Question

Question
The table shows the speed of ultrasound waves in different tissues in the human body.

Tissue Speed (m/s)
Air 330
Fat 1,450
Water 1,480
Liver 1,550
Kidney 1,560
Blood 1,570
Muscle 1,580
Bone 4,080
If an ultrasound wave moves from one tissue to another tissue in the body, which of the following transitions will result in the largest change in the wavelength of the ultrasound wave?

(1 point)
Responses

muscle to kidney
muscle to kidney

fat to liver
fat to liver

liver to muscle
liver to muscle

blood to fat

Answer 1

To determine which transition will result in the largest change in the wavelength of the ultrasound wave, we can consider the speed of sound in the respective tissues and use the formula for wavelength:

\[
\text{Wavelength} = \frac{\text{Speed}}{\text{Frequency}}
\]

Since the frequency of the ultrasound wave remains constant when it transitions from one tissue to another, we can analyze the change in speed between the tissues to determine the change in wavelength.

The transitions to consider are:

1. **Muscle to Kidney**:
- Muscle: 1580 m/s
- Kidney: 1560 m/s
- Change = 1560 - 1580 = -20 m/s

2. **Fat to Liver**:
- Fat: 1450 m/s
- Liver: 1550 m/s
- Change = 1550 - 1450 = 100 m/s

3. **Liver to Muscle**:
- Liver: 1550 m/s
- Muscle: 1580 m/s
- Change = 1580 - 1550 = 30 m/s

4. **Blood to Fat**:
- Blood: 1570 m/s
- Fat: 1450 m/s
- Change = 1450 - 1570 = -120 m/s

Now, determining the absolute changes in speed (to focus on the magnitude):

- Muscle to Kidney: 20 m/s
- Fat to Liver: 100 m/s
- Liver to Muscle: 30 m/s
- Blood to Fat: 120 m/s

The transition **blood to fat** results in the largest change in speed, which will lead to the largest change in wavelength since the frequency remains constant.

Thus, the correct answer is:

**blood to fat**.