Practice Question

1.State what ultrasound waves are

High frequency sound waves

2.What would be the expected frequency of an ultrasound wave?

>20,000Hz

3. State two possible medical uses for ultrasound waves.

Pre-natal scans and imaging of body organs

4. State the name of the piece of apparatus that the hospital worker uses during an ultrasound scan which emits and detects ultrasound waves.

Transducer

5. Explain how an ultrasound machine is able to produce an image which shows soft tissues.

The transducer will emit ultrasound waves which pass through soft tissues, but at tissue boundaries some of the waves are reflected. These reflected waves are detected by the transducer. 

6. Suggest why many doctors will use ultrasound as an imaging method over x-rays. 

Ultrasound is non ionising, x-rays are ionising. So, ultrasound is much safer means of imaging.