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Subjects · Leaving Cert Physics

Leaving Cert Physics: Sound

How often Sound comes up on the Physics papers, every year it was asked, and questions to try.

HL Asked on 8 of the last 10 Higher Level papers, most recently in 2026. most years

OL Asked on 10 of the last 10 Ordinary Level papers, most recently in 2026. banker

June 2027 is the first exam on the new Physics course. These come from the 2016–2026 papers, so read them as a guide.

Sound, Higher Level(6 marks)

Quick ones on Sound.

(a)Sound waves are which type of wave?
  1. Transverse
  2. Longitudinal
  3. Electromagnetic
(b)Why can sound not travel through a vacuum?
  1. Sound has too low a frequency to cross empty space
  2. Sound waves are transverse, and these need a solid to travel
  3. There are no particles to vibrate and pass the energy on
(c)Approximate range of frequencies audible to a healthy young person?
  1. 20 Hz to 20 000 Hz
  2. 20 Hz to 2000 Hz
  3. 2 Hz to 2000 Hz
Show the answers

(a) Longitudinal

(b) There are no particles to vibrate and pass the energy on

(c) 20 Hz to 20 000 Hz

Your turn: Higher Level questions on Sound.

Higher Level

Asked on 8 of the last 10 Higher Level papers, most recently in 2026. most years

Every paper, year by year

YearWhere it came up
2026Q9
2025Q3
2024Q6(e), Q8
2023Q14(b)
2022Q4, Q6(f)
2021Q6(g)
2019Not asked
2018Q7
2017Q5(g)
2016Not asked

Links open the State Examinations Commission’s paper for that year.

More Sound questions

Sound, 2 marks

How does an ultrasound scanner build up a picture?

  1. Ultrasound makes the tissues glow, and a camera records the light
  2. Ultrasound is absorbed only by bone, which casts a shadow on a film
  3. Pulses reflect from boundaries between tissues and the echo times are measured
Show the answer

Pulses reflect from boundaries between tissues and the echo times are measured

Each boundary reflects part of the pulse. Depth = speed × time ÷ 2, and a computer turns thousands of echoes into an image.

Ordinary Level

Asked on 10 of the last 10 Ordinary Level papers, most recently in 2026. banker

Every paper, year by year

YearWhere it came up
2026Q13, Q14(b)
2025Q6(f), Q8
2024Q10
2023Q4, Q10
2022Q6(g), Q10
2021Q8, Q14(d)
2019Q7
2018Q5(g)
2017Q8
2016Q3, Q7

Links open the State Examinations Commission’s paper for that year.

More Sound questions

Sound, 2 marks

The loudness of a sound depends mainly on its?

  1. Frequency
  2. Speed
  3. Amplitude
Show the answer

Amplitude

A bigger amplitude means the particles vibrate more strongly and carry more energy, so the sound is louder.

Sound, 2 marks

Why is lightning seen before the thunder is heard?

  1. The thunder is made after the lightning has ended
  2. Light travels much faster than sound
  3. Sound travels faster than light
Show the answer

Light travels much faster than sound

Light travels at 3 × 10⁸ m s⁻¹, sound at only about 340 m s⁻¹ in air, so the flash reaches you almost at once.

Sound, 3 marks

The quality (timbre) of a note depends on?

  1. The number and strength of the overtones present
  2. The frequency of the fundamental note alone
  3. How loudly or softly the note is played on the instrument
Show the answer

The number and strength of the overtones present

A piano and a guitar playing the same note have the same fundamental but different overtones, so they sound different.

Other Physics topics

All of Leaving Cert Physics