Practice Standing Waves in Physics

Use these practice problems to test your method after reviewing the concept explanation and worked examples.

Quick Recap

Standing waves are wave patterns that stay in place, formed when two waves of the same frequency and amplitude travel in opposite directions and interfere.

The pattern looks frozen, with points that never move and others that vibrate the most.

Showing a random 20 of 50 problems.

Example 1

challenge
A closed-open pipe and an open-open pipe both have fundamental frequency 200200 Hz. The closed-open pipe is how many times the length of the open-open pipe?

Example 2

medium
At a node of a standing wave, the displacement is always _____ and the pressure variation (for sound in a tube) is _____.

Example 3

easy
How many half-wavelengths fit on a fixed-fixed string in its 3rd mode (n=3n=3)?

Example 4

medium
A string vibrates in its 3rd harmonic at 300300 Hz. The wave speed is 200200 m/s. Find the string length.

Example 5

medium
A guitar string of length 0.650.65 m has wave speed 400400 m/s. Find the fundamental frequency.

Example 6

hard
A guitar string sounds A4 (440440 Hz) as its fundamental. The player presses a fret so the vibrating length is 80%80\% of the original. What is the new fundamental frequency?

Example 7

medium
A fixed-fixed string at n=2n=2 has wavelength 0.50.5 m. Find the string length.

Example 8

easy
Two waves travel in opposite directions with the same frequency and amplitude. The pattern they form is called a __________.

Example 9

challenge
A wire fixed at both ends (length 0.75 m) has wave speed 300 m/s. Find the frequency of its 3rd harmonic.

Example 10

medium
A string under tension T=80T = 80 N has linear density μ=0.005\mu = 0.005 kg/m, length 1.01.0 m. Find the fundamental frequency. (Use v=T/μv = \sqrt{T/\mu}.)

Example 11

easy
What is an antinode in a standing wave?

Example 12

easy
A standing wave on a fixed-fixed string has fundamental wavelength λ1=2.0\lambda_1 = 2.0 m. What is the string length LL?

Example 13

medium
A fixed-fixed string of length 0.8 m supports a standing wave with 3 half-wavelengths (n=3n=3). Find the wavelength.

Example 14

easy
In the fundamental mode of a fixed-fixed string, how many antinodes are there?

Example 15

medium
On a fixed-fixed string, the 2nd harmonic has frequency 180180 Hz. What is the fundamental?

Example 16

challenge
Two waves y1=Asin(kxωt)y_1 = A\sin(kx - \omega t) and y2=Asin(kx+ωt)y_2 = A\sin(kx + \omega t) superpose. The resulting standing wave has the form 2Asin(kx)cos(ωt)2A\sin(kx)\cos(\omega t). At what positions xx (smallest positive) is the first node, given k=πk = \pi per meter?

Example 17

medium
A standing wave has nodes 0.4 m apart. What is the wavelength?

Example 18

easy
A standing wave on a string forms with n=1n=1. Using L=nλ2L = n\frac{\lambda}{2}, find λ\lambda if L=0.6L = 0.6 m.

Example 19

medium
A string 1.21.2 m long vibrates at 150150 Hz with wavelength 0.60.6 m. (a) What mode is this? (b) What is the wave speed?

Example 20

easy
Are standing waves a new kind of wave or an interference pattern?