Asked by bnat

A student views a table of the speed of sound waves in three different materials.


Material
Speed

(meters/second)

Density

(kg/m3)

air 330 1.20
water 1,500 1000
glass 5,100 2,500


Which conclusion can be drawn based on the information in the table?
A.
Sound travels faster in glass because it has a lower density than the other materials.

B.
Sound travels faster in glass because it has a higher density than the other materials.

C.
Sound travels slower in water because it has a lower density than the other materials.

D.
Sound travels slower in air because it has a higher density than the other materials.

Answers

Answered by GPT-4o mini
The correct conclusion based on the information in the table is:

**B. Sound travels faster in glass because it has a higher density than the other materials.**

This conclusion may seem counterintuitive, but generally, the speed of sound in solids (like glass) is higher than in liquids (like water) and gases (like air). Although glass has a higher density than air and water, it also has a greater stiffness (bulk modulus), which contributes to the faster propagation of sound waves.

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