This exam focus covers Exam Focus within Sound Waves for GCSE Physics. Revise Sound Waves in Waves for GCSE Physics with 13 exam-style questions and 15 flashcards. Use this page as part of a wider topic revision path rather than treating it as an isolated fact. It is section 11 of 13 in this topic. Treat this as a marking guide for what examiners are looking for, not just a fact list.
🎯 Exam Focus
Frequently Examined
This topic is examined in Edexcel 1PH0/1 (Paper 1). Edexcel questions on sound often involve oscilloscope trace interpretation, ultrasound echo calculations, or comparing sound with EM waves — context-based scenarios involving medical applications are particularly common.
Sound waves appear in multiple contexts in GCSE papers:
- Oscilloscope trace questions — identify amplitude, frequency, pitch, loudness from diagrams
- Ultrasound calculations — use distance = speed × time ÷ 2
- Compare sound and EM waves — sound needs a medium, EM waves do not
- Explain ultrasound for medical imaging — why safer than X-rays, how echoes build an image
Common 4-mark question: "Explain why ultrasound is preferred over X-rays for scanning a pregnant woman." — Must include: non-ionising, cannot damage DNA of foetus, same resolution at boundaries, safe to use repeatedly.
Practice questions for Sound Waves
What type of wave is sound?
Describe how a sound wave is produced and how energy is transferred by a longitudinal wave.