If the amplitude of a wave is tripled, what happens to the energy carried by the wave? (2019)
Practice Questions
1 question
Q1
If the amplitude of a wave is tripled, what happens to the energy carried by the wave? (2019)
It remains the same
It doubles
It triples
It increases by a factor of nine
The energy carried by a wave is proportional to the square of the amplitude. Therefore, if the amplitude is tripled, the energy increases by a factor of 3^2 = 9.
Questions & Step-by-step Solutions
1 item
Q
Q: If the amplitude of a wave is tripled, what happens to the energy carried by the wave? (2019)
Solution: The energy carried by a wave is proportional to the square of the amplitude. Therefore, if the amplitude is tripled, the energy increases by a factor of 3^2 = 9.
Steps: 6
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 tripled, we can express this mathematically as 3 times the original amplitude.
Step 4: To find the new energy, we need to square the new amplitude. So, we calculate (3 * original amplitude)^2.
Step 5: This simplifies to 3^2 * (original amplitude)^2, which equals 9 times the original energy.
Step 6: Therefore, if the amplitude is tripled, the energy carried by the wave increases by a factor of 9.
