If the amplitude of a wave is doubled, what happens to its energy?
Practice Questions
Q1
If the amplitude of a wave is doubled, what happens to its energy?
Remains the same
Doubles
Increases by a factor of four
Increases by a factor of eight
Questions & Step-by-Step Solutions
If the amplitude of a wave is doubled, what happens to its energy?
Step 1: Understand what amplitude means. Amplitude is the height of the wave from its rest position.
Step 2: Know that energy in a wave is related to its amplitude. Specifically, energy is proportional to the square of the amplitude.
Step 3: If the amplitude is doubled, we can represent this mathematically. If the original amplitude is A, the new amplitude is 2A.
Step 4: Calculate the energy with the original amplitude. If the energy is E when the amplitude is A, then E is proportional to A^2.
Step 5: Calculate the energy with the new amplitude. The new energy when the amplitude is 2A is proportional to (2A)^2.
Step 6: Simplify (2A)^2. This equals 4A^2.
Step 7: Compare the new energy to the original energy. The new energy (4A^2) is four times the original energy (A^2).
Step 8: Conclude that if the amplitude is doubled, the energy increases by a factor of four.
Wave Energy and Amplitude Relationship – The energy of a wave is proportional to the square of its amplitude, meaning that changes in amplitude significantly affect energy.
