Question

An observer experiences a sound intensity of lat a distance of r from a point source. What is the intensity at a distance of r/2?

O 4I
O I/√2
O √2I
O I/4

Answer 1

When the distance from a sound source is halved, the sound intensity at the new position is four times as intense as it was at the original distance.

Step-by-step explanation:

The question pertains to the concept of sound intensity and how it changes with distance from the source, in accordance to the inverse square law. Sound intensity diminishes as the square of the distance from the source, so when the distance is halved (moving closer to the source), the intensity increases by a factor of 4. Therefore, if the intensity at a distance r is I, at a distance of r/2, the intensity will be 4I, or four times as intense.

When an observer moves twice as far away from a point source of sound, the intensity of the sound decreases according to the inverse square law. This means that the intensity at a distance of r/2 will be 1/4 of the intensity at a distance of r. Therefore, the correct answer is I/4.