Question

You have a 40-Hz sound wave and a 5,000-Hz sound wave. Both are traveling

through steel. Which sound wave will travel faster?

Answer 1

Both sound waves will travel at the same speed.

Step-by-step explanation:

The speed of sound depends only on the density and the elastic properties of the medium it is travelling through, the mathematical relation is

`v= \sqrt{(B)/(\rho) }`,

where
`B` is the bulk modulus (a measure of how much a material will compress under a certain pressure), and
`\rho` is the density of the medium.

Since the frequency of a sound wave does not change the properties of the medium it is travelling through, every frequency will have the same speed through a certain medium.

Hence, a 5,000 Hz and a 40-Hz sound wave will have the same speed through steel.