When the frequency is low, what happens to the amplitude?

When the frequency is low, what happens to the amplitude?

• A. Low
• B. Medium
• C. High
• D. Zero

Answer: (C)

Amplitude measures how tall the wave peaks are and is related to the energy carried by a wave, while frequency is how many peaks pass a point each second. If a source delivers a constant amount of energy each second, lowering the frequency means each individual wave must carry more energy to keep the total energy per second the same. Since energy per wave grows with greater amplitude, lowering frequency forces the amplitude to increase. So the amplitude is high when the frequency is low.

Amplitude measures how tall the wave peaks are and is related to the energy carried by a wave, while frequency is how many peaks pass a point each second. If a source delivers a constant amount of energy each second, lowering the frequency means each individual wave must carry more energy to keep the total energy per second the same. Since energy per wave grows with greater amplitude, lowering frequency forces the amplitude to increase. So the amplitude is high when the frequency is low.