A LevelPhysicsCIETopic Questions7. Waves7.4 Electromagnetic Spectrum

Syllabus Edition

First teaching 2023

First exams 2025

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Electromagnetic Spectrum (CIE A Level Physics)

Topic Questions

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1
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Which of the following is the approximate range of frequencies of infrared radiation?

  • 1 × 1014 – 1 × 1016 Hz

  • 1 × 1012 – 1 × 1014 Hz

  • 1 × 109 – 1 × 1011 Hz

  • 1 × 103 – 1 × 109 Hz

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2
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Which of the following statement is a correct description of part of the electromagnetic spectrum?

  • 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

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3
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Which of the following give the order of magnitude of frequencies of the visible part of the electromagnetic spectrum?

  • 1015 Hz

  • 1014 Hz

  • 1013 Hz

  • 1016 Hz

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4
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The diagram shows part of the electromagnetic spectrum.

cie-ial-images344png

Which row correctly labels the regions marked P and Q?

 

P

Q

A

B

C

D

infrared

ultraviolet

x-ray

infrared

x-ray

x-ray

infrared

microwaves

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5
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Which of the following do not travel at the speed of light in a vacuum?

  • x-rays

  • radio waves

  • microwaves

  • electrons

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6
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Which of the following is the number of wavelengths in one metre of visible light?

  • 104

  • 106

  • 108

  • 1010

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1
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An infrared wave has a wavelength of 30 µm and frequency finfrared. An x-ray has a wavelength of 400 pm and frequency fx-ray.

What is the value of the ratio f subscript x minus r a y end subscript over f subscript i n f r a r e d end subscript?

  • 1.3 × 10−5

  • 0.075

  • 13

  • 7.5 × 104

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2
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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?

  • 10 space nHz space less or equal than space f space less or equal than space 100 space straight mu Hz comma space 1 space mHz space less or equal than space f space less or equal than space 10 space Hz

  • 10 space Hz space less or equal than space f space less or equal than space 100 space Hz

  • 30 space MHz space less or equal than space f space less or equal than space 300 space GHz comma space 3 space THz space less or equal than space f space less or equal than space 3000 space THz

  • 30 space MHz space less or equal than space f space less or equal than space 300 space THz

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3
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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?

  • Violet

  • Blue

  • Green

  • Red

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4
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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 × 1014 Hz

3 × 1019 Hz

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1
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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?

  • speed

  • plane of polarisation

  • frequency

  • amplitude

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2
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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?

  • 5.0 × 1014 s–1

  • 5.0 × 108 s–1

  • 5.0 × 1011 s–1

  • 5.0 × 1017 s–1

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3
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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 f over 2  ?

 

λ

c

A

 2 lambda 2 c

B

 2 lambda c

C

 lambda over 2 c

D

 lambda over 2 c over 2

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4
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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?

  • infrared

  • visible light

  • x-ray

  • gamma-ray

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5
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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

B

C

D

5 × 10–7

5 × 10–8

5 × 10–5

5 × 10–5

5 × 10–8

5 × 10–10

5 × 10–8

5 × 10–10

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6
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Which statement would be deduced from a table of wavelengths of the waves in the electromagnetic spectrum?

  • 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

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7
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A telescope detects electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths 2 cm.

Which type of telescope is it ?

  • x-ray telescope

  • optical telescope

  • microwave telescope

  • radio telescope

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