Ultrasound Technician – ARDMS Exam 2026 | Questions & Verified Answers with Detailed Rationales

ULTRASOUND TECHNICIAN – ARDMS EXAM QUESTIONS AND
CORRECT ANSWERS (VERIFIED ANSWERS) PLUS RATIONALES
2025|2026 Q&A | INSTANT DOWNLOAD PDF


1. Quick ARDMS Exam Overview
• Purpose: Certifies sonographers for competence in diagnostic ultrasound.
• Exam Options:
o SPI (Sonography Principles & Instrumentation) – required core
exam.
o Specialty Exams: Abdomen, OB/GYN, Vascular, Cardiac, Breast, MSK,
Pediatric, etc.
• Format: Computer-based, multiple-choice.
• Content Areas (SPI):
1. Physical principles of ultrasound (waves, Doppler, attenuation).
2. Equipment operation & instrumentation.
3. Image optimization & artifacts.
4. Quality assurance, patient safety.


2. Sample ARDMS-Style Practice Questions (SPI Focus)
Physics & Principles
1. Which parameter is determined only by the sound source, not the
medium?
• A. Wavelength
• B. Propagation speed
• C. Frequency

,• D. Attenuation
Answer: C. Frequency
Rationale: The ultrasound transducer sets the frequency, while wavelength
and speed depend on the medium.


2. What happens to propagation speed when sound travels from soft tissue
into bone?
• A. It decreases
• B. It increases
• C. It stays the same
• D. It becomes zero
Answer: B. It increases
Rationale: Sound travels faster in denser materials; bone has a higher
propagation speed than soft tissue.


3. Which Doppler shift is produced when blood flow moves toward the
transducer?
• A. No shift
• B. Negative shift
• C. Positive shift
• D. Reversed frequency
Answer: C. Positive shift
Rationale: Flow toward the transducer produces a positive Doppler
frequency shift.


4. What is the main cause of acoustic shadowing in ultrasound imaging?
• A. Refraction
• B. Attenuation due to strong reflectors or absorbers

,• C. Reverberation
• D. Speed error
Answer: B. Attenuation due to strong reflectors or absorbers
Rationale: Shadowing occurs when structures like bone or stones strongly
attenuate the sound beam.


5. In diagnostic ultrasound, the most common transducer material is:
• A. Lead zirconate titanate (PZT)
• B. Quartz crystal
• C. Lithium niobate
• D. Glass ceramic
Answer: A. Lead zirconate titanate (PZT)
Rationale: PZT is the standard piezoelectric material used in modern
ultrasound transducers.




6. What happens to wavelength when frequency increases?
• A. Wavelength increases
• B. Wavelength decreases
• C. Wavelength stays the same
• D. Wavelength becomes infinite
Answer: B. Wavelength decreases
Rationale: Wavelength and frequency are inversely related when
propagation speed is constant.


7. What is the most common cause of aliasing in Doppler ultrasound?
• A. Low frequency transducer

, • B. PRF (pulse repetition frequency) too low
• C. Excessive attenuation
• D. High propagation speed
Answer: B. PRF (pulse repetition frequency) too low
Rationale: Aliasing occurs when Doppler shift frequency exceeds half the
PRF (Nyquist limit).


8. Which ultrasound mode displays motion of structures over time?
• A. B-mode
• B. M-mode
• C. Doppler mode
• D. 3D mode
Answer: B. M-mode
Rationale: M-mode records motion of structures along a single scan line
over time.


9. The beam width is primarily determined by:
• A. Frequency
• B. Focal depth
• C. Transducer aperture and focusing
• D. Pulse duration
Answer: C. Transducer aperture and focusing
Rationale: Beam width depends on aperture size and focusing; narrower
beams improve lateral resolution.


10. Which artifact appears as multiple equally spaced echoes caused by sound
bouncing between two strong reflectors?