AQA GCSE Physics (8463), Higher tier · Waves › Waves in air, fluids and solids
Practise Reflection of waves. 12 exam-style questions on this subtopic, at up to four difficulty levels, with full mark schemes and a progress tracker. Free, no account needed.
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State what happens to the frequency of a wave when it reflects off a surface.
It stays the same.
Sample questions
Written for this site in the style of AQA exam questions. They are not taken from real past papers.
Question 1Easy3 marks
(a) Which law is true whenever any wave reflects at a plane surface? Tick (✓) one box.[1]
The angle of incidence equals the angle of reflection
The angle of incidence is always 90°
The angle of reflection is always less than the angle of incidence
The wave speeds up after reflecting
(b) State what happens to the frequency of a wave when it reflects off a surface.[1]
(c) A sound wave reflects off a hard, flat wall. What name is given to a reflected sound that is heard as a distinct repeat of the original sound?[1]
Show the answer and mark scheme
(a)Answer: The angle of incidence equals the angle of reflection
(b)Answer: It stays the same.
it stays the same (does not change)
(c)Answer: An echo
echo
Question 2Medium8 marks
A music teacher records students playing instruments in two rooms. Room A has bare concrete walls and a tiled floor. Room B has thick curtains, a carpet and soft foam panels on the walls.
(a) The recording made in room A has echoes. Explain why.[2]
(b) Explain why there are fewer echoes in the recording made in room B.[2]
(c) Some sound is transmitted through the walls of room B into the next room. Suggest one change that would reduce the amount of sound transmitted into the next room.[1]
(d) The speed of sound in air is 340 m/s. A student stands next to the microphone in room A and claps once. The recording shows that the echo from the far wall arrives 0.050 s after the clap. Calculate the distance between the student and the far wall.[3]
Show the answer and mark scheme
(a)Answer: Hard surfaces reflect sound, and the reflected sound arrives after the direct sound.
sound is reflected by the hard walls / floor
the reflected sound reaches the microphone after the sound that travels directly
(b)Answer: The soft materials absorb sound, so less is reflected.
the soft materials / curtains / carpet / foam absorb (most of the) sound
so less sound is reflected
(c)Answer: Add a layer of sound-absorbing material inside the wall.
make the walls thicker / add a layer of sound-absorbing material inside the wall / seal gaps around the doors and windows
(d)Answer: 8.5 m
distance travelled by the sound = 340 × 0.050 = 17 (m)
(the sound travels to the wall and back, so) divide by 2
8.5 (m)
Question 3Hard6 marks
A student wants to investigate how the type of surface affects the reflection of light. The student has a ray box with a single slit, a power supply, a protractor, a ruler, a pencil, sheets of white paper and four surfaces: a plane mirror, a sheet of aluminium foil, a sheet of glossy black card and a sheet of matt white card.
Describe a method the student could use. Your answer should include what the student should observe or measure for each surface.[6]
Show the answer and mark scheme
Answer: Level-of-response answer: set a fixed angle of incidence to a drawn normal, trace and measure the reflected ray for each surface, and compare how clear and bright the reflected ray is.
draw a straight line on the paper to mark the surface and draw a normal at 90° to it
stand the surface along the line and direct a narrow ray from the ray box at the point where the normal meets the surface
use the protractor to set the angle of incidence (e.g. 30°)
mark the path of the reflected ray with crosses and join them with a ruler
measure the angle of reflection from the normal with the protractor
repeat for each surface, keeping the angle of incidence (and distance of the ray box) the same
observe whether a single clear reflected ray is seen or whether the light is scattered / the reflected ray is dim
work in a darkened room so the rays are easy to see
expected: smooth, shiny surfaces (mirror, foil) give one clear reflected ray (specular reflection); the matt card scatters the light (diffuse reflection); the black card absorbs most of the light so any reflected ray is dim
Marked with levels of response: the full level descriptors are in the app.