Name:_________________________________ Class:______________________ Date:________________________

Holt Physics

Answer Key

CHAPTER 11
ESSAY
Answers should include the following: A standing wave is a wave pattern that results when two waves of the same
frequency, wavelength, and amplitude travel in opposite directions and interfere. The passage describes antinodes,
points on the standing wave that have the largest amplitude due to constructive interference, and nodes, points on the
standing wave that have the smallest amplitude due to destructive interference. A standing wave could cause a
bridge to collapse if it caused its parts to vibrate in directions and amplitudes that it was not strong enough to
accommodate.

MATH READING PASSAGES

Item Answer Correlation Item Answer Correlation
1. B 16. E
2. E 17. C
3. D 18. C
4. A 19. E
5. B 20. E
6. C
IMPROVING SENTENCES
7. A
8. E Item Answer Correlation
9. E 21. C
10. B 22. B
23. B
SENTENCE COMPLETION
24. E
Item Answer Correlation
11. E
12. C
13. E
14. A
15. D

Original content Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. Additions and changes to the original content are the responsibility of the instructor.

Holt Physics: Chapter 11 1 SAT Bellringer

Name:_________________________________ Class:______________________ Date:________________________
Holt Physics: Vibrations and Waves
Essay

DIRECTIONS: The essay gives you an opportunity to show how effectively you can
develop and express ideas. You should, therefore, take care to develop your ideas,
present concepts logically and clearly, and use language precisely.

Your essay must be written on your own paper. You may use both sides of a single
sheet of notebook paper. You will have enough space if you write on every line,
avoid wide margins, and keep your handwriting to a reasonable size. Remember
that people who are not familiar with your handwriting will read what you write.
Try to write or print so that what you are writing is legible to those readers.

IMPORTANT REMINDERS:
• A pencil is required for the essay. An essay written in ink will receive a score of
zero.
• Do not write your essay in your test book. You will receive credit only for what
you write on a single sheet of notebook paper.
• An off-topic essay will receive a score of zero.

Think carefully about the concept presented in the following passage and the
assignment below.

On the morning of November 7, 1940, the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, a 1600-

meter suspension bridge connecting the cities of Tacoma and Gig Harbor in
the state of Washington, began to rock violently due to vibrations caused by
wind gusts. The vibrations created a standing wave in the bridge, such that
certain portions of the bridge experienced constructive interference and
vibrated far from their rest positions, while other portions of the bridge
experienced destructive interference and remained in their rest positions.
Eventually, the standing wave caused the bridge to collapse.

ASSIGNMENT: What is a standing wave? What characteristics of a standing

wave are described in the passage? Why might a standing wave cause a bridge
to collapse? Plan and write an essay in which you address these questions.
Support your explanation with reasoning and examples taken from your
reading, studies, experience, or observations.

Holt Physics: Vibrations and Waves

GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE

Original content Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. Additions and changes to the original content are the responsibility of the instructor.

Holt Physics: Chapter 11 2 SAT Bellringer

Name:_________________________________ Class:______________________ Date:________________________

Mathematics

DIRECTIONS: In this section, solve each problem using any available space on the
page for scratch work. Then decide which of the choices given is best and fill in
the corresponding circle on the answer sheet.
NOTES:
1. The use of a calculator is permitted. All numbers used are real numbers.
2. Figures that accompany problems in this test are intended to provide
information useful in solving the problems. They are drawn as accurately as
possible EXCEPT when it is stated in a specific problem that the figure is not
drawn to scale. All figures lie in a plane unless otherwise indicated.

ag = 9.81 m/s2 Simple Pendulum in Simple Harmonic Motion

Reference Information

L
Hooke’s Law T = 2
Felastic = –kx ag

Wave Equation Mass-Spring System in Simple Harmonic Motion

v = fλ m
T = 2
k

1. If a mass of 0.75 kg attached to a vertical 3. What is the period of a mass-spring

spring stretches the spring 5.0 m from its system with a mass of 25.0 kg and a
original equilibrium position, what is the spring constant of 1.25 N/m?
spring constant? (A) 0.990 s
(A) 0.15 N/m (B) 1.40 s
(B) 1.5 N/m (C) 19.8 s
(C) 2.0 N/m (D) 28.1 s
(D) 2.4 N/m (E) 631 s
(E) 150 N/m
4. What is the period of a metronome that
2. What is the length of a pendulum that vibrates at a frequency of 4.0 Hz?
oscillates with a frequency of 0.21 Hz? (A) 0.25 s
(A) 0.011 m (B) 0.40 s
(B) 0.33 m (C) 2.0 s
(C) 2.1 m (D) 15 s
(D) 4.8 m (E) 240 s
(E) 5.6 m
Mathematics continued

GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE

Original content Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. Additions and changes to the original content are the responsibility of the instructor.

Holt Physics: Chapter 11 3 SAT Bellringer

Name:_________________________________ Class:______________________ Date:________________________
Questions 5–8 are based on the following illustration of a wave traveling in the positive x
direction with a frequency of 33.3 Hz.

5. What is the amplitude of the wave? 8. What is the speed of the wave?
(A) 5.0 cm (A) 0.0300 m/s
(B) 6.0 cm (B) 3.00 m/s
(C) 10.0 cm (C) 33.3 m/s
(D) 12.0 cm (D) 166 m/s
(E) 20.0 cm (E) 333 m/s

9. A sound wave has a frequency of 3400

6. What is the wavelength of the wave?
Hz and a wavelength of 1.5 m in a certain
(A) 5.0 cm medium. What is the speed of the wave
(B) 6.0 cm in that medium?
(C) 10.0 cm (A) 4.4 × 10-4 m/s
(D) 12.0 cm (B) 2.9 × 10-4 m/s
(E) 20.0 cm (C) 1.9 m/s
(D) 2300 m/s
7. What is the period of the wave?
(E) 5100 m/s
(A) 0.0300 s
(B) 3.00 s 10. A wave of frequency 42.5 Hz travels at a
(C) 33.3 s speed of 3.5 m/s. What is the wavelength
of the wave?
(D) 166 s
(A) 0.082 cm
(E) 333 s
(B) 8.2 cm
(C) 12 cm
(D) 150 cm
(E) 15,000 cm

Original content Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. Additions and changes to the original content are the responsibility of the instructor.

Holt Physics: Chapter 11 4 SAT Bellringer

 Holt Physics: Vibrations and Waves
Sentence Completion

DIRECTIONS: For each question in this section, select the best answer from
among the choices given and fill in the corresponding circle on the answer sheet.

11. A pendulum’s ______ stays the same 14. Vibrations in a ______ wave are always
even as its kinetic energy increases parallel to the direction of wave motion,
(if friction is disregarded). while vibrations in a ______ are
(A) speed perpendicular to the direction of wave
(B) height motion.
(C) displacement (A) longitudinal . . transverse
(D) potential energy (B) transverse . . longitudinal
(E) total mechanical energy (C) mechanical . . longitudinal
(D) transverse . . electromagnetic
12. According to Hooke’s law, spring force (E) mechanical . . electromagnetic
can be calculated by knowing the spring
constant and the ______ of the spring. 15. When the compression of one
(A) mass longitudinal wave and the rarefaction of
another combine, there is ______.
(B) thickness
(A) reflection
(C) displacement
(B) an antinode
(D) mechanical energy
(C) a standing wave
(E) equilibrium length
(D) destructive interference
13. The period of a simple pendulum in (E) constructive interference
simple harmonic motion is equal to 2
multiplied by the square root of the
______ of the pendulum divided by the
square root of its ______.
(A) length . . mass
(B) mass . . frequency
(C) frequency . . length
(D) free-fall acceleration . . mass
(E) length . . free-fall acceleration

Original content Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. Additions and changes to the original content are the responsibility of the instructor.

Holt Physics: Chapter 11 5 Sentence Completion

Name:_________________________________ Class:______________________ Date:________________________
Holt Physics: Vibrations and Waves
Reading Passages

The passages below are followed by questions based on their content; questions
following a pair of related passages may also be based on the relationship between
the paired passages. Answer the questions on the basis of what is stated or implied
in the passages. For each question in this section, select the best answer from the
choices given and fill in the corresponding circle on the answer sheet.
Questions 16-17 are based on the following Questions 18-20 are based on the following
passage. passage.
Tsunamis are large, often devastating When waves meet one another, they
ocean waves that are triggered by great can interact in different ways. The
disturbances to land or water. They overlapping of two or more waves is
Line may be caused by earthquakes, landslides, Line called superposition. Superposition can
5 volcanoes, meteorite strikes, or significant 5 involve constructive or destructive
explosions that take place on land or interference. When the superposition of
underwater. The wave that forms near the waves results in a resultant wave with an
original location of the disturbance has a amplitude that is larger than either of the
relatively small amplitude and large combining waves, the phenomenon is
10 wavelength. However, as the tsunami 10 called constructive interference. When the
nears land, its amplitude grows and its superposition of waves results in a
wavelength shortens, causing destructive resultant wave with an amplitude that is
waves that can be dozens of meters high. smaller than either of the original waves,
the phenomenon is called destructive
16. Lines 1-3 suggest that the term “tsunami” 15 interference.
might also be defined as One laboratory demonstration of a
(A) any wave that moves through land wave interaction involves two partners
(B) an earthquake occurring underwater holding each end of the rope. Both people
generate transverse waves of equal
(C) any wave that moves through water
20 amplitude that move toward each other in
(D) an ocean wave that takes place the rope. At the moment when a crest and
underwater a trough of the waves first overlap in the
(E) the motion of a great disturbance middle of the rope, the amplitude
through water becomes zero.

17. According to lines 11-13, what amplitude 18. The description of the rope experiment
can a tsunami reach at shore? described in lines 16-21 suggests that
(A) 0.3 meters (A) the waves reflected
(B) 3 meters (B) the waves formed nodes
(C) 36 meters (C) the waves interfered destructively
(D) 360 meters (D) the waves interfered constructively
(E) 3600 meters (E) the waves formed a standing wave
Reading Passages continued

GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE

Original content Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. Additions and changes to the original content are the responsibility of the instructor.

Holt Physics: Chapter 11 6 Reading Passages

Name:_________________________________ Class:______________________ Date:________________________
19. In line 14, the word “destructive” means 20. The passage implies that which two
(A) critical words are synonyms?
(B) vicious (A) resultant and original
(C) unhelpful (B) wave and interference
(D) causing ruin (C) phenomenon and amplitude
(E) making smaller (D) constructive and destructive
(E) overlapping and superposition

Original content Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. Additions and changes to the original content are the responsibility of the instructor.

Holt Physics: Chapter 11 7 Reading Passages

Name:_________________________________ Class:______________________ Date:________________________
Holt Physics: Vibrations and Waves
Improving Sentences

DIRECTIONS: For each question in this section, select the best answer from
among the choices given and fill in the corresponding circle on the answer sheet.

Part of each sentence in items 21 and 22 is Each sentence in items 23 and 24 contains
underlined. Below each sentence are five either a single error or no error at all. If the
ways of phrasing the underlined material. sentence contains an error, choose the one
Choice A repeats the original phrasing; the underlined part that must be changed to
other four choices are different. Choose the make the sentence correct. If the sentence is
answer you think produces the most correct, select choice E.
accurate sentence.
23. Mechanical waves transfer matter by
21. Wave speed equals amplitude multiplied A B
by wavelength. vibrating particles that return to their
(A) amplitude C
original equilibrium positions rather than
(B) energy
D
(C) frequency by carrying the particles along with the
(D) medium
(E) period wave. No error
E
22. In a standing wave on a guitar string, the
antinodes are the points where the string 24. Mechanical waves require a medium,
vibrates with the largest wavelength. A B
while electromagnetic waves can travel
(A) wavelength C
(B) amplitude through a vacuum. No error
(C) frequency D E
(D) period
(E) speed

Original content Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. Additions and changes to the original content are the responsibility of the instructor.

Holt Physics: Chapter 11 8 Reading Passages