The girl wants to change the wave to make it display a greater energy transfer. What can she do to make this change?

Question

A. She increases the wavelength of the wave.
B. She decreases the amplitude of the wave.
C. She increases the frequency of the wave.
D. She decreases the frequency of the wave

Answer 1

To increase the energy transfer of a wave, the key factor to consider is the relationship between energy and amplitude, as well as frequency.

Generally, the energy transported by a wave is directly proportional to the square of its amplitude and directly related to its frequency (for electromagnetic waves).

Given the options:

A. Increasing the wavelength typically decreases the frequency (and therefore the energy, since energy is proportional to frequency in waves), so this option would not increase energy transfer.

B. Decreasing the amplitude of the wave would decrease energy transfer, as energy is proportional to the square of the amplitude.

C. Increasing the frequency of the wave would increase the energy transfer, as energy is directly related to frequency.

D. Decreasing the frequency would decrease the energy transfer.

The correct choice for increasing energy transfer is:

C. She increases the frequency of the wave.