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Physics - Waves and Sound

Practise 43 AIIMS previous year questions on Waves and Sound, compiled from papers spanning 2001 to 2019. Each question is pulled directly from the actual exam paper it appeared in, so you're practising in the exact style and difficulty AIIMS tests.

Waves and Sound has been asked in 15 of the 19 years of AIIMS papers analysed (2001–2019), with 43 questions in all. 35% of them were easy, 28% moderate and 37% tough. Most of its questions came from 2002, with 7 questions that year. In the last three years (2017–2019) it had 9 questions across 5 papers, about 1.8 per paper.

The chapter's 9 topics are not weighted equally: Basics of Mechanical Waves (9 questions, 21%), Travelling Waves (9 questions, 21%), and Organ Pipe (Vibration of Air Column) (7 questions, 16%) have been asked the most. Organ Pipe (Vibration of Air Column) has produced the most tough questions (4).

  1. 1A string wave equation is given and mass density is . Then find the tension in the string.26 May, 2019Basics of Mechanical Waves
  2. 2Two sources of sound and are moving towards and away from a stationary observer with same speed respectively. Observer detects 3 beats per s25 May, 2019Doppler’s Effect
  3. 3If speed of sound in air in , then find the number of overtones present in an open organ pipe of length whose frequency25 May, 2019Organ Pipe (Vibration of Air Column)
  4. 4Assertion : The speed of sound in a gas is not affected by change in pressure provided the temperature of the gas remains constant. Reason :27 May, 2018Speed of Sound Waves
  5. 5Assertion : Resonance is a special case of forced vibrations in which the natural frequency of vibration of the body is the same as the impr27 May, 2018Organ Pipe (Vibration of Air Column)
  6. 6Assertion : Water waves in a river are not polarized. Reason : Water waves are longitudinal as well as transverse in nature.26 May, 2018Basics of Mechanical Waves
  7. 7Assertion : In a string wave, during reflection from fix boundary, the reflected waves is inverted. Reason : The force on string by clmap is26 May, 2018Travelling Waves
  8. 8A wave packet with center frequency is propagating in dispersive medium with phase velocity of . When the frequency is increased by , the ph2017Travelling Waves
  9. 9When a stretched wire and a tuning fork are sounded together, 5 beats per second are produced, when length of wire is or , frequency of the 2017Beats
  10. 10A wave is represented by the equation metre It is a travelling wave propagating along direction with velocity2016Travelling Waves
  11. 11The equation of a progressive wave is given by where and are in and is in . (1) The amplitude of the wave is . (2) The wavelength of the wav2015Travelling Waves
  12. 12Assertion : The fundamental frequency of an open organ pipe increases as the temperature is increased. Reason : This is because as the tempe2015Organ Pipe (Vibration of Air Column)
  13. 13A 5.5 metre length of string has a mass of . If the tension in the string is , the velocity of the wave on the string is2014Basics of Mechanical Waves
  14. 14Assertion: The periodic time of a hard spring is less as compared to that of a soft spring. Reason: The periodic time depends upon the sprin2014Travelling Waves
  15. 15Assertion : To hear distinct beats, difference in frequencies of two sources should be less than 10 . Reason: More the number of beats per s2014Beats
  16. 16What is your observation when two sources are emitting sound with frequency and ?2011Travelling Waves
  17. 17If man were standing unsymmetrically between parallel cliffs, claps his hands and starts hearing a series of echoes at intervals of . If spe2011Beats
  18. 18Assertion : Transverse sound wave does not occurs in gases. Reason: Gases cannot sustain shearing strain.2011Basics of Mechanical Waves
  19. 19A uniform string is vibrating with a fundamental frequency ' '. The new frequency, if radius \& length both are doubled would be2010Vibration of String
  20. 20Five sinusoidal waves have the same frequency but their amplitudes are in the ratio and their phase angles and respectively. The phase angle2010Interference and Superposition of Waves
  21. 21The second overtone of an open pipe has the same frequency as the first overtone of a closed pipe long. The length of the open pipe is2010Organ Pipe (Vibration of Air Column)
  22. 22Two closed organ pipes of length \(100 {~cm}\) and \(101 {~cm}\) produces 16 beats in \(20 {sec}\). When each pipe is sounded in its fundame2008Organ Pipe (Vibration of Air Column)
  23. 23A siren emitting sound of frequency \(800 {~Hz}\) is going away from a static listener with a speed of \(30 {~m} / {s}\). The frequency of s2007Doppler’s Effect
  24. 24Assertion : Sound waves cannot travel in vacuum but light can travel in vacuum. Reason : Sound waves are longitudinal waves and they cannot 2007Basics of Mechanical Waves
  25. 25A boat at anchor is rocked by waves whose crests are apart and velocity is . The boat bounces up once in every2006Beats
  26. 26A stone thrown into still water, creates a circular wave pattern moving radially outwards. If is the distance measured from the centre of th2006Travelling Waves
  27. 27When a guitar string is sounded with a tuning fork, a beat frequency of is heard. If the experiment is repeated with a tuning fork of , the 2006Beats
  28. 28An amplifier has a voltage gain . The voltage gain in is2006Properties of Sound Waves
  29. 29For a wave propagating in a medium, identify the property that is independent of the others.2006Travelling Waves
  30. 30A leaf which contains only green pigments is illuminated by a laser light of wavelength . It would appear to be2006Travelling Waves
  31. 31The waves produced by a motorboat sailing in water are2004Basics of Mechanical Waves
  32. 32An organ pipe closed at one end has fundamental frequency of . The maximum number of overtones generated by this pipe which a normal person 2004Organ Pipe (Vibration of Air Column)
  33. 33An earthquake generates both transverse and longitudinal sound waves in the earth. The speed of waves is about and that of waves is about . 2003Interference and Superposition of Waves
  34. 34Assertion : When a beetle moves along the sand within a few tens of centimeters of a sand scorpion, the scorpion immediately turns towards t2003Basics of Mechanical Waves
  35. 35What is the path difference for destructive interference?2002Interference and Superposition of Waves
  36. 36A siren emitting sound of frequency is going away from a static listener with a speed of . Frequency of the sound to be heard by the listene2002Doppler’s Effect
  37. 37A string in a musical instrument is long and its fundamental frequency is . If a frequency of is to be produced, then required length of str2002Vibration of String
  38. 38If equation of sound wave is , then its wavelength will be2002Properties of Sound Waves
  39. 39The graph between wave number (v) and angular frequency is2002Basics of Mechanical Waves
  40. 40The velocities of sound at the same temperature in two monoatomic gases of densities and are and respectively. If , then the value of is2002Speed of Sound Waves
  41. 41Assertion : The flash of lightening is seen before the sound of thunder is heard. Reason : Speed of sound is greater than speed of light.2002Basics of Mechanical Waves
  42. 42If fundamental frequency is 50 and next successive frequencies are 150 and 250 then it is2001Organ Pipe (Vibration of Air Column)
  43. 43A source of frequency is moving towards an observer with a velocity of . The observer is now moving towards the source with a velocity of . 2001Doppler’s Effect

Frequently Asked Questions

1.How many questions are available for Waves and Sound?

This chapter includes 43 questions compiled from AIIMS papers spanning 2001 to 2019.

2.Are these questions only from AIIMS, or from other exams too?

These are AIIMS questions specifically for the Waves and Sound chapter. Questions from other exams like NEET or JIPMER are organised separately under their respective exam sections.

3.Is Waves and Sound an important chapter for AIIMS Physics?

Waves and Sound has appeared in 15 of the 19 years of AIIMS papers covered here, with 43 questions across 17 papers - about 3 per paper it appears in.

4.What is the difficulty level of Waves and Sound questions in AIIMS?

Of the 43 questions analysed for this chapter, 35% are easy, 28% moderate and 37% tough. 2002 had the most, with 7 questions.

5.Which topics in Waves and Sound should I focus on?

These topics have carried the most weightage in Waves and Sound:

  • Basics of Mechanical Waves - 9 questions (21%)
  • Travelling Waves - 9 questions (21%)
  • Organ Pipe (Vibration of Air Column) - 7 questions (16%)
  • Organ Pipe (Vibration of Air Column) has produced the most tough questions (4).
6.Is Waves and Sound's weightage in AIIMS going up or down?

Across all 17 papers analysed, Waves and Sound has averaged about 2.5 questions per paper. In the last three years (2017–2019), that average has fallen, at about 1.8 questions per paper. Use the year-wise numbers on this page for the exact trend before you decide how much time to give it.