Question

What type of medium makes sound travel the fastest and Explain WHY.

Answer 1

Solid medium helps sound waves to travel the fastest since the molecules inside a solid are closer to one another, allowing better transmission.

Explanation :

Talking about the motion of sound waves through the three phases of mediums (solid, liquid and gas), sound waves chose to be the fastest while travelling through the solid media.

Because in solids, the molecules are stacked closely to one another, allowing the transmission of sound waves faster as compared to the liquids or gases. In fact in air, the sound waves find clumsy to travel.

Sound waves travel about 17 times faster in steel than through air. Although there are always some exceptions yet, most of the solids provide better transmission of sound waves as compared to other mediums.

Answer 2

V solids > V liquids > V gas

Step-by-step explanation:

Speed of sounds depends of the type of material in which it travels, this phenomenon may be determined by the following formula:

V = √(B/ρ)

Where:

V= speed of sound

B= represent the medium hardness, this coefficient is expressed in Pascal units. The bigger the number, the hardest the material and sound travels faster. This is because in hardest material, particles are closer together so sound travels faster

ρ= density, for this case, for a high density value, sound travels slower

Both factors (B and P) should be considering when calculating the speed of sound

For example, for iron, B has a high value so sound travels faster, but also has a high density (this would make sound travels slower), but for this type of materials, B is much more bigger that P, hence V will be always a high number

Actually : V solids > V liquids > V gas

ρ is also important in certain circumstances, for example, in a gas, when temperature rises, P decreases, for which speed is faster in hot air