation (B) frequency (C) amplitude (D) none of the above
ANS . A
25. The number of oscillations passing through a point in unit time is called:
(A) vibration (B) frequency (C) wavelength (D) none of the above
ANS . B
26 The SI unit of frequency is :
(A) hertz (B) gauss (C) decibel (D) none of the above
ANS . A
27. If the frequency of a wave is 25 Hz, the total number of compressions and rarefactions passing
through a point in 1 second is
(A) 25 (B) 50 (C) 100 (D) none of the above
ANS . B
28 Time period of a wave in a medium is the time taken by:
(A) a compression to pass through a point (B) a rarefaction to pass through a point
(C) an oscillation to pass through a point (D) none of the above
ANS . C
29 Amplitude of a longitudinal wave in a medium:
(A) is the extent to which a medium gets compressed (B) is the extent to which a medium gets
rarefied
 (C) either (A) or (B) (D) none of the above
ANS . C
30 Non-mechanical (electromagnetic) wave can propagate in :
(A) material medium as well as vacuum (B) in vacuum, but not in material
medium
(C) in material medium but not in vacuum (D) neither in material medium nor in
vacuum
ANS . A
31. The linear distance between a compression and a rarefaction or a crest and a trough is :
  3
(A) 2 (B) 4 (C)  (D) 2

ANS . A
32. A longitudinal wave travels in water from west to east. The direction which the particles of medium
move:
(A) east to west (B) west to east (C) north to south (D) south to north
ANS . B
33 A stretched string is plucked gently to produce a note. The string is producing:
(A) longitudinal waves (B) stationary waves (C) transverse waves (D) both (A) and (C)
ANS . C
34 A stretched slinky is given a sharp push along its length. A wave travels from one end to another.
The wave so produced is :
(A) transverse wave (B) longitudinal wave (C) stationary wave (D) none of the
above
ANS . B
35. A longitudinal sound wave in air consists:
(A) a number of rarefaction pulses one after the other
(B) a number of compression pulses one after the other
(C) compression and rarefaction pulses alternating with each other
(D) a rarefaction pulse followed by compression pulse, separated by some distance.
ANS . C
36. The density of air at some point in a longitudinal sound wave is minimum at an instant. The
pressure of air at that point is :
(A) minimum (B) maximum
(C) equal to atmospheric pressure (D) none of the above
ANS . A
37. Which of the following is an elastic wave?
(A) light wave (B) radio waves (C) sound wave (D)
microwaves
ANS . C
38. Infrasonic vibrations have frequency:
(A) less than 10Hz (B) less than 20 Hz
(C) between 20 and 20,000 Hz (D) more than 20,000 Hz.
ANS . B
39. The range of sonic waves is between:
(A) 20 Hz to 2000 Hz (B) 20 Hz to 10,000 Hz
(C) 20 Hz to 15,000 Hz (D) 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz
ANS .D
40. The sound waves having a frequency more than 20,000 Hz are called:
(A) infrasonic waves (B) supersonic waves
(C) ultrasonic waves (D) hypersonic waves
ANS . C
41 The animal which cannot hear ultrasonic waves is :
(A) bat (B) cow (C) dog (D) dolphin
ANS .B
42. The bat hunts it prey by emitting and receiving reflected:
(A) super sonic waves (B) ultrasonic waves (C) sonic waves (D) infrasonic
waves
ANS .B
43 A sonic boom is produced in the air when an aircraft flies at a speed:
(A) equal to the speed of sound (B) more than the speed of sound
(C) less than the speed of sound (D) climbs vertically
ANS . B
44 Sound travels fastest in :
(A) vacuum (B) gases (C) solids (D) liquids
ANS .C
45. A boy sitting in a boat fires a gun. An observer P is at a distance of 50 m from the boat. Another
observer Q is a diver, who is 50 m under water. Both hear the sound of gun:
(A) P hears the sound first (B) Q hears the
sound first
(C) Both P and Q hear the sound at the same time (D) none of the above.
ANS . B
46. When the lightning strikes, we hear multiple of cracks of thunder. These multiple reflections of
sound are called:
(A) echoes (B) reverberations (C) resonance (D) none of the
above.
ANS . B
47 Hearing of repetition of sound after reflection from a distant object is called:
(A) reverberation (B) resonance (C) echo (D) none of the above.
ANS . C
48 For hearing an echo the minimum distance should be :
(A) less than 10m (B) between 10m and 15 m
(C) 17 m or more (D) none of the above.
ANS . C
49. An echo is heard only, if the original sound after reflection should reach the ear in :
 1 1 1
(A) less than s 100 (B) less than s 10 (C) more than s 10 (D) none of the
above.
ANS . C
50. A bullet is moving at a speed, more than the speed of sound. It is said to be moving at :
(A) supersonic speed (B) ultrasonic speed (C) infrasonic speed (D) sonic speed
ANS . A
51. Naval ships called "destroyers" can detect submarines in the sea. The device used by these ships is
called:
(A) ultra sonometer (B) sonar (C) ultrasonograph (D) none of the above .
ANS . B
52. Which of the following properties of a sound wave are affected by the change in temperature of air:
(A) frequency (B) amplitude (C) wavelength (D) intensity
AN S . C
53. Which of the following cases the sound travels fastest:
(A) hydrogen (B) helium (C) nitrogen (D) oxygen
ANS . A
54. The waves used in sonography as :
(A) microwaves (B) ultra-violet waves (C) ultrasonic waves (D) sound
waves
ANS . C
55. The crack of thunder is heard after few seconds the lightning flash, because:
(A) crack of thunder and lightning are not produced at same time
(B) light travels extremely fast as compared to sound
(C) sound waves slow down on passing through air
(D) none of the above
ANS . B
56 . The sound can travel in air when:
(A) Particles of medium travel from one place to another
(B) There is no moisture in the atmosphere
(C) Disturbance travel from one place to another
(D) Both particles as well as disturbance travel from one place to another
ANS .(C) Disturbance travel from one place to another
57 We can distinguish between a man’s voice and a woman’s voice of the same loudness
even without seeing them. This is due to a characteristic of sound which measures the
shrillness of sounds. Can you choose the correct unit of the quantity on which this
characteristic of sound depends?
(A) hertz
(B) meter/second
(C) meter
(D) unitless
ANS . (A) hertz
58. A key of mechanical piano is first struck gently and then struck again but much harder
this time. What kind of change in sound will you observe in the second case:
(A) Sound will be louder but the pitch will not be different
(B) Sound will be louder and the pitch will also be higher
(C) Sound will be louder but the pitch will be lower
(D) Both loudness and pitch will remain unaffected
ANS . (C) Sound will be louder but the pitch will be lower
59 The echo-receiver of a sonar attached to a ship, receives the echo from the bottom of sea
4 seconds after the ultrasonic waves were sent into the sea.

If the speed of sound in water is 1500 m/s, then what is the depth of the sea?
(A) 6000 m (B) 3000 m (C) 15000 m (D) 3500 m
ANS (B) 3000 m
60 . Before the main shock waves, the earthquake produces the characteristic sound waves
which some animals like rhinoceros can hear. Can you guess the kind of sound waves
produced here?
(A) Infrasonic sounds (B) Ultrasonic sounds (C) Audible Sounds (D) None of these
ANS . (A) Infrasonic sounds
61Given below is the diagram of human ear. Choose the correct labeling of the parts A, B and C.
 (A) A-ear lobe, B-ear canal, C-auditory nerve (B) A-ear drum, B-auditory
nerve, c-ear canal
(C) A-ear canal, B-Eustachian tube, C-auditory nerve (D) A-ear canal, B-
Eustachian tube, C-cochlea
ANS . (C) A-ear canal, B-Eustachian tube, C-auditory nerve
62. On increasing the temperature, the speed of sound in air:
(A) Increases (B) Decreases (C) Does not change (D) First increases then becomes
constant
ANS : (A) Increases
63. Loudness measures the sound energy reaching the ear per second and depends on the
amplitude of the sound wave. What is the unit used to measure the loudness of sound?
(A) hertz
(B) decibel
(C) meter/second
(D) second
ANS .(B) decibel
64 . We can easily distinguish between the sounds of the different singers even without
having seen them. This is all due the different quality or timber of their sounds. On what
factor does the quality of sound depend?
(A) Wavelength
(B) Waveform
(C) Wave frequency
(D) Wave amplitude
ANS . (B) Waveform
65 . Before playing the orchestra in a musical concert, a sitarist tries to adjust the tension and
pluck the string suitably. By doing so, he is adjusting
i. Amplitude of the sound
ii. Frequency of the sitar string with the frequency of other musical instruments
iii. Intensity of sound
iv. Loudness of sound
Choose the correct option:
(A) (i) and (iii)
(B) only (ii)
(C) (ii) and (iv)
(D) only (iv)
ANS .B) only (ii)
66 . The bats can fly in the darkness of night without colliding with the other objects by
emitting special sounds while flying. Which characteristic of sound is used by the bats to
navigate?
(A) Ultrasound (B) Infrasound(C) Audible sound (D) None of these
Ans . (A) Ultrasound
67. The sound travels from particle to particle in the form of vibrations and has different s
peeds in different mediums.
 The maximum speed of vibrations which produce audible sound will be in:
(A) Sea water
B) Ground glass
(C) Human blood
(D) Dry air
ANS . . (B) Ground glass
68 . Which of the following can produce longitudinal as well as transverse waves under
different conditions?
(A) Bats
(B) Slinky
(C) Tuning fork
(D) None of these
ANS .(B) Slinky
69 . If the speed of a wave is 380 m/s and its frequency is 1900 Hz, then the wavelength of
the wave will be:
(A) 20 m (B) 0.2 m (C) 200 m (D) 2 m
ANS .(B) 0.2 m
70. You must have seen the doctor checking the sounds produced in the chest or heartbeat of
a patient using a medical instrument called Stethoscope. On what principle does this
Stethoscope work?
(A) Multiple refractions
B) Multiple reflections
(C) Wave motion
(D) None of these
ANS . (B) Multiple reflections
71 The frequency of a source is 20 kHz. The frequencies of the sound waves produced by it
in water and air will
A) Be the same as that of the source
B) Depend upon the velocity of the waves in these media
C) Depend upon the wavelength of the waves in these media
D) Depend upon the density of the media.
ANS : A
72 A.R. Rehman is conducting a musical night in an open auditorium in New York. If a
person who is sitting in the auditorium at a distance of 250 m from the stage and the other
who is watching the live program on a television set sitting in front of it in Hyderabad,
then the person who hear him first is the
A) Person sitting in auditorium
B) Person sitting in Hyderabad
 C) Both will hear at the time
D) Cannot be said.
ANS : B
73 Read the given statements and select the correct option.
Statement 1: Echo is produced when sound is incident on hard and polished surface.
Statement 2: Sound energy can be totally reflected by objects with soft and loose texture.
A) Both statements 1 and 2 are true and statement 2 is the correct explanation of
statement 1.
B) Both statements 1 and 2 are true but statement 2 is not the correct explanation of
statement 1.
C) Statement 1 is true but statement 2 is false.
D) Both statements 1 and 2 are false.
ANS : C
74 Match the column I with column II and mark the correct option from the codes given
below.
Column I Column II
(A) String vibration (i) Tabia
(B) Membrane vibration (ii) Bicycle bell
(C) Vibration of air column (iii) Sitar
of plate (iv) Flute
A) (A) - (i), (B) - (iv), (C) - (ii), (D) - (iii) B) (A) - (iii), (B) - (i), (C) -
(iv), (D) - (ii)
B) - (ii), (C) - (iii), (D) - (i) D) (A) - (ii), (B) - (iii), (C) - (i), (D) - (iv)
ANS : B
75 The roofs and walls of the auditorium are generally covered with sound absorbent
materials to reduce
A) Velocity of sound B) Reverberation of sound
C) Frequency of sound D) None of these
ANS .: B
Solution :
Persistence of sound in a closed enclosure, due to continuous reflections at the walls is
known as reverberation. In an auditorium or big hall excessive reverberation is highly
undesirable, so the roof and walls are generally covered with sound absorbent material.

76 A student plotted the following four graphs representing the variation of velocity v of
sound in a gas with the pressure P for a given temperature. Which one is
correct?
A) B) C) D)

Answer: D

A sound wave travelling in a medium is represented as shown in figure.

77 If vibrating source of sound makes 360 oscillations in 2 minutes, then the amplitude,
wavelength and frequency of the sound wave respectively are (Take velocity of sound
as342 m s-1)
A) 1 m, 114 m and 3 Hz B) 2 m, 3 m and 14 Hz
C) 1 m, 5 m and 20 Hz D) 1 m, 100 m and 10 Hz.
ANS : A
78 A submarine emits a SONAR pulse which returns from an underwater cliff in 1.05 speed
of sound in salt water is 1531 m s-1, how far away is the cliff?
A) 1568 m B) 803.7 m C) 1607.4 m D) 765.5 m
ANS : B
79 Longitudinal wave can travel in
A) solids only B) liquids only C) liquids and gases only D) all media
ANS : D
80 Sound travels with a speed of about330 m s-1. What is the wavelength of sound whose
frequency is 660 Hz?
A) 5 m B) 50 m C) 0.5 m D) 500 m
ANS : C
81 The diagram represents two different sound
waves.
A) The frequency of X is less than Y and pitch
of X is less than Y.
B) The frequency and pitch of X is same as the
frequency and pitch of Y.
C) The frequency of X is less than Y but its pitch is same as Y.
D) The frequency of X is same as Y but its pitch is higher than Y.
ANS : A
82 The diagram shows the positions of the air particles due to propagation of sound,
represented by straight lines, at a particular instant from P to Q.

Which of the following statements correctly depicts the pressure variation with respect to
distance?
A) The lines which are closed to one another represent rarefaction which is a low
pressure region.
B) The lines which are far apart from one another represent compression which is a low
pressure region.
C) The lines which are far apart from one another represent rarefaction which is high
pressure region.
D) The lines which are closed to one another represent compression which is a high
pressure region.
ANS : D
83 There are two walls A and B which are 180 m apart from each other. A boy standing at
60 m away from wall A claps his hands once. If the speed of sound in air is 330 m s-1,
what is the time interval between the first and the second echo that he hears?
 A) 0.36 s B) 0.24 s C) 0.4 s D) 1 s
ANS . A

84 A microphone is connected to a cathode ray oscilloscope. A loudspeaker giving a single

note is switch on. The trace shown in the figure appears on the screen.

Which of the following shows the softer but same frequency note of the given note?
A) B)

C) D)

ANS .: A
Four sound waves

85 M, N, O and P are shown in figures below. Which of the following is

correct statement?
A) M and P have the same loudness.
B) N and O have the same loudness.
C) N and P have the same loudness.
D) M and O have the same loudness.
ANS r: D
86 Which of the following statements is correct, when two sound waves with
same frequency and constant phase difference interfere?
A) There is a gain of energy.
B) There is a loss of energy.
C) The energy is redistributed as direction change.
D) The energy is redistributed and the distribution remains constant in time.
ANS r: D
87 Direction: Read the passage carefully and answer the following question.
Two tuning forks, A and B vibrate with frequencies in the ratio 2 : 7 and their
wavelengths in the ratio 3 : 4 respectively. Both the tuning forks are placed in different
media.
Find the tuning fork producing greater velocity of sound.
A) Tuning fork A
B) Tuning fork B
C) Both produce sound of same velocity
D) Cannot say
ANS : B
88 Direction: Read the passage carefully and answer the following question.
Two tuning forks, A and B vibrate with frequencies in the ratio 2 : 7 and their
wavelengths in the ratio 3 : 4 respectively. Both the tuning forks are placed in different
media.
The tuning fork A produces relatively
A) Shrill sound than tuning fork B
B) Flat sound than tuning fork B
C) Louder sound than tuning fork B
D) Sound of more wavelength than that of tuning fork B.
ANS . B
89 A man standing in front of a large wall claps at a regular frequency of 10 Hz. He finds
that the echoes coincide with his clapping. (The speed of sound in air is 330 m s−1.)
(i) Time taken between successive clapping is 0.1 s.
(ii) The distance between the man and the wall, after he stops clapping, if he hears one
more echo is 33 m.
(iii) The distance between the man and the wall, after he stops clapping, if he hears four
more echoes is 66 m.
A) Only (i) and (ii) are correct. B) Only (ii) and (iii) are correct.
C) Only (i) and (iii) are correct. D) All (i), (ii) and (iii) are correct.
ANS : C
90 A stone is dropped from the top of a tower of 125 m high into a pond which is at base of
the tower. When will the splash be heard at the top? (Given g = 10 m s-2 and speed of
sound= 340 m s-1.)
A) 5 s B) 0.36 s C) 5.36 s D) 2 s
ANS : C
91 The velocity of sound in air is not affected by change in
A) moisture content of the air
B) the temperature of air
C) the atmospheric pressure
D) the composition of air
ANS : C

92 The velocity of sound in any gas depends upon

A) wavelength of sound only
B) density and elasticity of gas
 C) intensity of sound waves only
D) amplitude and frequency of sound
ANS : B
93 It is possible to distinguish between transverse and longitudinal waves by studying the
property of
A) interference B) diffraction C) reflection D)
polarization
ANS .: D
94 Mechanical waves having a frequency above the audible range, are called
A) sonic B) ultrasonics C) infrasonics D) supersonics
ANS .: B
95 Ultrasonic waves produced in a medium can be detected by
A) Kundt's tube B) Quincke's Method C) A Telephone D) Hebb's method
ANS : A
96 Ultrasonic waves are used for stirring liquid solutions because
A) they do not produce noise during the operation
B) they do not produce chemical reactions in the solutions
C) they are easy to produce
D) they can produce perfectly homogeneous solutions
ANS : D
97 There is no transmission of energy in
A) electromagnetic wave B) transverse progressive waves
C) longitudinal progressive wave D) stationary waves
ANS : D
98 When ultrasonic, infrasonic and audible waves travel through a medium with speeds υu,υi
and υa respectively, then
A) υu,υiandυaare nearly equal B) υu≥υa≥υi
C) υc≤υa≥υI D) υa≤υuandυu≈υi
ANS : A
99 At what temperature will the speed of sound in air become double of its speed at 00C?
A) 6190C B) 7190C C) 8190C D) 9190C
ANS : C
100 The product of the time period of a wave and its frequency is
A) infinite B) zero
C) more than unity but less than infinity D) unity
ANS: D