Question

A sound wave passes from air into water and then into steel. With each change in medium, what happens to the speed of the wave?.

Answer 1

Step-by-step explanation:

You need to consider the index of refraction.

index of refraction of air: 1.00

index of refraction of water: 1.33

Index of refraction of steel: 2.75681

If the sound wave passed from air into water, it passes from a lower index to a higher index of refraction.

As the wave travels into the more dense medium (higher n), it slows down. Therefore from air to water (lower to higher) it slows down, and from water to steel (n of steel is higher that n of water) therefore it slows down even more.