JEE-Physics

ALLEN
WAVE ON STRING
ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS

1. A wave is moving towards positive x-axis as shown in figure. Then the point (s) at which acceleration
and velocity of particle are parallel to each other :-

A B

C D

(A) A,D (B) B,C (C) A (D) A,C

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2. A pulse shown here is reflected from the rigid wall A and then from free end B. The shape of the
string after these 2 reflection will be

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(A)

(C)
A L (B)

(D)

3. The wave function of a triangular wave pulse is defined by the relation below at time t = 0 sec .

ì a y
ïmx for 0 £ x £ Direction of pulse propagation
2
ï
í a
y = ï- m( x - a) for £ x £ a
2
ï a x
î0 every where else, where m<<1

The wave pulse is moving in the +X direction in a string having tension T and mass per unit length m.
The total energy present with the wave pulse is :-

m 2Ta mTa
(A) (B) m2Ta (C) mTa (D)
2 2

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Additional Exercise on Wave on String
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4. Two strings, A and B, of lengths 4L and L respectively and same mass M each, are tied together to
form a knot 'O' and stretched under the same tension. A transverse wave pulse is sent along the
composite string from the side A, as shown to the right. Which of the following diagrams correctly
shows the reflected and transmitted wave pulses near the knot 'O'?

O
A B

A O A O B
(A) B (B)

A O

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(C) B (D) O
A B

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5. If y1 = 5 (mm) sinpt is equation of oscillation of source S1 and y2 = 5 (mm) sin(pt + p/6) be that of S2
and it takes 1 sec and ½ sec for the transverse waves to reach point A from sources S1 and S2

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respectively then the resulting amplitude at point A, is

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A
S1 S2

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(A) 5 2 + 3 mm (B) 5 3 mm (C) 5 mm (D) 5 2 mm

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6. If at t = 0 a travelling wave pulse on a string is described by the function y = , the wave
(5 + x )
2

function representing the pulse at time t, if the pulse is travelling along positive x axis with speed
2 ms-1 will be
10 10 + 2t 10
(A) (B) (C) (D) None
5 + (x + 2t)2 5+ x 2
5 + (x - 2t)2
7. The diagram shows two oscillations. What is the phase difference between the oscillations?

p 2p 3p 4p
(A) rad (B) rad (C) rad (D) rad
5 5 5 5

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 JEE-Physics
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8. In a travelling one dimensional mechanical sinusoidal, wave
(A) potential energy and kinetic energy of an element become maximum simultaneously.
(B) all particles oscillate with the same frequency and the same amplitude
(C) all particles may come to rest simultaneously
(D) we can find two particles, in a length equal to half of a wavelength, which have the same non
zero acceleration simultaneously.
9. A pulse is started at a time t = 0 along the +x direction on a long, taut string. The shape of the pulse at
t = 0 is given by function f(x) with

ìx
ïï 4 + 1 for -4 < x £ 0

f ( x ) = í- x + 1 for 0 < x <1

ï
ïî 0 otherwise

here f and x are in centimeters. The linear mass density of the string is 50 g/m and it is under a tension
of 5N.

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(A) The shape of the string is drawn at t = 0 then the area of the pulse enclosed by the string and the
x-axis is 2.5 cm2.

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(B) The shape of the string is drawn at t = 0 then the area of the pulse enclosed by the string and the
x-axis is 5 cm2.

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(C) The transverse velocity of the particle at x = 13 cm and t = 0.015 s will be – 250 cm/s

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(D) The transverse velocity of the particle at x = 13 cm and t = 0.015 s will be 250 cm/s

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10. Figure shows a snapshot graph and a history graph for a wave pulse on a stretched string. They
describe the same wave from two perspectives.

Snapshot at t = 0.01s Y Y History at x = 2cm

x (cm) t (s)
–6 –4 –2 0.02 0.04 0.06

(A) The wave is travelling in positive x-direction

(B) The wave is travelling in negative x-direction
(C) The speed of the wave is 2 m/s.
(D) The peak is located at x = –6 cm at t = 0.
Paragraph for Question no. 11 to 13
The phenomenon we call tsunami is a series of large waves of extremely long wavelength and period
usually generated by a violent, impulsive undersea disturbance or activity near the coast or in the
ocean. Once a tsunami has been generated, its energy is distributed throughout the water column,
regardless of the ocean’s depth. The waves will travel outward on the surface of the ocean in all
direction away from the source area, much like the ripples caused by throwing a rock into a pond.
The deeper the water, the greater the speed of tsunami waves will be. For example, at the deepest
ocean depths the tsunami wave speed will be as much as 800 km/hr.

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Additional Exercise on Wave on String
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Tsunamis arrive at a coastline as a series of successive crests (high water levels) and troughs (low
water levels) – usually occurring 10 minutes apart. As they enter the shallow waters of coastlines,
bays, or harbors, their speed decreases to 50 km/hr. However 100 or more kilometers away, another
tsunami wave travels in deep water towards the same shore at a much greater speed, and still behind
it there is another wave, traveling at even greater speed. As the tsunami waves become compressed
near the coast, the wavelength is shortened and the wave energy is directed upward-thus increasing
their heights considerably. Just as with ordinary surf, the energy of the tsunami waves must be contained
in a smaller volume of water, so the waves grow in height.
11. The graph of Tsunami wave as it approaches the coast is
y y

(A) x (towards coast) (B) x (towards coast)

y y

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(C) x (towards coast) (D) x (towards coast)

12.

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The ratio of wavelength of Tsunami wave at centre and at coast is

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(A) 20 (B) 16 (C) 5 (D) 12
13. Frequency at centre of Tsunami will be

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(A) 8.33 × 10–4 Hz (B) 12.33 × 10–4 Hz (C) 8.33 × 104 Hz (D) 12.33 × 104 Hz
Paragraph for Question no. 14 and 15
Let’s investigate what happens when we combine two waves with the same amplitude and phase but
slightly different frequencies f1 and f2 and, therefore, different wavelengths and wave numbers:
f1 = v/l1 = (k1/2p) v and f2 = v/l2 = (k2/2p)v. The superposition of these waves is
y(x,t) = A sin (k1 x – w1t) + A sin (k2x – w2t)
For analysing the snapshot of medium we take t = 0 and for analysing motion at a point we take
x=0
1
Also, let’s define the average wave number k av = ( k1 + k 2 )
2
The wave number difference Dk = k2 – k1
1
Average angular frequencies wav = (w + w2)
2 1
angular frequency difference Dw = w1 – w2
14. Mark the CORRECT statement :-
(A) The resultant amplitude of the wave varies with time t not position x
(B) The resultant amplitude of the wave varies with position x not time t
(C) The resultant amplitude of the wave varies with time t as well as position x
(D) The particles oscillate with angular frequency w1 – w2

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 JEE-Physics
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15. Mark the CORRECT statement :-
(A) If amplitude is maximum at x = 0 then it will be also maximum at x = p/Dk
(B) If amplitude is maximum at x = 0 then it will be also maximum at x = 2p/Dk
(C) If amplitude is maximum at t = 0 then it will be also maximum at t = p/Dw
(D) If amplitude is maximum at t = 0 then it will be also maximum at t = p/2Dw
16. The equation of a plane wave is given by Y = (10–3) sin p (10t – 3 x–y) where x, y and Y are
expressed in metre and t in second. Find (a) the direction of propagation of the wave (b) wavelength
and (c) phase difference between two points A ( 3 m, 1m) and B( 2 3 m, 2m).
17. A plane progressive wave of frequency 50 Hz, travelling along positive x-axis is represented as
y = (5 × 10–5 m) sin (100 pt) at x = 0, wave speed is 300 m/s. Maximum difference in displacements
at x = 0 and x = –3 m at any instant is Dy (in mm). Write 10Dy in OMR sheet.
18. A loose coil of flexible rope of length L and mass m rests on a frictionless table. A force S is applied
at one end of the rope and more and more rope is pulled from the coil with a constant velocity v. A
transverse pulse is produced in the rope while the rope is being pulled from the coil. The velocity of
the pulse in the rope (relative to the surface of the table) will be (assuming the pulse moves in the

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direction of the pull.)

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SL 1 SL
(A) zero (B) 2v (C) (D)
m 2 m

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19. A 1m long rod of negligible weight is suspended by two wires P & Q of equal length as shown in figure.

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The cross-sectional areas are 1.5 cm2 & 1 cm2. The densities of these materials are 7.8 gm/cc & 2.6 gm/
cc respectively. At what point along the rod should a weight w be suspended in order to produce equal

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stress in the strings. What is the ratio of velocities of transverse waves in these strings.

20. A uniform wire of length l and mass m is hanging from a fixed support as shown. A transverse wave
pulse is produced at the top of rod, and a stone is dropped simultaneously from top. Then :-

stone

(A) Stone will definitely overtake the pulse, irrespective of length of wire.
(B) Location of overtake will be independent of mass of wire, provided length remains same.
(C) As the wavepulse travels downward its length of pulse decreases.
(D) As the wavepulse travels downward its length of pulse increases.

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Additional Exercise on Wave on String
ALLEN
Paragraph for Question No. 21 and 22
A suspension bridge consists of a pair of cables hung between two towers with the roadway suspended
from these cables by means of closely spaced vertical wires of negligible mass as shown in figure.
Each flexible cable of length l (> L) and mass m hangs between two poles and mass of roadway
section is M distributed uniformly along length L. At the ends, the cable makes an angle of a with the
walls. (Assume each cable bears equal load and M>>m)`

m
a

M
L

Hanging Bridge
21. The shape of any cable is best describe by equation assuming center of a cable is origin, vertical

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direction is taken as positive Y-axis and horizontal right taken as positive X-axis?

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cot a 2 tan a 2 tan a 2 cot a 2
(A) y = x (B) y = x (C) y = x (D) y = x
2L 2L L L

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22. If a small amplitude transverse pulse is passed through the cable, what is the speed of transverse

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waves at the middle ?

1 Mgl tan a Mgl tan a 1 Mgl cot a Mgl cot a

A
(A) (B) (C) (D)
2 m m 2 m m
Paragraph for Questions 23 and 24
In a uniform, freely hanging rope wave velocity v varies with the distance z from the top. This is
because the tension T varies while the mass per unit length µ remains constant. Suppose you want to
design a freely hanging rope in which wave velocity v is independent of z. For such a rope, µ cannot
be constant, and you must specify the function µ(z).
23. The desired form of µ(z) if the rope is infinitely long is [µ0 is the mass per unit length of the rope at the
top (z = 0)] :-

( ) é æ g ö ù
(B) m ( z ) = m 0 ê1 - ç 2
- g / v2 z
(A) µ(z) = m0 e ÷ zú
ë èv ø û

é æ g ö ù
(C) µ(z) = m0 e (
- 2g / v2 ) z
(D) m ( z ) = m 0 ê1 + ç 2 ÷ zú
ë èv ø û
24. If total mass of the above string is m, suppose we take only length L of this rope from top such that we
can still have constant wave speed on the finite rope. In order to achieve this we have to hang a mass
M on the end. What is the hanging mass :-

-2µ L / m -µ L / 2 m m -µ L / m
(A) M = me 0 (B) M = me 0 (C) M = (D) M = me 0
2 - e 2m0 L / m

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 JEE-Physics
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Paragraph for Question No. 25 & 26
A non-uniform wire under constant tension has a variable linear mass density. Mass density is uniform
for -¥ £ x £ 0 . In this region, a transverse wave has the form y = 0.003 cos (25x – 50 t) where x and
y are in metre and t in second. From x = 0 to x = 20 m the linear mass density decreases gradually

m1 m
from µ1 to . For 20 £ x £ ¥, the linear mass density is µ = 1 . Assume that variation in linear mass
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density is gradual so that an incident wave is transmitted without reflection.
25. Find the wave velocity for 20 £ x £ ¥ :-
(A) 2 m/s (B) 8 m/s (C) 4 m/s (D) 2 2 m/s

26. Give the wave function for 20 £ x £ ¥ :-

(A) y(x, t) = 0.003 cos (12.5 x – 50t) (B) y(x, t) = 0.0042 cos (12.5 x – 50t)
(C) y(x, t) = 0.0042 cos (25x – 50t) (D) y(x, t) = 0.006 cos (12.5 x – 25t)
27. A uniform rope of length 12 m and having a mass 6 kg hangs vertically from a rigid support. A block

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of mass 2 kg is attached to the free end of rope. A transverse pulse of wavelength 0.06 m is produced
at the lower end of rope. Its wavelength when it reaches the top end of the rope is given by a m. Find

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50a ?

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28. A transverse wave travelling in a string of linear mass density µ1 is incident on junction point J. The

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æm ö
intensities of reflected and transmitted wave both as a function of ç 2 ÷ are plotted. The correct
è m1 ø

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sketch is :
J
µ1 x=0 µ2

IT IR
100% 100%
Intensity
Intensity

(A) (B)
µ µ
—2 —2
µ1 µ1
IR IT

IR IT
400% 100%
Intensity

Intensity

(C) 100% µ (D) µ

—2 —2
µ1 µ1
IT IR

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Additional Exercise on Wave on String
ALLEN
29. Two pulses on a string approach each other at speeds of 1 m/s. What is the shape of the string at t = 3s:-
1m/s 1m/s
t=0 s

x(m)
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

(A) x(m) (B)

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 x(m)
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

(C) (D) x(m)

x(m) 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
30. Statement-1 : When a pulse on string reflects from free end, the resultant pulse is formed in such a
way that slope of string at free end is zero.

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Statement-2 : Zero resultant slope ensures that there is no force component perpendicular to string.
(A) Statement-1 is True, Statement-2 is True, Statement-2 is a correct explanation for statement-1

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(B) Statement-1 is True, Statement-2 is True, Statement-2 is NOT a correct explanation for

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Statement-1
(C) Statement-1 is True, Statement-2 is False

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(D) Statement-1 is False, Statement-2 is True
31. A wave pulse on a string has the dimension shown in figure. The waves speed is v = 1 cm/s. If point

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O is a free end. The shape of wave at time t = 3 s is :

(A) (B) (C) (D)

32. A progressive wave travelling to the right hits a hard surface and gets reflected after suffering a phase
change of 180°. The diagram below shows the incident wave at a particular instant of time. Which of
the following shows the corresponding reflected wave?

(A) (B)

(C) (D)

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 JEE-Physics
ALLEN
33. A standing wave y = 2 A sin kx cos wt is setup in the conducting wire PQ fixed at both ends by two
vertical walls (see the figure). The region between the walls contains a constant magnetic field B. The
wire is found to vibrate in the 3rd harmonic (where PQ = L) :-
y
B
× × × × ×
× × × × ×
P x
× × × × × Q
× × × × ×

4ABw
(A) The maximum emf induced is
k
p
(B) The time when the emf becomes zero for the first time is
2w
(C) The total emf induced is always zero between x = 0 and x = 2L/3
(D) At t = 0, the emf in the entire wire is zero.
Paragraph for Question no. 34 to 36

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A metallic rod of length 1m has one end free and other end rigidly clamped. Longitudinal stationary
waves are set up in the rod in such a way that there are total six antinodes present along the rod. The

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amplitude of an antinode is 4 × 10–6 m. Young's modulus and density of the rod are 6.4 × 1010 N/m2

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and 4 × 103 Kg/m3 respectively. Consider the free end to be at origin and at t=0 particles at free end
are at positive extreme.

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34. The equation describing displacements of particles about their mean positions is

æ 11p ö

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-6
(A) s = 4 ´ 10 cos çè x ÷ cos ( 22p ´ 10 3 t )
2 ø

æ 11p ö
-6
(B) s = 4 ´ 10 cos çè x ÷ sin ( 22p ´ 103 t )
2 ø

(C) s = 4 ´ 10 cos ( 5p x ) cos ( 20p ´ 10 3 t )

-6

(D) s = 4 ´ 10 -6 cos ( 5p x ) sin ( 20p ´ 103 t )

35. The equation describing stress developed in the rod is

æ 11 ö
(A) 140.8p ´ 10 cos çè p x + p ÷ø cos ( 22p ´ 10 t )
4 3

æ 11 ö
(B) 140.8p ´ 10 sin çè p x + p ÷ø cos ( 22p ´ 10 t )
4 3

(C) 128p ´ 10 4 cos ( 5p x + p ) cos ( 20p ´ 10 3 t )

(D) 128p ´ 10 4 sin ( 5p x + p ) cos ( 20p ´ 10 3 t )

36. The magnitude of strain at midpoint of the rod at t= 1 sec is
(A) 11 3p ´ 10 -6 (B) 11 2p ´ 10 -6 (C) 10 3p ´ 10 -6 (D) 10 2p ´ 10 -6

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Additional Exercise on Wave on String
ALLEN
37. In the arrangement shown in figure, a mass can be hung from a string (with a linear mass density of
µ = 0.00100 kg/m) that passes over a light pulley. The string is connected to a vibrator (of constant
frequency f), and the length of the string between point P and the pulley is L = 2.00 m. When the mass
m is either 16.0 kg or 25.0 kg, standing wave are observed; however, no standing waves are observed
with any mass between these values. What is the frequency of the vibrator (in Hz) ?

Vibrator L
Pulley
P µ

38. A 3.6 m long vertical pipe is filled completely with a liquid. A small hole is drilled at the base of the
pipe due to which liquids starts leaking out. This pipe resonates with a tuning fork. The first two
resonances occur when height of water column is 3.22 m and 2.34 m respectively. The area of cross-
section of pipe is (20p)A0cm2. Find the vlaue of A0.

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4rA 2 w2 pS

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39. The mechanical energy between a given node and other node on a string is , where r is
k

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the mass density of the string, S is the cross-sectional area, A is the amplitude of two harmonic waves
of angular velocity w travelling on the string in opposite directions. Find the number of loops for

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which mechanical energy is given as above
40. The equation of a standing wave produced on a string fixed at both the ends is -

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y = (0.4) sin [(0.314 cm–1)x] cos [(600 p s–1)t]
What would be the smallest length of the string?
(A) 20 cm (B) 30 cm (C) 10 cm (D) 5 cm
41. A guitar string is 80 cm long and has a fundamental frequency of 400 Hz. In its fundamental mode the
maximum displacement is 2mm at the middle. If the tension in the string is 10N, what is the maximum
value of that component of the force on the end support which is perpendicular to the equilibrium
position of the string ?

q x(cm)
O l

p p p p
(A) N (B) N (C) N (D) N
40 80 20 10
42. A wire is 4 m long and has a mass 0.2 kg. The wire is kept horizontally. A transverse pulse is
generated by plucking one end of the taut (tight) wire. The pulse makes four trips back and forth
along the cord in 0.8 sec. The tension is the cord will be :-
(A) 80 N (B) 160 N (C) 240 N (D) 320 N

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 JEE-Physics
ALLEN
43. A nonuniform rope of length l hangs from a ceiling. Mass per unit length of rope (µ) changes as
µ = µ0ey, where y is the distance along the string from its lowest point. Then graph between square of
velocity of wave and y will be best represented as :

2 2 2 2
vy vy vy vy

(A) (B) (C) (D)

y y y y

44. A loop of rope is whirled at an angular velocity 100 rad/sec, so that it becomes a taut circle of radius
1m. A kink develops in the whirling rope as shown in figure. Linear mass density of the rope is 0.1kg/
m. The speed of kink relative to rope (in m/s) is V. The value of V/20 is :-

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kink

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y(x = 0, t) = 8 sin 4t [cm] L
Paragraph for Question Nos. 45 and 46
A thin string is held at one end and oscillated vertically, so that

é kg ù
Neglect the gravitational force. The string’s density is 0.2 ê m ú and its tension is 20N. The string
ë û
passes through a bath filled with 1kg water. Due to friction, heat is transferred to the bath. The heat
transfer efficiency is 50%.
45. The power transfer to the bath is :-
(A) 0.0512 watt (B) 0.0124 watt (C) 0.1024 watt (D) 0.0345 watt
46. The time passes before the temperature of the bath rises one degree kelvin is nearly :-
(A) 11.4 hr. (B) 22.8 hr. (C) 5.6 hr. (D) 8 hr.
47. A massless rod BD is suspended by two identical strings AB and CD of equal length. A block of
mass m is suspended from point O such that BO is equal to ‘x’. Further, it is observed that the
frequency of 1st harmonic (fundamental frequency) in AB is equal to 2nd harmonic frequency in CD.
Then, length of BO is [IIT-JEE 2006]
L L
(A) (B)
5 4

4L 3L
(C) (D)
5 4

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Additional Exercise on Wave on String
ALLEN
48. A wave travelling along the x-axis is described by the equation y (x, t ) = 0.005 cos ( ax - bt ). If the
wavelength and the time period of the wave in 0.08m and 2.0 s respectively then a and b in appropriate
units are [AIEEE - 2008]
0.08 2.0
(A) a = 25.00p, b = p (B) a = , b=
p p

0.04 1.0 p
(C) a = ,b = (D) a = 12.50 p , b =
p p 2.0
49. A transverse sinusoidal wave moves along a string in the positive x-direction at a speed of 10 cm/s.
The wavelength of the wave is 0.5 m and its amplitude is 10 cm. At a particular time t, the snap-shot
of the wave is shown in figure. The velocity of point P when its displacement is 5 cm is :
[IIT-JEE 2008]

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x

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3p 3p 3p 3p
(A) ĵ m/s (B) - ĵ m/s (C) î m/s (D) - î m/s
50 50 50 50

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Additional Questions Answer key
1. Ans. (D) 2. Ans. (A) 3. Ans. (B) 4. Ans. (A)
5. Ans. (C) 6. Ans. (C) 7. Ans. (B) 8. Ans. (A,B,D)
9. Ans. (AC) 10. Ans. (A, C, D) 11. Ans. (A) 12. Ans. (B)
13. Ans. (A) 14. Ans. (C) 15. Ans. (B)
16. Ans. (a) Along a straight in xy plane through origin in at 30° with x-axis, (b) 1m, (c) 4p
17. Ans. 1 18. Ans. (B) 19. Ans. x = 0.4m; 1 : 3
20. Ans. (A, B, C) 21. Ans. (D) 22. Ans. (A) 23. Ans. (A)
24. Ans. (D) 25. Ans. (C) 26. Ans. (B) 27. Ans. 006
28. Ans. (B) 29. Ans. (C) 30. Ans. (A) 31. Ans. (D)
32. Ans. (C) 33. Ans. (A,C,D) 34. Ans. (A) 35. Ans. (B)
36. Ans. (B) 37. Ans. 500 38. Ans. 5 39. Ans. 4
40. Ans. (C) 41. Ans. (A) 42. Ans. (A) 43. Ans. (A)
44. Ans. 5 45. Ans. (A) 46. Ans. (B) 47. Ans. (A)
48. Ans. (A) 49. Ans. (A)

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