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SPI EXAM NEWEST 2026 COMPLETE ALL QUESTIONS AND
CORRECT DETAILED ANSWERS WITH RATIONALES (VERIFIED
ANSWERS) |ALREADY GRADED A+
1. Which of the following do the source and the medium determine?
a. duty factor
b. frequency
c. propagation speed
d. axial resolution - ANSWER-D. Duty factor is only determined by the
source (PD = nT ÷ PRP, both of which are determined by source);
Frequency is only determined by the source (thickness of the element);
Propagation speed is only determined by the medium; axial resolution
is determined by 1/2spl (SPL =λn, and λ is determined by BOTH source
and medium. Therefore, axial resolution is determined by both source
and medium)
2. Axial resolution is affected by all of the following EXCEPT
a. frequency
b. focusing
c. spatial pulse length
d. wavelength - ANSWER-B. Axial resolution is not affected by focusing
3. Damping in a transducer
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a. reduces the number of cycles in a pulse and increases the quality factor
b. increases the number of cycles in a pulse and increases penetration
c. causes poor axial and lateral resolution
d. reduces the duty factor and increases the range of transmitted frequencies
- ANSWER-D. Damping decreases n, which decreases the DF (DF =
PD/PRP = nT/PRP). When n decreases, the bandwidth increases, which is
the range of frequencies in the beam
4. Far zone beam divergence can be reduced on a single-element transducer
by using
a. a transducer with a smaller element diameter
b. a higher frequency transducer
c. a lower frequency transducer or a smaller element diameter
d. adjustable focusing - ANSWER-B. I can decrease divergence in the far
zone with a high frequency transducer
5. The area between the face of an unfocused single-element transducer and
the point where the beam starts to diverge is the
a. near zone
b. refraction zone
c. focal plane
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d. Fraunhofer zone - ANSWER-A. The near zone is the area between the
element and the focal zone. Distal to the focal zone the beam starts to
diverge
6. Assuming a fixed frequency, what happens if the diameter of an unfocused
transducer is increased?
a. the far zone divergence increases
b. the penetration decreases
c. the length of the near zone increases
d. the length of the near zone decreases - ANSWER-C. The larger the
diameter of an unfocused transducer, the longer the near zone. Rule of
thumb: increase freq = increase near zone length and decreased divergence
in far field. AND, increase diameter = increase near zone length and
decreased divergence in far field
7. Which of the following does NOT affect lateral resolution?
a. focusing
b. element diameter
c. frequency
d. bandwidth - ANSWER-D. Bandwidth has nothing to do with lateral
resolution
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8. Higher frequency transducers provide
a. improved lateral resolution
b. smaller Doppler shifts
c. improved axial resolution and reduced attenuation
d. increased penetration - ANSWER-A. The higher the frequency, the higher
the spatial (axial and lateral) resolution
9. Ultrasound waves that are traveling through a medium consist of
a. electromagnetic and radio frequencies
b. compressions and refractions
c. electromagnetic and ionizing frequencies
d. compressions and rarefactions - ANSWER-D. Ultrasound waves are a
series of compressions and rarefactions
10. What is the difference between audible sound and ultrasound?
a. Audible sound waves can travel through a vacuum
b. Audible sound has a higher frequency
c. Ultrasound has a higher frequency
d. Ultrasound waves are ionizing - ANSWER-C. Ultrasound is a higher
frequency than audible sound: Infrasound <20Hz; Audible sound 20Hz —
20,000Hz; Ultrasound >20,000Hz
SPI EXAM NEWEST 2026 COMPLETE ALL QUESTIONS AND
CORRECT DETAILED ANSWERS WITH RATIONALES (VERIFIED
ANSWERS) |ALREADY GRADED A+
1. Which of the following do the source and the medium determine?
a. duty factor
b. frequency
c. propagation speed
d. axial resolution - ANSWER-D. Duty factor is only determined by the
source (PD = nT ÷ PRP, both of which are determined by source);
Frequency is only determined by the source (thickness of the element);
Propagation speed is only determined by the medium; axial resolution
is determined by 1/2spl (SPL =λn, and λ is determined by BOTH source
and medium. Therefore, axial resolution is determined by both source
and medium)
2. Axial resolution is affected by all of the following EXCEPT
a. frequency
b. focusing
c. spatial pulse length
d. wavelength - ANSWER-B. Axial resolution is not affected by focusing
3. Damping in a transducer
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a. reduces the number of cycles in a pulse and increases the quality factor
b. increases the number of cycles in a pulse and increases penetration
c. causes poor axial and lateral resolution
d. reduces the duty factor and increases the range of transmitted frequencies
- ANSWER-D. Damping decreases n, which decreases the DF (DF =
PD/PRP = nT/PRP). When n decreases, the bandwidth increases, which is
the range of frequencies in the beam
4. Far zone beam divergence can be reduced on a single-element transducer
by using
a. a transducer with a smaller element diameter
b. a higher frequency transducer
c. a lower frequency transducer or a smaller element diameter
d. adjustable focusing - ANSWER-B. I can decrease divergence in the far
zone with a high frequency transducer
5. The area between the face of an unfocused single-element transducer and
the point where the beam starts to diverge is the
a. near zone
b. refraction zone
c. focal plane
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d. Fraunhofer zone - ANSWER-A. The near zone is the area between the
element and the focal zone. Distal to the focal zone the beam starts to
diverge
6. Assuming a fixed frequency, what happens if the diameter of an unfocused
transducer is increased?
a. the far zone divergence increases
b. the penetration decreases
c. the length of the near zone increases
d. the length of the near zone decreases - ANSWER-C. The larger the
diameter of an unfocused transducer, the longer the near zone. Rule of
thumb: increase freq = increase near zone length and decreased divergence
in far field. AND, increase diameter = increase near zone length and
decreased divergence in far field
7. Which of the following does NOT affect lateral resolution?
a. focusing
b. element diameter
c. frequency
d. bandwidth - ANSWER-D. Bandwidth has nothing to do with lateral
resolution
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8. Higher frequency transducers provide
a. improved lateral resolution
b. smaller Doppler shifts
c. improved axial resolution and reduced attenuation
d. increased penetration - ANSWER-A. The higher the frequency, the higher
the spatial (axial and lateral) resolution
9. Ultrasound waves that are traveling through a medium consist of
a. electromagnetic and radio frequencies
b. compressions and refractions
c. electromagnetic and ionizing frequencies
d. compressions and rarefactions - ANSWER-D. Ultrasound waves are a
series of compressions and rarefactions
10. What is the difference between audible sound and ultrasound?
a. Audible sound waves can travel through a vacuum
b. Audible sound has a higher frequency
c. Ultrasound has a higher frequency
d. Ultrasound waves are ionizing - ANSWER-C. Ultrasound is a higher
frequency than audible sound: Infrasound <20Hz; Audible sound 20Hz —
20,000Hz; Ultrasound >20,000Hz
