A child drops a stone into a still pond. Ripples spread out across the surface of the water.
A small leaf floats on the water some distance from where the stone landed.
Describe the motion of the leaf as the ripples pass it.
Explain what the motion of the leaf shows about water waves.
A loudspeaker playing a low note is placed in front of a candle flame.
The flame moves backwards and forwards, but it is not blown away from the loudspeaker.
Explain what this shows about sound waves in air.
Ripples on water are used as a model of transverse waves.
Explain why.
52 exam-style questions on OCR GCSE Physics 5.1 Wave behaviour, covering 5.1.1 Describing wave motion, 5.1.2 Wavelength and frequency, 5.1.3 Wave speed, frequency and wavelength, 5.1.4 Wave speed problems, 5.1.5 Transverse and longitudinal waves, 5.1.6 Sound waves crossing between media, 5.1.7 Reflection, transmission and absorption at interfaces, 5.1.8 Sound waves and vibrations in solids, 5.1.9 Frequency range and human hearing, 5.1.10 Modelling waves with water ripples and sound, and 5.1.11 Evidence that the wave travels, not the medium. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.