Sonar systems used in water send out sound waves that reflect off the environment and then are detected. As water gets denser, the speed of sound in water increases. What would happen to the wavelength of a sonar wave as it moves into water with a 5% higher speed of sound?(1 point)

Question

Sonar systems used in water send out sound waves that reflect off the environment and then are detected. As water gets denser, the speed of sound in water increases. What would happen to the wavelength of a sonar wave as it moves into water with a 5% higher speed of sound?(1 point)
Responses

The wavelength would decrease by 5%.
The wavelength would decrease by 5%.

The wavelength would stay the same.
The wavelength would stay the same.

The wavelength would increase by 5%.
The wavelength would increase by 5%.

The wavelength would change to match the new frequency.

GPT-4o mini · Answer

The wavelength of a wave is related to its speed and frequency by the equation:

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

If the speed of sound in water increases by 5%, and the frequency of the sonar wave remains constant, the wavelength will also increase by 5%. This is because, when the speed increases and the frequency stays the same, the wavelength must also increase to maintain the relationship defined by the equation.

Therefore, the correct response is:

The wavelength would increase by 5%.