All elements are fired as one group but with very small time delays to steer the beam. Which description matches this behavior?

• A. All elements fired together with no delays
• B. All elements fired as one group but with very small time delays to steer the beam
• C. Only a subset of elements fired at a time
• D. The beam is steered by mechanical means

Answer: (B)

This describes electronic beam steering with a phased-array transducer. By firing all elements together but introducing tiny time delays across them, you create slight phase differences that tilt the wavefront. The constructive interference then points in a chosen direction, steering the beam without moving the transducer. If there were no delays, the beam would stay centered and broad. Using only a subset of elements would change the aperture and resolution and isn’t the same method of steering. Mechanical steering would involve moving the transducer itself, not timing delays. So the described behavior matches steering the beam by small delays across all elements.