Question

A surface receiving sound is moved from its original position to a position three times farther away from the source of the sound. the intensity of the received sound thus becomes
a. three times as high.
b. three times as low.
c. nine times as high.
d. nine times as low.

Answer 1

As long as all the waves stay in the same medium, the intensity of
any waves ... electromagnetic or mechanical ... decrease in proportion
to the square of the distance.

If the distance increases to 3 x the original distance, then the intensity
changes to  1/3² or 1/9 of the original intensity.

I suppose choice-'d' is the correct one, but I have to tell you that
the phrase "nine times as low" is mathematically meaningless,
and it really grinds my gears.

Answer 2

Correct answer choice is :

D) Nine times as low.

Explanation:

Sound intensity level also identified as acoustic intensity is described as the energy taken by sound waves per unit area in a path perpendicular to that area. The SI unit of intensity, which involves sound intensity, is the watt per square meter (W/m2). The loudness of a sound describes the intensity of any given sound to the intensity at the start of sound. It is marked in decibels (dB).