The sound beam is ______ if the spike line is straight.

The sound beam is ______ if the spike line is straight.

• A. Focused
• B. Unfocused
• C. Directed
• D. Collimated

Answer: (B)

In ultrasound, how a beam is shaped tells you where it is focused. The spike line on the diagram showing the beam’s path indicates how energy travels with depth. If that spike line is straight, the rays aren’t bending toward any focal point, meaning there’s no focusing happening. The beam doesn’t narrow to a point at a specific depth, so it’s unfocused. If the spike line curved inward toward a point, that would show focusing; curved outward would indicate defocusing. A straight line here directly signals an unfocused beam.

In ultrasound, how a beam is shaped tells you where it is focused. The spike line on the diagram showing the beam’s path indicates how energy travels with depth. If that spike line is straight, the rays aren’t bending toward any focal point, meaning there’s no focusing happening. The beam doesn’t narrow to a point at a specific depth, so it’s unfocused. If the spike line curved inward toward a point, that would show focusing; curved outward would indicate defocusing. A straight line here directly signals an unfocused beam.