As sound travels through tissue, it experiences a decrease in intensity. Which term best describes this decrease?

As sound travels through tissue, it experiences a decrease in intensity. Which term best describes this decrease?

• A. Weakens
• B. Amplifies
• C. Reflects
• D. Absorbs

Answer: (A)

As sound moves through tissue, its energy is lost along the path, a process called attenuation. This loss comes from absorption, scattering, and some energy reflecting at boundaries, so the wave arrives weaker further from the source. Among the given terms, the one that best describes this overall decrease in strength is that the sound weakens as it travels. Amplifying would be the opposite, reflecting describes energy bouncing back rather than continuing forward, and absorbing points to a specific mechanism rather than the general reduction in intensity.

As sound moves through tissue, its energy is lost along the path, a process called attenuation. This loss comes from absorption, scattering, and some energy reflecting at boundaries, so the wave arrives weaker further from the source. Among the given terms, the one that best describes this overall decrease in strength is that the sound weakens as it travels. Amplifying would be the opposite, reflecting describes energy bouncing back rather than continuing forward, and absorbing points to a specific mechanism rather than the general reduction in intensity.