Question

Pam made a table about the vibrations that cause different sounds.

More Vibrations Less Vibrations
Higher pitched sounds Lower pitched sounds
Tops of sound waves are close together Tops of sound waves are close together
Which statement best explains why the table is incorrect?
Option 1: More vibrations produce lower pitched sounds.
Option 2: Less vibrations produce higher pitched sounds.
Option 3: When there are more vibrations the tops of sound waves are far apart.
Option 4: When there are less vibrations the tops of sound waves are far apart

Answer 1

The correct statement explaining why the student's table is incorrect is that more vibrations (higher frequency) cause the crests of sound waves to be closer together, leading to higher pitched sounds. Smaller instruments produce shorter wavelengths and thus higher frequency sounds.

Step-by-step explanation:

The statement from the student's table indicating that both more vibrations and fewer vibrations result in tops of sound waves being close together is incorrect. The correct information is that more vibrations lead to higher pitched sounds, and as a result, the tops of the sound waves (crests) are closer together. This means option 3 is correct because when there are more vibrations (higher frequency), the crests of the sound waves are actually closer together, not far apart. In contrast, with fewer vibrations (lower frequency), the sound waves have lower pitched sounds and the crests of the sound waves are farther apart. Smaller instruments, such as a piccolo, produce sounds with shorter wavelengths, and thus higher frequencies, meaning the crests of the waves are closer together. On the other hand, larger instruments like a tuba produce longer wavelengths with lower frequencies, resulting in the crests being more spaced out.