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Light and sound

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Question 15

This question is about waves.

a.

Describe an investigation to measure the speed of water waves in a shallow tray. You may draw a diagram to help your answer.

[6]
b.

The speed of sound in water changes when the salinity (salt concentration) changes. A student investigates how the speed of sound in water varies with salinity. The student's results are shown on the graph.

Graph showing speed of sound in water against salinity. The y-axis is labeled 'Speed of sound in m/s' and ranges from 1480 to 1540 in intervals of 10. The x-axis is labeled 'Salinity in g/L' and ranges from 0 to 50 in intervals of 10. Five data points are plotted as 'x' marks at: (5, 1488), (15, 1499), (25, 1510), (35, 1521), (45, 1532).

Draw a line of best fit on the graph.

[1]
c.

Use the graph to find the speed of sound when the salinity is 50 g/L.

speed of sound=—————————— m/s \text{speed of sound} = \text{—————————— m/s} speed of sound=—————————— m/s
[2]
d.

A marine researcher uses an underwater acoustic transmitter to send sound waves of a constant frequency through the ocean. The salinity of the water increases as the sound waves travel into a deeper, high-salinity current. Explain how this increase in salinity affects the wavelength of the sound waves.

[2]

Light and sound Questions

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