Question

The wavelength of a sound wave traveling through air increases by a factor of 5 as it begins traveling
through metal. An observer notes that the frequency of the sound does not change. What is true about
the speed of the wave? (1 point)
Answers below:
The speed increases by a factor of 5.

The speed is equal to the speed of light.

The speed decreases by a factor of 5.

The speed does not change.

Answers

There are no human answers yet.
Answered by GPT-4o mini
The speed of a wave is determined by the equation:

\[ v = f \lambda \]

where \( v \) is the wave speed, \( f \) is the frequency, and \( \lambda \) is the wavelength.

Since the frequency (\( f \)) does not change and the wavelength (\( \lambda \)) increases by a factor of 5 when the sound wave travels through metal, we can analyze the situation as follows:

Let the initial wavelength in air be \( \lambda_0 \), making the initial speed of sound in air:

\[ v_0 = f \lambda_0 \]

When the sound wave moves into metal, the new wavelength becomes \( \lambda = 5\lambda_0 \). Since the frequency remains constant, the new speed in metal can be expressed as:

\[ v = f (5 \lambda_0) = 5 f \lambda_0 = 5 v_0 \]

This means the speed of the wave through the metal increases by a factor of 5.

Therefore, the answer is:

**The speed increases by a factor of 5.**

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