Question

The girl wants to change the wave to make it display a greater energy transfer. What can she do to make this change? (she can make the wavelength of the wave longer; she can increase the frequency of the wave; she can make the amplitude of the wave shorter)

Answer 1

To increase the energy transfer of a wave, the girl should focus on increasing the amplitude of the wave. The energy carried by a wave is directly proportional to the square of its amplitude; therefore, increasing the amplitude will significantly enhance the energy transfer.

Here’s how the options relate to energy transfer:

1. **Longer Wavelength**: Increasing the wavelength typically reduces the energy of the wave, as energy is inversely proportional to wavelength.

2. **Increasing Frequency**: Increasing frequency can increase energy since energy is directly proportional to frequency (E = hf, where E is energy, h is Planck's constant, and f is frequency). However, frequency and wavelength are inversely related (higher frequency means shorter wavelength).

3. **Shorter Amplitude**: Making amplitude shorter decreases energy transfer because the energy is proportional to the square of amplitude.

Therefore, to achieve greater energy transfer, the best option she has would be to **increase the amplitude of the wave**.