Question

h statement best compares the speed of a sound wave moving through a pot of boiling water and the water vapor above the pot?

The sound wave would move faster through the water than through the water vapor.
The sound wave would move slower through the water than through the water vapor.
The sound wave would move the same speed through the water and the water vapor.
The sound wave would move through the water and water vapor at the same speed, but decrease in speed at the transition point.

Answer 1

The sound wave would move faster through the water than through the water vapor.

Reason: sound speed v ≈ sqrt(B/ρ) (B = bulk modulus, ρ = density). Liquids have a much larger bulk modulus than gases, so even though they are denser, sound travels significantly faster in liquid water (≈1.5 km/s) than in the water vapor above the pot (hundreds of m/s).