SPI EXAM REVIEW QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS 2026 VERIFIED.
Ultrasound imaging type in which pulses are reflected and used to produce a display -
ANS pulsed wave
brightness of the dots on image - ANS amplitude
round-trip travel time per cm in soft tissue - ANS 13 microseconds
A line produced on a display that represents ultrasonic echoes returning from the body. A
sonographic image is composed of many such lines. - ANS scan line
Type of image presented in a rectangular format.
- Each pulse travels in same direction
- Different starting point for each pulse
- Yields series of parallel scan lines - ANS linear
Type of image presented in a pie-slice or wedge shaped format.
- Each pulse originates from the same starting point
- Subsequent pulses go out in different directions from previous ones - ANS sector
@COPYRIGHT ALL RIGHTS RESERVED PAGE 1 OF 65
,Frequency change tracking caused by motion of reflectors towards or away from the transducer
- Used extensively in vascular & cardiac ultrasound - ANS Doppler Shift
The presentation of two-dimensional, real-time Doppler-shift information superimposed on a
real-time, gray-scale, anatomic, cross-sectional image. Flow directions toward and away from
the transducer (i.e., positive & negative Doppler shifts) are presented as different colors on the
display. - ANS Color Doppler
Unit of power or intensity ratio; also a unit of amplitude ratio - ANS decibel
doubled intensity in dB - ANS 3 dB
mathematical numerical system in which the number of 10s that are multiplied together in
order to equal the number
Log₁₀ of 100 = 10 × 10 = 100 or 10²
Log₁₀ of 100 = 2 - ANS logarithm
What transports energy, not matter? - ANS wave
Type of sound wave that requires a medium to travel in and, therefore, cannot propagate in a
vacuum. - ANS mechanical
Regions of high density and pressure in a compressional wave. - ANS compression
Region of low density and pressure in a compressional wave. - ANS rarefaction
@COPYRIGHT ALL RIGHTS RESERVED PAGE 2 OF 65
,What are the 3 acoustic variables? List them alphabetically. - ANS density, distance, pressure
Concentration of force
- Units: pascals (Pa), lbs/in², atmospheres - ANS Pressure
Concentration of mass
- Units: kilo/cm³ - ANS Density
cycles per second - ANS frequency
unit of frequency, one cycle per second - ANS hertz
20 → 20,000 Hz (20 kHz) - ANS audible sound
2 to 15 MHz - ANS What is the useful diagnostic frequency range for ultrasound in humans?
time per cycle
- Equation: If T = period in microseconds (µs) and ƒ = frequency in megahertz (MHz), then
T (µs) = 1/ƒ (Mhz)
- Reciprocal of frequency equation - ANS period
As frequency increases, period _________. - ANS decreases
length of space over which a cycle occurs
@COPYRIGHT ALL RIGHTS RESERVED PAGE 3 OF 65
, - Abbreviated: λ (lambda) - ANS wavelength
0.1 → 0.8 mm - ANS What is the typical ultrasound wavelength range?
speed with which a wave moves through a medium
Units: mm/μs, m/s
Abbreviation: c - ANS propagation speed
What two properties of a medium affect its propagation speed? - ANS density, stiffness
1.54 mm/μs OR 1540 m/s - ANS speed of sound in soft tissue
Order the following by propagation speed from slowest to fastest:
bone, fat, air, muscle, liver - ANS air, fat, liver, muscle, bone
the resistance that sound encounters in traveling through a medium - ANS impedance
unit of impedance - ANS Rayl
equation that illustrates relationship between round-trip pulse travel time, propagation speed,
and distance to the reflector - ANS range equation
(PW) the number of pulses that occur in 1 sec; sometimes called pulse repetition rate -
ANS pulse repetition frequency
When distance (depth) increases, PRF ---------. - ANS decreases
@COPYRIGHT ALL RIGHTS RESERVED PAGE 4 OF 65
ANSWERS 2026 VERIFIED.
Ultrasound imaging type in which pulses are reflected and used to produce a display -
ANS pulsed wave
brightness of the dots on image - ANS amplitude
round-trip travel time per cm in soft tissue - ANS 13 microseconds
A line produced on a display that represents ultrasonic echoes returning from the body. A
sonographic image is composed of many such lines. - ANS scan line
Type of image presented in a rectangular format.
- Each pulse travels in same direction
- Different starting point for each pulse
- Yields series of parallel scan lines - ANS linear
Type of image presented in a pie-slice or wedge shaped format.
- Each pulse originates from the same starting point
- Subsequent pulses go out in different directions from previous ones - ANS sector
@COPYRIGHT ALL RIGHTS RESERVED PAGE 1 OF 65
,Frequency change tracking caused by motion of reflectors towards or away from the transducer
- Used extensively in vascular & cardiac ultrasound - ANS Doppler Shift
The presentation of two-dimensional, real-time Doppler-shift information superimposed on a
real-time, gray-scale, anatomic, cross-sectional image. Flow directions toward and away from
the transducer (i.e., positive & negative Doppler shifts) are presented as different colors on the
display. - ANS Color Doppler
Unit of power or intensity ratio; also a unit of amplitude ratio - ANS decibel
doubled intensity in dB - ANS 3 dB
mathematical numerical system in which the number of 10s that are multiplied together in
order to equal the number
Log₁₀ of 100 = 10 × 10 = 100 or 10²
Log₁₀ of 100 = 2 - ANS logarithm
What transports energy, not matter? - ANS wave
Type of sound wave that requires a medium to travel in and, therefore, cannot propagate in a
vacuum. - ANS mechanical
Regions of high density and pressure in a compressional wave. - ANS compression
Region of low density and pressure in a compressional wave. - ANS rarefaction
@COPYRIGHT ALL RIGHTS RESERVED PAGE 2 OF 65
,What are the 3 acoustic variables? List them alphabetically. - ANS density, distance, pressure
Concentration of force
- Units: pascals (Pa), lbs/in², atmospheres - ANS Pressure
Concentration of mass
- Units: kilo/cm³ - ANS Density
cycles per second - ANS frequency
unit of frequency, one cycle per second - ANS hertz
20 → 20,000 Hz (20 kHz) - ANS audible sound
2 to 15 MHz - ANS What is the useful diagnostic frequency range for ultrasound in humans?
time per cycle
- Equation: If T = period in microseconds (µs) and ƒ = frequency in megahertz (MHz), then
T (µs) = 1/ƒ (Mhz)
- Reciprocal of frequency equation - ANS period
As frequency increases, period _________. - ANS decreases
length of space over which a cycle occurs
@COPYRIGHT ALL RIGHTS RESERVED PAGE 3 OF 65
, - Abbreviated: λ (lambda) - ANS wavelength
0.1 → 0.8 mm - ANS What is the typical ultrasound wavelength range?
speed with which a wave moves through a medium
Units: mm/μs, m/s
Abbreviation: c - ANS propagation speed
What two properties of a medium affect its propagation speed? - ANS density, stiffness
1.54 mm/μs OR 1540 m/s - ANS speed of sound in soft tissue
Order the following by propagation speed from slowest to fastest:
bone, fat, air, muscle, liver - ANS air, fat, liver, muscle, bone
the resistance that sound encounters in traveling through a medium - ANS impedance
unit of impedance - ANS Rayl
equation that illustrates relationship between round-trip pulse travel time, propagation speed,
and distance to the reflector - ANS range equation
(PW) the number of pulses that occur in 1 sec; sometimes called pulse repetition rate -
ANS pulse repetition frequency
When distance (depth) increases, PRF ---------. - ANS decreases
@COPYRIGHT ALL RIGHTS RESERVED PAGE 4 OF 65
