Question

State whether the given statement is True or False :

The intensity of an echo is less than that of the original sound.

• A. True
• B. False

Answer 1

The correct option is A True

An echo is strongest when the original sound wave strikes a hard, even surface. Soft surfaces and uneven surfaces absorb more energy, so there isn't much left in the return signal and the echo is weaker.
Additionally, the farther away the surface is, the weaker the echo. The intervening particles of air lose a little energy each time they transmit the sound wave to the next particle, so for great distances, the echo is weaker even when returning from a very hard, even surface.
If a surface is very close to the original sound wave, then there isn't an echo at all - but a reverberation. The leading end of the sound wave returns to the origin even before the trailing end has hit the surface, so a continuous sound is heard.
Hence, the echo is always weaker than the original sound.