Free Practice Quiz Question List

8 Wave Optics Online Quiz Questions

Use this free practice quiz with 20 questions to review 8 Wave Optics, test your knowledge, and prepare for your next test or exam.

20 questions

True or false

1 point

True or false: When light enters a material, its frequency stays the same even though its speed and wavelength change.

A
True
B
False

Choose one

1 point

Which description identifies coherent waves, the kind needed to produce stable interference fringes?

A
Waves with the same wavelength that arrive with unrelated phases
B
Waves with the same frequency and a steady phase relationship
C
Waves that travel in opposite directions at different speeds
D
Waves whose amplitudes increase continuously over time

Choose one

1 point

Sound is often heard around a doorway more readily than visible light is seen around it. Which explanation best accounts for this difference?

A
Visible light bends more because its wavelength is much shorter than sound's.
B
Both bend equally because all waves diffract by the same amount at any opening.
C
Sound bends more noticeably because its wavelength is more comparable to a doorway's size.
D
Sound bends more because it is longitudinal, while light is transverse.

Fill in the blank

1 point

In Young's double-slit experiment, a bright fringe occurs when the path difference $\Delta\ell$ equals .

Choose one

1 point

A single slit is made narrower while the light's wavelength stays fixed. What happens to the diffraction pattern?

A
The pattern becomes narrower because less light passes through.
B
The pattern becomes wider because the slit is narrower.
C
The pattern's width stays unchanged, but its fringes become evenly spaced.
D
The pattern disappears because a narrow slit prevents diffraction.

Choose all

1 point

Select all statements that correctly describe a wave-optics phenomenon.

A
Interference can produce alternating bright and dark regions when waves overlap.
B
Diffraction is the spreading of light at an opening or edge.
C
Polarization is the spreading of light as it passes through an opening.
D
Polarization reveals the transverse direction of a wave's oscillation.

True or false

1 point

True or false: Two ideal polarizers with crossed transmission axes transmit no light through the second polarizer.

A
True
B
False

Fill in the blank

1 point

For a single slit of width $a$ , dark minima occur when $a\sin\theta=$ , where $m$ is a nonzero integer.

Written response

1 point

What is the name of the law expressed by $I=I_0\cos^2\theta$ for polarized light passing through a filter?

Written response

1 point

In a double-slit experiment, $\lambda=500\,\mathrm{nm}$ , the screen distance is $D=2.0\,\mathrm{m}$ , and the slit separation is $d=0.25\,\mathrm{mm}$ . Using $\Delta y=\frac{\lambda D}{d}$ , what is the approximate spacing between adjacent bright fringes?

Choose all

1 point

Select all statements that correctly describe light as an electromagnetic wave.

A
The electric and magnetic fields are perpendicular to each other.
B
Both fields are perpendicular to the direction the wave travels.
C
In a vacuum, the speed of light is related to frequency and wavelength by $c=f\lambda$ .
D
The electric field points along the direction the light travels.

Choose one

1 point

A beam is already polarized, with its electric field horizontal. Which transmission-axis orientation of an ideal filter will transmit the most light?

A
Set the axis at a right angle to the electric-field direction.
B
Set the axis at $45^\circ$ to the electric-field direction.
C
Align the axis parallel to the electric-field direction.
D
The axis angle does not affect transmitted intensity.

Open ended

1 point

A real double-slit pattern has fine interference fringes within a broader intensity pattern, and some expected fringes are missing. Explain how finite slit width accounts for both observations.

Choose one

1 point

Unpolarized light of intensity $I_0$ passes through an ideal first polarizer. What best describes the light immediately after that polarizer?

A
It emerges unpolarized at its original intensity.
B
It emerges polarized with half its original intensity.
C
It emerges polarized with its original intensity.
D
It is completely blocked.

Written response

1 point

Light in a vacuum has frequency $5.0\times10^{14}\,\text{Hz}$ . Using $c=3.0\times10^8\,\text{m/s}$ , what is its wavelength?

Choose one

1 point

At a point on a screen in a double-slit experiment, the path difference is $\Delta \ell = \frac{3}{2}\lambda$ . What kind of fringe occurs there?

A
A bright fringe
B
A dark fringe
C
A region with no interference

Choose one

1 point

A person wearing polarized sunglasses notices less glare from a horizontal surface, but some glare remains. Which explanation best fits wave optics?

A
They always eliminate all reflected light.
B
They can reduce glare because reflected light is often partially polarized.
C
They work by making the reflected light diffract more strongly.

Choose one

1 point

A student observes the pattern formed by light passing through a single slit. Which description of the central bright maximum is correct?

A
The central maximum is wider and brighter than the side maxima.
B
The central maximum is narrower and dimmer than the side maxima.
C
All maxima have the same width and brightness.

True or false

1 point

An ideal polarizing filter can select one transverse oscillation direction from a sound wave traveling through air.

A
True
B
False

Written response

1 point

For light incident on an ideal polarizing filter, what does the filter do to the electric-field component perpendicular to its transmission axis?