Physics — A-Level

Electromagnetic Spectrum — Multiple-Choice Questions (Cambridge International A-Level Physics): Exam Questions

Exam code:9702

18 questions · 18 marks · ≈ 18 min

Guided practice

11 markeasy

Which of the following is the approximate range of frequencies of infrared radiation?

Choose your answer

1 × 10¹⁴ – 1 × 10¹⁶ Hz

1 × 10¹² – 1 × 10¹⁴ Hz

1 × 10⁹ – 1 × 10¹¹ Hz

1 × 10³ – 1 × 10⁹ Hz

21 markeasy

Which of the following statements is a correct description of part of the electromagnetic spectrum?

Choose your answer

waves of wavelength 5 × 10^–7 m are infrared waves

waves of wavelength 5 × 10^–9 m are high energy gamma rays

waves of wavelength 9 × 10^–7 m are light waves

waves of wavelength 3 × 10^–8 m are ultraviolet waves

31 markeasy

Which of the following give the order of magnitude of frequencies of the visible part of the electromagnetic spectrum?

Choose your answer

10¹⁵ Hz

10¹⁴ Hz

10¹³ Hz

10¹⁶ Hz

41 markeasy

The diagram shows part of the electromagnetic spectrum.

cie-ial-images344png

Which row correctly labels the regions marked P and Q?

	P	Q
A	infrared	x-ray
B	ultraviolet	x-ray
C	x-ray	infrared
D	infrared	microwaves

Choose your answer

51 markeasy

Which of the following do not travel at the speed of light in a vacuum?

Choose your answer

x-rays

radio waves

microwaves

electrons

61 markeasy

Which of the following is the number of wavelengths in one metre of visible light?

Choose your answer

10⁴

10⁶

10⁸

10¹⁰

71 markmedium

Two lasers are set up to pass through a vacuum. One laser emits red light; the other emits green light.

Which property of the two lasers are different?

Choose your answer

speed

plane of polarisation

frequency

amplitude

81 markmedium

The wavelength of light emitted by a laser is 600 nm.

Which of the following is the distance in number of wavelengths, that is travelled by light in one second?

Choose your answer

5.0 × 10¹⁴ s^–1

5.0 × 10⁸ s^–1

5.0 × 10¹¹ s^–1

5.0 × 10¹⁷ s^–1

91 markmedium

Waves of the electromagnetic spectrum travel through a vacuum at speed c and with a wavelength λ and frequency f

Which of the following describes the speed and wavelength when the frequency is $\frac{f}{2}$ ?

	λ	c
A	$2λ$	$2c$
B	$2λ$	$c$
C	$\frac{λ}{2}$	$c$
D	$\frac{λ}{2}$	$\frac{c}{2}$

Choose your answer

101 markmedium

The diameter of a nucleus and the wavelength of an electromagnetic wave are in the same order of magnitude.

In which region of the electromagnetic spectrum would that wavelength occur?

Choose your answer

infrared

visible light

x-ray

gamma-ray

111 markmedium

R is a source emitting infra-red radiation and S is a source emitting ultra-violet radiation. The table suggests the wavelengths for R and S.

Which row is correct?

	Wavelength emitted by R / m	Wavelength emitted by S / m
A	5 × 10^–7	5 × 10^–8
B	5 × 10^–8	5 × 10^–10
C	5 × 10^–5	5 × 10^–8
D	5 × 10^–5	5 × 10^–10

Choose your answer

121 markmedium

Which statement would be deduced from a table of wavelengths of the waves in the electromagnetic spectrum?

Choose your answer

the wavelength range for radio waves is less than that for infrared waves

the wavelength range for x-rays is less than that for radio waves

red light has a shorter wavelength than green light

green light has a shorter wavelength than x-rays

131 markmedium

A telescope detects electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths 2 cm.

Which type of telescope is it ?

Choose your answer

x-ray telescope

optical telescope

microwave telescope

radio telescope

141 markmedium

P is a source emitting radio waves and Q is a source emitting X-rays. The table suggests the wavelengths for P and Q.

Which row is correct?

	Wavelength emitted by P / m	Wavelength emitted by Q / m
A	$3\times10^{-1}$	$3 \times 10^{-11}$
B	$3 \times 10^{-7}$	$3\times10^{-15}$
C	$3 \times 10^{-2}$	$3\times10^{-15}$
D	$3 \times 10^{-7}$	$3 \times 10^{-11}$

Choose your answer

151 markhard

An infrared wave has a wavelength of 30 µm and frequency f_infrared.An x-ray has a wavelength of 400 pm and frequency f_x-ray.

What is the value of the ratio $\frac{f_{x-ray}}{f_{infrared}}$ ?

Choose your answer

1.3 × 10⁻⁵

0.075

7.5 × 10⁴

161 markhard

Fig. 1.1 shows the percentage of transmitted wavelengths which can travel through Earth’s atmosphere and reach sea level.

cie-7-4-mcq-hard-q2-cie-ial-physics

Fig. 1.1

What is the range of frequencies that can penetrate Earth’s atmosphere and reach sea level?

Choose your answer

$10\mathrm{nHz}\leq f\leq100\mathrm{μHz},1\mathrm{mHz}\leq f\leq10\mathrm{Hz}$

$10\mathrm{Hz}\leq f\leq100\mathrm{Hz}$

$30\mathrm{MHz}\leq f\leq300\mathrm{GHz},3\mathrm{THz}\leq f\leq3000\mathrm{THz}$

$30\mathrm{MHz}\leq f\leq300\mathrm{THz}$

171 markhard

Monochromatic light is incident normally upon a double slit where the distance between the slits is 0.02 mm. The angle between the second-order and central maxima is 3.96°.

What is the colour of the monochromatic light?

Choose your answer

Violet

Blue

Green

Red

181 markhard

The table below contains the frequencies of various parts of the electromagnetic spectrum.

Which row correctly describes X as infrared and Y as X-rays?

	X	Y
A.	3 × 10⁵ Hz	3 × 10²⁰ Hz
B.	3 × 10¹⁰ Hz	3 × 10¹⁶ Hz
C.	3 × 10¹⁸ Hz	3 × 10¹⁴ Hz
D.	3 × 10¹⁴Hz	3 × 10¹⁹ Hz

Choose your answer

infrared

x-ray

ultraviolet

x-ray

infrared

microwaves

2λ

2c

2λ

c

\frac{λ}{2}

c

\frac{λ}{2}

\frac{c}{2}

Wavelength emitted by R / m

Wavelength emitted by S / m

5 × 10^–7

5 × 10^–8

5 × 10^–10

5 × 10^–5

5 × 10^–8

5 × 10^–5

5 × 10^–10

Wavelength emitted by P / m

Wavelength emitted by Q / m

3\times10^{-1}

3 \times 10^{-11}

3 \times 10^{-7}

3\times10^{-15}

3 \times 10^{-2}

3\times10^{-15}

3 \times 10^{-7}

3 \times 10^{-11}

3 × 10⁵ Hz

3 × 10²⁰ Hz

3 × 10¹⁰ Hz

3 × 10¹⁶ Hz

3 × 10¹⁸ Hz

3 × 10¹⁴ Hz

3 × 10¹⁴Hz

3 × 10¹⁹ Hz