What is a key characteristic of high frequency sounds?

High frequency sounds are characterized by the way they interact with their environment, particularly their tendency to travel in straighter lines and reflect or bounce off surfaces. This characteristic, which aligns with option B, is due to the shorter wavelengths of high frequency sounds. Because of their shorter wavelengths, these sounds do not diffract around obstacles as effectively as lower frequency sounds do. Instead, they tend to reflect off surfaces clearly, which helps maintain clarity and directionality. This property is significant in various auditory contexts, such as the comprehension of speech, where high frequency sounds contribute to the intelligibility of consonants.

In contrast, the other options do not accurately describe high frequency sounds. For instance, high frequency sounds do not travel easily around corners (which relates to lower frequencies), they have shorter wavelengths rather than longer ones, and they are actually quite important for speech, providing critical cues for understanding phonetics.