Lesson T4.1.1

T4.1.1 Waves on water Quiz: KS3 Physics, Unit 4

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

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Lesson T4.1.1, Waves on water: 20 multiple choice questions for the KS3 Physics (National Curriculum), Unit 4: Waves, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. What kind of motion do the particles of water have when a water wave passes?

    • Random motion with no pattern at all, so the water is mixed up as the wave passes over it
    • Transverse motion, up and down at right angles to the wave's travel
    • Circular motion that carries the water steadily forwards along the length of the wave pattern
    • Longitudinal motion, back and forth along the direction the wave travels across the pond surface

  2. What is carried along by a water wave as it crosses a pond?

    • Energy, not the water itself
    • The water itself, which travels across the pond from one bank to the other with the wave
    • Both the water and its energy, which move together at the same speed across the surface
    • Neither energy nor matter, because a wave is only a pattern in the surface of the water

  3. What happens to a water wave when it hits a barrier such as the side of a ripple tank?

    • It is absorbed completely, so the water at the barrier becomes still and flat with no movement.
    • It passes straight through the barrier and carries on across the far side of the tank.
    • It is turned into sound, which rings out from the side of the tank while the water settles.
    • It is reflected back in the opposite direction.

  4. What is superposition for two water waves that meet?

    • The waves change speed when they meet, so they arrive at the far side later than expected.
    • The waves always stop each other completely, so neither wave travels any further afterwards.
    • The waves add together or cancel out where they overlap.
    • The waves swap their energy at the meeting point, so each continues with the other's energy.

  5. Two water waves overlap so that a crest meets a trough of the same size. What happens at that point?

    • The waves cancel out and the water is flat there.
    • The waves move faster through that point, because the two waves push each other along.
    • The waves are reflected back to their source, which makes the water move in the opposite way.
    • The waves double in height at that point, because a crest and a trough join together into one.

  6. When two crests meet at the same point on the water, what happens?

    • The crests cancel out and the water becomes flat, because two crests are equal and opposite.
    • The crests change into troughs straight away, which reverses the direction of the wave.
    • The crests stop and the waves cannot continue, because the water is too full to move further.
    • The displacement adds, making a larger wave at that point.

  7. A water wave reaches a shallow beach and is reflected back. What is this called?

    • Reflection
    • Dispersion, which is the splitting of the wave into separate parts of different speeds
    • Diffraction, which is the spreading out of the wave as it passes around the edge of the beach
    • Absorption, which is the process by which the beach takes in the wave's energy fully

  8. Which description of a transverse wave is correct?

    • The vibrations are at right angles to the direction the wave travels.
    • The vibrations are in a circle around the source, which spreads the wave outwards equally.
    • The vibrations are random and have no direction, so the wave pattern has no fixed shape at all.
    • The vibrations are along the direction the wave travels, so the particles move forwards and back.

  9. Which is an example of a transverse wave on water?

    • Pressure waves moving through a pipe of gas that is held at one end by a clamp
    • Sound travelling through air from a speaker towards the listener's ear across the room
    • Compression waves in a long slinky moving back and forth along its length on a table
    • Ripples spreading out across a pond after a stone is dropped in

  10. Why do water waves show superposition when they travel across a pool?

    • Because waves from different places overlap and their displacements add or cancel.
    • Because waves always slow down when they meet other waves, which halts their travel across the pool.
    • Because each wave destroys the other as it passes, leaving the pool still once they have met.
    • Because water waves carry matter across the pool, so the water is pushed along as they move.

  11. A wave in a ripple tank reflects off the side and returns. Which of these stays the same after reflection?

    • The wave's position, which is moved to the side of the tank by the barrier that it hits
    • The wave's source, which is moved to the far end of the tank by the reflection process
    • The wave's direction of travel, which is reversed so the wave heads back the way it came
    • The wave's frequency

  12. Which statement about water waves is correct?

    • Water waves carry energy from one place to another without carrying the water along.
    • Water waves always travel faster than the water particles move, so the particles never catch up.
    • Water waves carry the water forward across the whole pond from one end to the other.
    • Water waves carry no energy at all, since they are only a visible pattern on the surface.

  13. What does it mean when two waves on a pond cancel each other out?

    • The waves stop travelling and fall to the bottom of the pond, where they stay for a while.
    • The waves change into sound waves, which carry their energy away from the surface of the pond.
    • Their displacements are equal and opposite, so the water surface is flat at that point.
    • The waves join to form one wave twice as fast, which then travels across the pond quickly.

  14. Which pattern shows that waves on water can reinforce each other?

    • A wave moving at right angles to its direction of travel, which shows its transverse nature
    • A wave reflecting back from a barrier, which shows the wave bouncing off the side of the tank
    • A crest meeting a trough to form a flat surface, which shows the waves cancelling each other
    • A crest meeting a crest to form a bigger crest

  15. Why is it correct to describe a ripple tank as showing waves on water?

    • The tank is filled with air, so the waves are really waves travelling through the air above it.
    • Ripples pass across the surface, and their pattern can reflect, reinforce and cancel.
    • The ripples are sound waves that the water carries, which is why the tank shows them so clearly.
    • The water inside the tank is compressed as the wave passes, so the waves are pressure waves.

  16. Which statement describes what happens to the water particles in a wave that travels across the surface?

    • They travel across the pond with the wave until they reach the far bank of the pond.
    • They move in circles that carry them steadily forwards along the length of the wave pattern.
    • They stop moving once the wave has passed over them and stay still at the surface.
    • They move up and down about roughly fixed positions while the wave pattern moves on.

  17. Two water waves of the same frequency meet with their troughs in line. What is the effect at that line?

    • The waves stop and the water is still for a moment, before the two waves carry on as before.
    • The troughs turn into crests straight away, which reverses the direction of the displacement.
    • The troughs add, making a deeper trough at that point.
    • The troughs cancel and the water is flat, which is the same effect as a crest meeting a trough.

  18. Why is the ripple pattern in a tank drawn as a series of lines?

    • The lines show the direction in which the water particles are moving at each point in the tank.
    • The lines show the temperature of the water across the tank, which varies at each point.
    • The lines show the mass of water moved by each wave as it crosses the tank from end to end.
    • The lines show the crests of the waves, which are the highest parts of the surface.

  19. A ripple moves at 0.5 m/s across a tank. How far does the ripple travel in 4 seconds?

    • 0.125 m, which is found by dividing the speed of the ripple by the time it has taken
    • 2 m
    • 8 m, which is found by multiplying the speed of the ripple by the time and then by four
    • 4.5 m, which is found by adding the speed of the ripple to the time it has been moving

  20. What happens to the speed of a water wave when it moves into shallower water?

    • It speeds up, because the wave is pushed along more strongly by the shallow bottom below it.
    • It slows down.
    • It stops completely at the boundary, because shallow water cannot carry any wave at all.
    • It stays exactly the same, because the speed of a water wave never depends on the depth of water.

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