If the frequency is doubled in the same medium, how does the propagation speed change?

If the frequency is doubled in the same medium, how does the propagation speed change?

• A. Unchanged
• B. Doubled
• C. Halved
• D. Quartered

Answer: (A)

Propagation speed in a homogeneous nondispersive medium is determined by the medium’s properties (density and elastic moduli) and does not depend on frequency. If you double the frequency while staying in the same medium, the speed remains the same; the relation c = f × λ means only the wavelength changes (doubling f halves λ) while c stays constant. In clinical ultrasound, tissues are treated as nondispersive in the usual frequency range, so changing frequency does not alter propagation speed.

Propagation speed in a homogeneous nondispersive medium is determined by the medium’s properties (density and elastic moduli) and does not depend on frequency. If you double the frequency while staying in the same medium, the speed remains the same; the relation c = f × λ means only the wavelength changes (doubling f halves λ) while c stays constant. In clinical ultrasound, tissues are treated as nondispersive in the usual frequency range, so changing frequency does not alter propagation speed.