If the frequency of a sound wave is doubled, what happens to its wavelength in a
Practice Questions
Q1
If the frequency of a sound wave is doubled, what happens to its wavelength in a given medium?
Doubles
Halves
Remains the same
Increases by a factor of four
Questions & Step-by-Step Solutions
If the frequency of a sound wave is doubled, what happens to its wavelength in a given medium?
Correct Answer: Wavelength is halved.
Step 1: Understand that sound waves have two important properties: frequency and wavelength.
Step 2: Know that frequency is how many times the wave cycles in one second, while wavelength is the distance between two consecutive points of the wave.
Step 3: Remember the relationship between frequency and wavelength: they are inversely proportional. This means that if one goes up, the other goes down.
Step 4: If the frequency of the sound wave is doubled, it means it is now cycling twice as fast.
Step 5: Since frequency is doubled, the wavelength must decrease to maintain the inverse relationship.
Step 6: Specifically, if the frequency is doubled, the wavelength is halved.
Wave Properties – The relationship between frequency and wavelength in wave mechanics, specifically that wavelength is inversely proportional to frequency.
